International
US Consulate temporarily closes as cartel gunmen launch assault on Nuevo Laredo
The Center for Security Policy (Center) reports that a massive shoot-out between members of the Northeast Cartel (CDN) and the Mexican Army rocked the city of Nuevo Laredo on Tuesday directly across the border from Laredo, Texas. The incident forced the temporary closure of the international bridges as well as the U.S. Consulate. As reported by the Center, videos of the attack on social media showed numerous burning vehicles and the sounds of automatic weapon fire. Mexican military installations and the U.S. Consulate reportedly came under fire. The attack was reportedly a response to the arrest and deportation to the United States of CDN Cartel leader Juan Gerardo Treviño, following an operation by Mexican authorities.
Treviño, also known as El Huevo (The Egg) was wanted in the United States on money laundering and drug trafficking conspiracy charges. He also faces numerous charges in multiple Mexican states, including murder and terrorism. Treviño comes from a family with a long history of narcotrafficking, with his Uncle Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales having been the last leader of the notorious Los Zetas cartel, of which the CDN is a splinter faction.
This is not the first time CDN fighters, whose armed wing operates under the name Tropa Del Infierno (Troops of Hell) have caused concern for U.S. diplomatic security. In January of 2020, the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo was forced to increase security following a series of CDN gunbattles targeting Mexican police. CDN has a history of establishing armed blockades and conducting ambushes of police forces in the Mexican half of a city which sits astride the border, particularly in response to Police operations or even rumors of arrests.
This ability to project violence to threaten the Mexican state has worked for other Cartels to effectively “de-arrest” leaders captured by law enforcement. In October of 2019 Mexico arrested, and then was forced to release, Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of notorious Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán.
While Mexican authorities (and likely their U.S. counterparts) are to be commended on the successful operation to capture El Huevo, the CDN’s ability to project a violent response yet again shows that the situation in Mexico is developed far beyond a law enforcement matter and has effectively reached a full-blown insurgency. The United States needs to reconsider its lack of commitment to addressing the growing instability of its southern neighbor and begin to make the safety and security of its citizens along the border a top priority now.
International
Iran and Iraq sign controversial five-year contract to continue export of natural gas
Despite the Biden administration having ‘strongly suggested’ that Iraqis find other ways solve their production problems, they have signed a new deal with Iran. Iraq’s ministry of electricity announced a finalized agreement on Wednesday, of which the Iran regime has signed a five-year contract to continue the export of natural gas for use in Iraq’s power generating plants.
Iraq will import up to 50 million cubic meters per day of the vital fuel; prior, Iraq had been procuring approximately half of that amount from Iranian suppliers, according to The Foreign Desk News.
The outlet notes this relationship between American adversaries has often brought criticism from Washington because the imports and their payments are subject to U.S. sanctions. The government in Baghdad must ask for waivers from the State Department to complete their purchases.
The Foreign Desk News goes on to explain:
Iran’s national gas company has been provisioning their neighbor for the last 10 years, as Iraq has long suffered domestic production problems due to corruption and inadequate infrastructure.
Most of the natural gas that Iraq imports is used to produce power for an unstable and maintenance-prone electrical grid. Service outages are common amid the country’s growing consumption and many residents frequently must rely on private generators during times of disruption.
Including the electricity that Iraq directly purchases from Iran, the Islamic republic is reported to be responsible for supplying nearly a quarter of the country’s total power use.
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Sad4theUS
March 20, 2022 at 2:33 am
And this war is coming to the US real quick! Thank you Biden!
Stephane
March 20, 2022 at 3:21 pm
Evidently the mexican army is pushing back against the cartel!!!
Although the generals are getting bakshish from the cartels.
Which leads the whole world to SEE the hypocrisy flagrantly shown. The cartel will never stop the drugs that make them so rich! Just as the CIA never stopped transporting the opium, morphine, heroin from the Golden Triangle in SouthEast Asia! Nor from South America. With its PRIVATE airlines!