Bin Laden Raid Became Re-Election Mission, SEAL Book Says
By Noah Shachtman
President Obama and his national security team watch the bin Laden raid unfold. Photo: Wikimedia
The mission was twofold: first and foremost, kill Osama bin Laden. Then, once the deed was done and the troops were back safe, help re-elect the president of the United States by promoting the death of the world’s most wanted terrorist.
That’s the accusation in “No Easy Day,” the firsthand account of the bin Laden raid from Matt Bissonette, a former member of SEAL Team 6. Copies of the book, due out next week, were obtained by the Huffington Post and by the Associated Press’ Kim Dozier.
SEALs’ Cover Story if Bin Laden Raid Went Bad: Downed Drone
By Noah Shachtman
Osama bin Laden films an undated propaganda video. Photo: CIA
It’s one of many fascinating details in No Easy Day, Navy SEAL Matt Bissonette’s firsthand account of the bin Laden raid.
“We all laughed,” Bissonette writes about the explanation. “The story was preposterous. We were allies with Pakistan on paper, so if we did lose a drone, the State Department would negotiate directly with the Pakistani government to get it back. The story didn’t wash and would be very difficult to stick to during hours of questioning…. The truth is, if we got to that point, no story we could come up with was going to cover up twenty-two SEALs packing sixty pounds of hi-tech gear on their backs.”
Mexico Kills Cartel Big Shot, But Drug Violence Worsens
By Robert Beckhusen
Photo: Fronteras Desk/Flickr
According to local press reports, the hours-long battle began on Thursday in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, when forces loyal to the boss of a major Zetas drug trafficking operation, Gerardo Guerra-Valdez, attacked military personnel moving on the cartel’s “command structure.” When the military fought back, cartel gunmen began blockading key roads stretching from the city’s downtown, near the World Trade Bridge connecting Nuevo Laredo to Texas. They came prepared: included in their convoy was at least one
He Double-Crossed the Zeta Cartel… And Somehow Lived to Tell About It
Two years ago, Antonio Pena Arguelles was handling millions in drug money and working as the intermediary between the violent Zetas cartel and senior Mexican politicians. On Tuesday, U.S. authorities seized him at his suburban
Radio Zeta: How Mexico’s Drug Cartels Stay Networked
By Spencer Ackerman
Arranging drug sales on a cellphone, cryptic email or even a pager? That’s strictly for the small-time dealer. If you’re a Mexican drug cartel, you have your own radio network.
Since 2006, the cartels have maintained an encrypted DIY radio network that stretches across nearly all 31 Mexican states, even down south into Guatemala. The communications infrastructure of the narco-gangs that have turned Mexico into a gangster’s paradise consists of “professional-grade” radio antennas, signal relays and simple handheld radios that cost “millions of dollars” — and which the Mexican authorities haven’t been able to shut down.
How the U.S. Fights the Zeta Cartel, From Spies to Sanctions
By Robert Beckhusen
The
violence in the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon began Tuesday
morning and continued into Wednesday. By the end, 30 bodies had turned
up around the state with bullet wounds or had been dismembered. The
cause was attributed to a seemingly never-ending war between the Zeta
drug cartel and their rivals. And that may only be a prelude. Miguel
Angel Treviño, or "Z-40," has seized the leadership of the cartel from
longtime chief Heriberto Lazcano, according to the Associated Press,
which describes the new boss as a "brutal assassin" who favors cooking his enemies inside burning oil drums.
For those unnerving reasons, the Zetas have come to define the violence of the drug war, and have lead the U.S. and Mexican governments scrambling to fight them. Arguably Mexico's most powerful drug cartel, the Zetas are now estimated to operate in half of the country, if not more, and have expanded into Guatemala. Aside from unleashing violence, extortion and kidnapping across much of their territory, the Zetas are responsible for the February 2011 death of U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon deployed 200 Marines to Guatemala in a sign the U.S. is getting more direct in going after the Zetas. The Pentagon stresses that the Marines will play a secondary role to the Guatemalans and are limited to merely tracking drug traffickers. But still, that's a lot of Marines now operating in territory shared by the cartel. The U.S. also considers the operation to be only one part of a much larger strategy. Here are five aspects of that war.
Photo: Army
For those unnerving reasons, the Zetas have come to define the violence of the drug war, and have lead the U.S. and Mexican governments scrambling to fight them. Arguably Mexico's most powerful drug cartel, the Zetas are now estimated to operate in half of the country, if not more, and have expanded into Guatemala. Aside from unleashing violence, extortion and kidnapping across much of their territory, the Zetas are responsible for the February 2011 death of U.S.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon deployed 200 Marines to Guatemala in a sign the U.S. is getting more direct in going after the Zetas. The Pentagon stresses that the Marines will play a secondary role to the Guatemalans and are limited to merely tracking drug traffickers. But still, that's a lot of Marines now operating in territory shared by the cartel. The U.S. also considers the operation to be only one part of a much larger strategy. Here are five aspects of that war.
Photo: Army
Report: Navy SEALs to Hunt Cartel Kingpin Like Bin Laden
By Robert Beckhusen
A special forces soldier secures a perimeter during an exercise on Feb. 15, 2010. Photo: EUCOM
According to anonymous Mexican and U.S. military sources cited by Proceso magazine (translated from Spanish), the plan involves sending Navy SEALs by helicopter after the Sinaloa Cartel kingpin, who is rumored to be hiding in the mountains of the western Mexican states of Sinaloa and Durango. The SEALs would be divided into two teams — one would land and attack, and the other would stay airborne — assisted by three unmanned drones packing missiles.
Marines vs. Zetas: U.S. Hunts Drug Cartels in Guatemala
By Robert Beckhusen
A
U.S. Marine during a jungle patrol exercise in Guatemala on Sept. 12,
2010. While the Marines have helped train Guatemalan troops to hunt for
drug traffickers in the past, the service is now expanding into chasing
traffickers directly. Photo: USMC
The Marines are now encamped after having deployed to Guatemala earlier this month, and have just “kicked off” their share of Operation Martillo, or Hammer. That operation began earlier in January, and is much larger than just the Marine contingent and involves the Navy, Coast Guard, and federal agents working with the Guatemalans to block drug shipment routes.
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