Mexico Denies US Special Forces Presence South of the Border

I Stand behind the operational team in Mexico and their story.., and not the political ploy that is currently in place...Tosh Plumlee Oct 06 2010

Photo courtesy: narosphere/narconews.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - Last June Bill Conroy with NarcoNews published an article titled, U.S. Military has Special Ops "Boots on the Ground" in Mexico.

According to that report, "A special operations task force under the command of the Pentagon is currently in place south of the border providing advice and training to the Mexican Army in gathering intelligence, infiltrating and, as needed, taking direct action against narco-trafficking organizations, claims a former CIA asset who has a long history in the covert operations theater." ^[1]

We published an article 26 September 2010 titled, US Special Forces are Operating in Mexico that features a former CIA operative's claims that US Special Forces are operating in Mexico in providing intelligence, training security forces, and also 'taking direct action against narco-trafficking organizations.'

According to William Robert 'Tosh' Plumlee, the group of heavily armed operatives are referred to as 'Task Force 7' and played an important role in tracking down Arturo Beltran Leyva, a cartel boss killed in a huge military operation last December ^[2].

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico didn't like that report and a letter to the editor was issued to Salem-News.com by Ricardo Alday, Spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington D.C. (see the letter below)

Alday stated: "The flimsy and single sourced assertion that 'heavily armed' 'U.S. Special Forces' (Your article 'U.S. Special Forces are Operating in Mexico', Sept 27, 2010 are 'taking direct action against narco trafficking organizations' is patently false."

Alday claims that our story is completely off base, but there is mounting evidence that the reports are all true.

The Mexican Embassy Spokesman said: "Today, relations between the U.S. and Mexico are based on the premise of shared responsibility and strategic partnership. Our cooperation against the common threat of organized crime has increased and improved substantially but that certainly does not include boots on the ground"

Alday only admits an exchange of intelligence information and says clearly that there are no US Special Forces in Mexico. I suggest two scenarios; one is that since Mr. Alday is located in Washington D.C., he could be a bit out of touch. Another possibility is that the clandestine US Special Forces are being, well... clandestine.

Then there is the fact that he thinks we're in Massachusetts, fair mistake there I suppose. My point is that his points all seem contrived and ready made. I am not making any kind of accusation, I just think there could be more than meets the eye here and perhaps Mr. Alday simply doesn't know every military deal that has been made in this country.

The Mexican Embassy Spokesman said: Under the Merida Initiative, Mexico and the US exchange intelligence and the US supports training and institution building in Mexico, but nothing else.

The Merida Initiative was signed by George W. Bush in 2008. It is a $400m funding package to assist Mexico in the "war on drugs". The money will not be used exclusively on military spending, according to the plan, but substantial dollars were set aside for equipment and for training security services.

Only one day after the initiative was signed, a video of US security contractors teaching Mexican police officers torture techniques surfaced.

I can tell you just a little about Special Forces. First, based on what I saw in Afghanistan, they are often extremely independent. There is also a very good chance that you will have no idea they are who they are. This would make these highly trained military operatives very effective in Mexico, especially if they just worked with Hispanic Americans, or those who can pass.

Mexico had its deadliest mass murder in recent months, when 72 people were slaughtered, their remains found piled in a house. The second worst happened earlier this year, when 55 murder victims were discovered in a single area^[3].

The bottom line is that Mexico is corrupted by white drugs, mostly methamphetamine, and it turns people into slaves. They work illegally and immorally for the next hit. Mexico is a really messed up place socially. Women are constantly in danger, and drug cartels murder people en masse for attending drug addiction treatment centers.

A new report released on NarcoNews claims again that at the Mexican government's request, "the State Department is supporting US military trainings of the Mexican troops inside Mexico, according to federal procurement data and a statement released by the agency."

In this report, US Embassy spokesman Alexander Featherstone, "first states that the US Northern Command (NORTHCOM), a military unit created in 2002 for homeland defense missions, is involved in training the Mexican military with help from the State Department." ^[4]

Featherstone is then quoted saying, "At the request of the Mexican government and in coordination with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, USNORTHCOM conducts information exchanges and training across a number of broad areas and disciplines," adding, "These trainings take place both in Mexico and the U.S."

He also says the training opportunities and exchanges, "Have helped the militaries of Mexico and the United States to build a relationship based on trust, confidence, mutual benefit and mutual respect for sovereignty."

I'm sure I could go back and forth with Mr. Alday all day... and never get him to confirm this obviously covert operation, if it does exist of course.

According to NarcoNews:

Procurement data from the Federal Procurement Data System shows that in September the US Embassy in Mexico City paid Sheraton Hotels more than $15,000 for an event featuring the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC, formerly the School of the Americas), a Department of Defense school that specializes in training students from Latin America and has a notorious history of contributing to human rights abuses abroad.

The Joint Special Operations University (JSOU), a military school that teaches special operations tactics, is also listed as being involved. The State Department has not disclosed which Sheraton hotels were used, but the procurement data states the contract work was performed in Mexico. Sheraton lists hotel locations in the historic center of Mexico City, the city's wealthy suburb of Santa Fe, the beach resort city of Cancún, and city of Monterrey.

When asked about the procurement data, embassy spokesman Alexander Featherstone first stated that the US Northern Command (NORTHCOM), a military unit created in 2002 for homeland defense missions, is involved in training the Mexican military with help from the State Department.

Here is the Letter from Mr. Alday:

Mexico is in trouble, not all of Mexico, but residents in particular areas are in far more danger simply living from day to day than anywhere else on earth. For example, approximately 6,000 people have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez alone since January 2008^[5].

Plumlee told Salem-News.com in the wake of this:

First off. I stand behind the information in your article and that within the Narco News article of last year. In the next few weeks more information-- as to ongoing operations involving our troops and those of the Mexican Army in a joint interdiction and a cartel eradication program inside Mexico, will be released to the media via Mexico media--- that new information concerning those operations will soon be released by Mexico authorities (I am told) More to come soon.."

There are endless remaining questions over exactly what the US military and State Department are physically doing in their training of Mexican soldiers with US Special Forces. They are who we send to train military groups, just ask the South Vietnamese, oh wait... there are no more South Vietnamese!

^[1] June-12-2010: U.S. Military has Special Ops "Boots on the Ground" in Mexico Bill Conroy - the narcosphere

^[2] Sep-26-2010: US Special Forces are Operating in Mexico - Salem-News.com

^[2] Aug-26-2010: Bodies of 72 Migrants Discovered Near US Border - Tim King Salem-News.com

^[3] Oct-04-2010: State Department Backing US Troops In Mexico Erin Rosa - the narcosphere

^[5] Jul-21-2010: Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua News: Violence, Tensions Boil - Salem-News.com

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