Dog Brothers Public Forum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNkMpg4LnJA

segundo del dia

https://www.businessinsider.com/most-russian-gru-spies-in-mexico-says-top-us-general-2022-4?fbclid=IwAR3a0AdaZq04svMzVdYgHC4Q-rWC6C9MjhdhyKAYq1GKiaM1PHR4S9uT5JQ

Ignoring the prog pandering herein, it would appear that SS is not fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

https://www.nickiswift.com/782871/joe-rogan-is-in-hot-water-all-over-again-about-ukraine-posts/?fbclid=IwAR3W28cuLynSrHUkB1NsP9m_P2Y23rwAr9R7KQMndJJYO9rDEjOzScMCQl4

https://www.thecombatuniversity.com/?fbclid=IwAR0bkc7fDLOFbgPZ6K6NOXxnBVHgi-05hWSoq3kQtaNmb800nF0XC5TJ-qc

third

https://vimeo.com/662424087/6aa175ee31?fbclid=IwAR0ByCMSM3jelKPPpeGWtyAhTDnt1_xiJGleXgeXaTwThafGIlXSg6RTkMk

https://vimeo.com/662424169/457ed8699d?fbclid=IwAR02wM8ieKvBNBA9mDyfINlcwVs5iM1M2HnOzvhxwGs1KJhfI6qtITdT6bc

November 9, 2021
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Canada, Mexico and America’s Reality
By: George Friedman

The United States lives in a fundamentally unique geopolitical reality. It’s the only major power that doesn’t face the risk of a land war, so it doesn’t need a massive force to defend the homeland. Instead, it can concentrate on maintaining control of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. If it retains control of the seas, the only threat to the United States would be air and missile attacks. These are not trivial threats, but they are far more manageable without having to worry about an invasion by land or sea. The United States itself has offensive options it can indulge in – even if it doesn’t always use them prudently, and even if it leads to defeat elsewhere. The U.S. has not faced a foreign presence on its soil since the 19th century. Even nuclear weapons are countered by mutual assured destruction, which has protected the U.S. homeland for over half a century.

This happy condition is the foundation of American power. During the harshest of wars, World War II, where much of Europe and Asia was torn asunder, the American homeland remained untouched. This is such an obvious fact that it tends to be neglected.

So too are the geopolitical reasons behind American security. Any attack on the United States must either be an amphibious assault from across the sea or a land assault from either Canada or Mexico. The U.S. fought numerous times with Mexico in the 19th and very early 20th centuries, and in the 1960s, the Quebec independence movement prompted fears in the U.S. that an independent Quebec might align with the Soviet Union. But today, neither country can attack the U.S. itself, hence the first layer of American security. The second layer is that neither country wants to align with powers hostile to the United States. Had Germany secured their allegiance in World War II, or had the Soviet Union in the Cold War, or had China in the past few decades, the risks to American security would have soared, and the U.S. invulnerability to war on the homeland would have evaporated. American history would have been very different, along with the history of humanity.

Therefore, in any discussion of American strategy and of its strategic priorities, the most important issue is not the South China Sea or NATO but the maintenance of relations with Canada and Mexico. It’s true that at the moment each country has an overriding interest in maintaining their relationship, for reasons ranging from trade to social links. It’s also true that the United States could impose its will militarily on either country. However, waging war on neighbors is dangerous and exhausting. America is a global power pursuing global interests, and its domestic stability would be the first casualty of a land assault against Canada or Mexico.

On the surface, this whole line of reasoning sounds preposterous. But the fact that it seems so arises from the misconception among Americans that the current relationship with Canada and Mexico is unchangeable, and thus requires no care. But one of the most obvious observations of history is the speed at which the apparently obvious dissolves and a new normal takes its place. Given the overwhelming importance to the U.S. that neither neighbor shift its national strategy, the comfortable assumption of continuity is perhaps the most reckless element of U.S. policy. Certainly, there is no current danger of a shift, nor any danger on the horizon. But this is precisely the time when a prudent power devotes significant attention to an issue. Reversing a shift in policy is far more difficult than preventing one.

There are forces driving the U.S. apart from these two countries, countries that are not in a position to cause a break, but which in the future, when other issues are added to them and enticing new relationships show themselves, might change the equation. In the case of Canada, the manner in which the United States canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that was important to Canada, signaled a profound indifference to Canada’s interests. There was little consultation, no offer of compensation, nor any attempt to create an alternative project. By itself, this is not enough to cause a break with the United States, but it certainly reminds Canada that Washington sees it as subordinate to its interests rather than as the object of its interests.

