Pubdate: Thu, 25 Mar 2010
Source: El Paso Times (TX)
Copyright: 2010 El Paso Times
Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/formnewsroom
Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829
Author:  Daniel Borunda

BARRIO AZTECA THREAT TARGETS LAW OFFICERS

EL PASO -- The Barrio Azteca gang could be plotting to kill El Paso 
law enforcement officers in retaliation for a recent crackdown on 
gang members, an alert issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security warned.

"The Barrio Azteca gang may issue a 'green light' authorizing the 
attempted murder of LEOs (law enforcement officers) in the El Paso 
area," stated a copy of the alert obtained by the El Paso Times.

A "green light" is a murder sanctioned by the military-style 
leadership of the gang. The gang works with the Juarez drug cartel 
and is under scrutiny for its possible involvement in the unsolved 
murders in Juarez of three people tied to the U.S. Consulate.

The warning, or Officer Safety Alert, stated that the potential 
threat was "uncorroborated" but that officers and their families 
should take extra precautions.

"We understand it's uncorroborated information so we don't know how 
serious a threat it is," said Special Agent Andrea Simmons, 
spokeswoman for the FBI in El Paso.

The alert, issued Monday, tells officers to wear body armor while on 
duty, to vary routes to and from work and to tell their families to 
watch for any unusual activity. It also stated that suspicious people 
and vehicles near government buildings should be reported.

"It is always good to be reminded that law enforcement can be a 
target for any reason," Simmons said.

Last week, the Barrio Azteca was the focus of one of the largest law 
enforcement operations in El Paso, resulting in the arrests of 54 
alleged gang members and associates. Names and charges of those 
arrested have not been released.

The sweep, named Operation Knock Down, is part of an investigation by 
the FBI and DEA into the murders of three people linked to the U.S. 
Consulate in Juarez on March 13. More than 200 officers from 21 
agencies took part in the operation.

The Barrio Azteca was formed in the 1980s by El Pasoans in prison and 
is a brother organization to the Aztecas gang in Juarez. Eduardo 
"Tablas" Ravelo, the reputed boss of the Barrio Azteca in Juarez, is 
on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.

Mexican authorities suspect the Aztecas in the killings of Lesley 
Enriquez Redelfs, who worked for the consulate, and her husband, 
Arthur Redelfs, a detention officer with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

The couple were killed by armed men who chased and fired at their 
vehicle after they had left a children's party in Juarez. They were 
expecting their second child. The couple's 7-month-old daughter was 
in the back seat of the car but was not hurt.

A third person, Jorge Alberto Ceniceros Salcido, whose wife, Hilda 
Antillon Jimenez worked at the consulate, was also slain at nearly 
the same time at another location after leaving the same party.

Aztecas are thought to be fighting on the side of La Linea, or the 
Juarez drug cartel, against the Sinaloa drug cartel in the current 
drug war. Nearly 4,800 people have been killed in the Juarez area since 2008.

Juarez police have regularly fallen in the drug war, and it's not 
unusual for cartels to openly list officers marked for death.

Forty-eight Juarez police officers were killed last year, police 
spokesman Jacinto Segura said.

Segura said four officers (one an accidental death) have died this 
year, including an off-duty patrol officer slain Tuesday afternoon. 
Juan Carlos Ramos Cirino, 28, was attacked by three or four gunmen 
with assault rifles who burst into his mother's home, fired 21 rounds 
and killed him in front of his mother, police said.

Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz has also been threatened but unharmed. 
On March 10, a pig head was left with a note stating the mayor had 
"two weeks left to live." The deadline was Wednesday.

In the past, threats against law enforcement on the U.S. border have 
popped up occasionally.

In 2000, Mexican drug traffickers offered a $200,000 bounty for the 
deaths of U.S. federal agents along the border. The threat did not 
materialize. There were also past rumors of bounties on drug-sniffing dogs.

"We see these kinds of alerts periodically, but we can't go into them 
because of security reasons," said Doug Mosier, spokesman for the 
Border Patrol.

As for the latest threat, El Paso police spokesman Detective Mike 
Baranyay would say only that officers were aware of it.

"We take everything serious," said Ron Martin, president of the El 
Paso Municipal Police Officers' Association. "The safety of the 
officers is paramount. It's not the first time somebody has put a hit 
or a green light on an officer, and it probably won't be the last."

Martin said police already exercise caution when dealing with any 
gang member and are vigilant because of the situation in Mexico.

"Gunning down a detention officer and his pregnant wife 20 feet from 
the Juarez city hall in view of the border highway (in El Paso) -- 
that's unacceptable," Martin said. "Mexico has to fix their problem, 
and if it takes the U.S. stepping in, so be it.

"You can't just execute somebody in broad daylight in front of God 
and country and you can't expect somebody not to react," Martin said. 
"If they (gangsters) don't want to be bothered, they shouldn't be criminals."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart