Sorry I'm late with Immigration Wednesday

this is quite disturbing.

Chris Simcox, owner of the Tombstone (Ariz.) Tumbleweed newspaper, and head of one such border group. He's trying to get the word out; few are listening and, apparently, that includes anyone in Washington.

In an e-mail to select correspondents last month, Simcox said there was "another" shootout very similar to others that have occurred with increasingly frequency along remote areas of the Arizona border – areas known to be frequented by drug and alien smugglers and elements of Mexican "authorities" (which often has included federal troops and police) that escort them to the border.

"Details are basically the same; shots fired, assailants get away, drugs seized," he writes. "The [Mexican] soldiers we captured on tape have been seen laying down suppression fire during the drug dealers' dash back across the border – this is not hyperbole – our guys are being fired upon from the other side of the border and they will not return fire. …"

"A high-speed car chase ended with Bisbee police, Border Patrol agents and a detail of the United States Marines coming under automatic weapons fire near the U.S./Mexico border two miles west of Naco, Ariz., on Tuesday morning, Feb. 16," reported Simcox. "Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Susan Herskovits confirmed on Wednesday that the agency is involved in the investigation, because it involves an assault on federal law-enforcement agents and involves gunfire from across the international boundary with Mexico."

From SignOnSandiego, this report:

TIJUANA, Mexico – A ruthless drug gang is using a group of deserters from an elite Mexican army unit to carry out contract killings along the U.S. border, Mexico's top anti-narcotics investigator said.

The alliance pairs the Arellano Felix smuggling syndicate with the Zetas, a criminal group led by former members of a paratroop and intelligence battalion trained to fight drug traffickers.

* Alleged drug kingpin faces organized crime, money laundering charges

"For us, it's very dangerous," Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, deputy attorney general for drug trafficking and organized crime, told reporters on Thursday.

The Arellano Felixes work the busy San Ysidro entry point between San Diego and this border town. U.S. and Mexican authorities estimate the gang moves one quarter of all the cocaine flowing across the U.S. border.

Mexican officials said the Zetas were recruited by Osiel Cardenas, the reputed leader of the Gulf cartel, during the 1990s when their unit was posted to the border state of Tamaulipas. More than 100 killings and dozens of kidnappings are attributed to the deserters.

Clearly, there are some nervous people out there. What's not clear is that the Mexican government forces are involved. Frankly, I've looked and can't find credible sources out there, with the exception of WorldNetNews. The ones I do find seem to be a little conspiracy-minded and over-the-edge. If anyone has any personal information, or can find a reliable sources, I'm willing to listen. But I'm just not seeing it.

So, for now, I'm going to file this one under NOT PROVEN.

Tags = Immigration