In the case of Mexico, the U.S. obsesses over immigration, an issue that is nonessential to Mexican interests. There has been a surge of migrants at that border, most on their way to the United States, but all creating significant problems on their way north. The United States views Mexico as a source of illegal immigration. Mexico sees the problem of immigration as having its origin at Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala. Mexico has therefore requested American help in closing its southern border, which has been refused. Instead, Mexico is demonized for the immigration the U.S. will not help stop. (I have no interest in the question of which country is right. All such matters are complex, and every nation is certain that another nation is at fault.)

For the United States, obsessing without alienating either Canada or Mexico is essential to its national interest, if not its national policy. The physical security of the United States and its trade system depends on these two countries. A rational policy of extreme awareness of their internal processes and a willingness to indulge their needs even to the disadvantage of the United States is a low-cost, high-return policy. When someone takes a client to lunch, he picks up the tab, even if the client has ordered the most expensive items on the menu. The cost of lunch is vastly less than the business you will get.

The most interesting part of geopolitics is that a current state of affairs feels eternal. Nothing in geopolitics’ past should give anyone that confidence. Maintaining a beneficial status quo requires effort, painful until the alternative is considered. But since the belief is that nothing will change, then no effort is needed. The U.S. is a dominant global power because its homeland is secure from attack. Its homeland is secure because Canada and Mexico secure it. The failure to understand that they have options – and are far from exercising them – means their treatment is determined by America’s passing interests. From a geopolitical point of view, this is understandable: Power blots out vulnerability. From a policy standpoint, it ignores reality.

81,540

No tomo muy en serio las propuestas sugeridas, pero la descripcion de los problemas tiene valor en mi opinion:

========================


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A Long-Term US Strategy for Latin America
The pandemic created unprecedented problems in the region at a time when Washington’s ability to help is severely constrained.
By: Allison Fedirka

When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted last month that the U.S. had a mixed record on improving civilian security in Latin American countries, the region did a double-take. Security cooperation, even direct intervention, has been the cornerstone of U.S. engagement with Latin America. When it works, it’s a low-cost approach that leaves spare resources and energy for Washington to project power across the globe. But the economic and social disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the region, interacting with existing security threats to pose new challenges to the United States. The U.S. is responding with a new approach that also emphasizes social and economic development projects, which it hopes will not only reduce immediate security threats but also support longer-term goals like reducing power vacuums, strengthening the region’s economic ties with the U.S., and securing the U.S.-aligned regime structure.

Past the Tipping Point

Nearly all the countries in Latin America were poorly equipped to deal with the pandemic. Large segments of the population lacked access to adequate health care; few workers could perform their jobs remotely; and governments lacked the funds for massive social spending or recovery projects. The region’s economy contracted nearly 8 percent in 2020 – well above the 3 percent global average – and economists expect it will take nearly a decade to recover. Making matters worse, many of these countries were facing severe socio-economic difficulties even before the pandemic, like organized crime, forced displacement, lack of formal employment and natural disasters. The pandemic pushed many states past the tipping point.


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Latin American governments’ difficulties meeting the needs of their population had three major consequences. First, organized crime groups stepped in to ensure economic activity, food distribution and other public needs, especially in remote areas. These groups also offered employment opportunities at a time when jobs were hard to come by. As organized crime gained a stronger hold in these areas, attacks on local communities, turf wars and displacement increased. Second, public trust in government was severely damaged. Nearly all leaders in the region saw their popularity drop, with several facing calls for impeachment. With their power diminished and populations disgruntled, politicians became vulnerable to the influence of foreign powers offering economic relief or political support.


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Finally, migration pressures in three separate areas overflowed and collided in Central America, en route to the United States. The Northern Triangle region (El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras) is most familiar to Americans because of its prominence during the Trump administration. A second wave involves people from Hispaniola fleeing Haiti’s latest political crisis. There are also migrating Haitians who previously settled in South America, primarily Brazil and Chile, after the 2010 earthquake. Deteriorating conditions in those countries have pushed the migrants north toward the United States. Finally, Venezuelans have been leaving their country in droves in recent years. Many of them settled in Colombia, but with Bogota saying it cannot host any more and other governments in the region prioritizing their own citizens, many Venezuelan migrants are now looking to make the trek north as well.

The simultaneous occurrence of increased migration, stronger organized crime and regionwide political instability poses a formidable security threat to the United States. Though elements of this activity have always been present to some degree in the region, the current magnitude and scope go well beyond previous levels. An adequate U.S. security response would require a massive mobilization of resources at a time when the U.S. is trying to reduce military commitments, manage an unprecedented economic recovery and unify a deeply divided public. Furthermore, these types of operations provide only short-term relief at best. Washington needs a strategy that also addresses long-term threats while minimizing costs.

