B. McPherson

Zeta drug gang members escaped from Apodaca Prison near Monterray Mexico during the mayhem that left 44 rival gang members dead. The 30 escapees were all members of the notorious Zeta drug cartel.

As part of the fall out from this tragedy four senior prison officials as well as 18 guards have been dismissed on the suspicion that they colluded in the escape of the Zeta members.

The top officials and as many as 18 guards at the Apodaca prison may have helped 30 Zetas escape during the confusion of a riot early Sunday in which other Zetas fatally bludgeoned and knifed 44 members of the rival Gulf cartel, Nuevo Leon Gov. Rodrigo Medina said Monday.Seattle Post Intelligencer

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Zetas-gang-killed-rivals-escaped-at-Mexico-prison-3343869.php

The cocaine trafficking through Mexico to the United States has surged as Panama has taken steps to slow the drug smuggling through its country.

Since the War on Drugs was declared and the former balance among drug gangs has been disrupted, turf wars have increasingly escalated. Corruption, intimidation and gruesome murders combine to destabilize the Mexican government. The town of Cuidad Juarez has become a dangerous battlefield with no quarter given. At least 10 000 fatalities last year have been linked to drug wars in that sorry town.

In an unpleasant ironic twist, the American government has helped create the highly deadly, highly efficient Zeta cartel. It is estimated that about one third of the Zeta members were trained at the Fort Benning School of the Americas(with new name and letters – WHINSEC) which provides elite military training to personnel from many South American countries. There is far more money to be made in the drug trade than serving in the Mexican military trying to stop it.

For those planning to vacation in Mexico, it is a good idea to consult the US government site for travel warnings. The Canadian government warns Canadians to avoid non-essential travel in the border states. Further reading of the Canadian web site warns would be tourists of other criminal activities that may occur throughout the country.

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Zetas-gang-killed-rivals-escaped-at-Mexico-prison-3343869.php

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=184000

B. McPherson
Kingston, Ontario. The jury took less than 48 hours to bring in a First Degree Murder guilty decision in the Shafia trial. The three remaining members of the family all pleaded not guilty to pre-meditated murder of their family members. Mohammad Shafia 58, his second wife Tooba Yahya 42, and son Hamed 21 now await the sentencing which will decide their coming years. While Canada does not have a death penalty, those found guilty may face 25 years in prison without the hope of parole.

The Shafias were found guilty of plotting and killing Rona Amir, Mohammad’s first wife and the three daughters of Tooba because they had brought ‘dishonour’ to the former Afghan family by gradually becoming Canadianized and more independent. The judge, after receiving the verdict gave his stinging opinion about the crime.

“It is difficult to conceive of a more heinous, more despicable and more honourless crime,” Ontario Superior Court Judge Robert Maranger said Sunday after the jury foreman had read aloud the verdicts. National Post


Canadians were shocked to find that a car holding four women was pulled out of the Rideau Canal near Kingston Mills, June 2009. The circumstances were suspicious. They were not reported missing until the car was identified. While the family was wealthy and had two cars already, the death car had been recently purchased for $5 000 cash.

When the family members were interviewed, suspicion grew. Solid police work and the help of a bug in the Shafia’s car gathered more evidence. Conversation recorded showed that the father of the murdered girls was not grieving:

. “God’s curse on them – may the devil shit on their graves,” Shafia is recorded as saying. Canada.com


 The Shafia family came to Canada under regulations that allow those who are wealthy to fast track their immigration status. Mohammad and Tooba came via Dubai from Afghanistan, later bringing first wife Rona whom Mohammad listed as a domestic servant.

While there was no doubt about who murdered the hapless women, there was some doubt about when and how they were drowned. A clue may be in the autopsy findings where the young girl Geeti, aged 13 was the only one without evidence of a blow to the head.