A New Approach

In recent weeks, the U.S. government has signaled a shift in its engagement strategy with Latin America that integrates a much stronger socio-economic focus to complement security efforts. The first clue came in early October when Mexican officials announced the end of the Merida Initiative, the linchpin policy for U.S.-Mexican security cooperation, and the start of a new stage of cooperation. Shortly thereafter the two countries held their High-Level Security Dialogue, which ended with a joint statement declaring the decision to take a more holistic approach to security. The parties pledged more indirect efforts like working with at-risk youth, reducing drug use and jointly combating arms trafficking. Mexico City had long lobbied for this approach, but Washington had resisted.

Similarly, on Oct. 25, the U.S. government announced a new strategy for combating drug trafficking in Colombia. The objective is to strengthen the government’s presence in rural communities, support the incomes of legal businesses and eliminate coca production. There are other indications of a shift in U.S. strategy in other parts of Latin America. During an Oct. 20 speech in Quito, Blinken said the U.S. had focused too much on addressing the symptoms of organized crime and relied too much on working with security forces rather than addressing root causes. Many communities have come to rely on organized crime to stimulate economic activity. It’s difficult to convince people to leave organized crime without providing them an alternative source of income, especially when their former “employer” relies on violence to keep people in check. The Biden administration wants to correct this, Blinken said, and to create economic opportunities that will weaken organized crime over time.

Migration is another area where a security-focused approach may provide temporary relief but not a permanent solution. People leave their countries for many reasons. Addressing physical insecurity and political turmoil must be part of the solution, but unless the economic situation improves, those problems will invariably return.

Foreign Threats

A final element of Washington’s new approach has less to do with Latin American instability itself than with what hostile powers could do with it. In June, the U.S. said fighting corruption, both domestically and internationally, was a core interest for U.S. national security. Corruption and authoritarian government go hand in hand, Washington argues, and undemocratic regimes divert resources away from economic growth. This is directly relevant to the post-pandemic economic and political landscape in Latin America.


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Disillusionment with Latin American governments’ inability to deal with the pandemic’s fallout has added fuel to preexisting questions about democratic governance. This trend poses a long-term threat to the U.S., which promotes and relies on democratic regimes worldwide. It also raises the possibility that governments in the region will look to nondemocratic powers like Russia or China for assistance if that gives them a better chance of holding on to power. By stressing the links between corruption, economic development and democracy, Washington is trying to make the case for like-minded, pro-U.S. governments in the region.

Funding plays a critical role in any economic development project, and for that the U.S. has relied on its International Development Finance Corp. Washington set up the DFC in late 2018 as part of its response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. In Latin America, DFC efforts have focused primarily on providing financing for small and midsized businesses. The DFC can also invest in large infrastructure projects, and it encourages the participation of foreign partners.

Its strength is also a potential weakness: its dependence on private-sector cooperation to execute development projects. The DFC offers longer investment horizons, U.S. government funding upfront, protection against currency inconvertibility, and insurance against expropriation and political violence, all in an effort to attract investors. Without private participation, the DFC lacks the funds to make a serious difference in Latin American economies. The potential benefit of this model, however, is that it allows U.S. companies to gradually increase their presence in Latin America, boosting economic growth in a sustainable way while reinforcing long-term economic ties with the United States.

By giving socio-economic development a more prominent role in U.S. strategy toward Latin America, the U.S. is redefining how it engages with the hemisphere. Security operations will always be needed to deal with immediate threats, but a sustainable approach requires attention to the underlying causes of instability and violence. Doing so now, before the scale of the threats is too great or the costs too high, is key to Washington’s continued ability to project power around the globe.

Iron John? Big wuss. Real men,  say the Dog Brothers, beat the crap out of each other with 30-inch clubs.

Underdog is flailing away at Dog Steve with a pair of 30-inch sticks before the watchful eye of the Crafty Dog and his canine cohorts. "Stop backing up!" Top Dog orders as Dog Steve charges forward, slashing his club at Underdog, who is backpedaling furiously in an attempt to avoid massive head trauma, broken bones or a kidney-popping thrust into his bare body.

"Swing harder!" Crafty Dog barks as the two fighters crash together -Underdog attempting to dig the end of his stick into his foe's exposed leg even as Dog Steve tries to crush Underdog's larynx in a chokehold.

Imposing rattan sticks clack together, African drums beat a primal counterpoint in the background, and the assembled crowd of 200 dog lovers woofs its approval. We're in the middle of a public park on a delightfully sunny California afternoon, watching two combatants trying to cave in each other's skulls. What could be better?

One man's cruelty to animals, after all, is another man's extreme sport. And things don't get much more extreme than Real Contact Stick-fighting, brought to you courtesy of the mangy Dog Brothers, a grassroots martial arts group whose biannual (sic) semi-public gatherings follow a Robert Bly kind of philosophy, bringing men together to rediscover their male energy through combat.

Except, as Crafty Dog puts it, "Bly was pussy-whipped. There isn't enough testosterone in his stuff." Testosterone isn't a problem when fighting Dog Brothers-style, except when you take a stick to the groin.


Sticking it out

In the bizarre m?lange of the martial arts world, stickfighting occupies a particularly esoteric niche. For decades, it was practiced largely by Filipinos, who originated and evolved the sport from their country's traditional tribal warfare techniques. As any Filipino martial artist would be proud to tell you, it was a stickfighter who offed Magellan when the explorer made the mistake of visiting their islands on his world cruise.

But impaling people on sticks is a hard tourism sell. So in recent years the Filipinos have modified their methods. The last public "death match" was held in Hawaii in 1948. Since then, attempts have been made to turn stickfighting into an internationally accepted martial art. Rules were drawn up for competition, and the sport has gained a certain amount of acceptance in the United States, particularly in California. But tournament competition requires that fighters be heavily padded to prevent injury.

And if you're a Dog Brother, that just isn't any fun.


Years of the dog

The group's pedigree goes back to New York in the late 1970s, when a young student named Eric Knauss discovered Filipino stickfighting between classes at Columbia University. At 6[feet] 4[inches] and 215 pounds, Knauss had the size and instinct for combat. His instructors (Leo Gaje and Tom Bisio) trained him in hardcore stickfighting techniques and turned him loose.

Knauss eventually moved to the West Coast, where he won numerous tournament championships and gained a reputation for insanity throughout California martial arts schools.

During what he calls his ronin, or wandering samurai phase, Knauss would visit schools at random, humbly asking if they trained with weapons and whether they'd like to do a little friendly sparring. Of course, his idea of friendly sparring was to wear no protection save a light head guard, and to go at it until one man surrendered or was rendered senseless.

"I only had a few takers," Knauss says, still slightly surprised. "But there were four or five who thought like I did in terms of getting to the core of what really works in a fight. It wasn't until I met Marc Denny and he took me to meet his teacher [the legendary Dan Inosanto] that we were really able to take root. That's how the Dog Brothers started."

But things didn't really get off the ground until 1988. Needing footage for their first instructional video, a half-dozen combatants met for three days of nonstop stickfighting in San Clemente, California's Rambless Park. Denny, a former attorney, showed up wearing cleats for traction on the grassy surface. Someone commented on what a crafty dog he was.

"I went home that night and picked up a Conan the Barbarian comic book," Denny says. "Conan was leading his band of mercenaries into battle, yelling, 'Come on, ye band of dog brothers!' It seemed like a natural name for us."

Denny, himself an Ivy League graduate and the group's guiding force, remained the Crafty Dog. Knauss, the best fighter, was dubbed the Top Dog. There were Salty Dogs, Shark Dogs, Sled Dogs ... a whole litter of stickfighting crazies who gained an underground cult following within the martial arts world, though they avoided publicity for obvious legal and practical reasons.

"Our mission has been to stay off the authorities' radar screens so we don't get shut down," Denny says.
Despite this, the Dog Brothers' videos, released through Panther Productions, the world's largest distributor of martial arts videos, have been wildly successful. The tapes blend instruction and fight footage and have risen to No. 3 on the distributor's sales charts, mainly through word of mouth.

And the word is that the Dog Brothers are some sick puppies.


Unchained melee

They have no rules in their matches except that fighters should remain friends at the end of the day. Oh, yeah, and one more: Try not to put your opponents in the hospital.

The result of these "rules" is friendly, but rabidly intense, combat.

The scraps take place in a wide circle of grass in a quiet suburban park within view of the ocean. The crowd is low-key and wildly diverse, a mix of tatted-up gangster lookalikes, a few groupies, serious martial artists, yuppies young and old, towheaded little kids and their dogs. Stickfighting the Dog Brothers way mixes grappling with technical stickwork; almost every match ends with both parties rolling around on the ground, looking to lock on a submission hold or rip off an opponent's protective mask and pound his face into Alpo.
The violence is incredible, but rarely personal. Fighters hug at the end of their matches, and when one martial artist loses his composure and begins smashing his prone opponent with excessive vigor, several Dogs jump in to separate the two.

Restraint doesn't mean nonviolent, though. At the end of the group's May gathering, the 20 participating fighters are covered with "stick hickeys" - ugly red welts caused by rattan whacking flesh. Serious injuries have occurred at past gatherings - a huge stick shot split one fighter's kneecap in half in 1996 - but for the most part, fighters control themselves well enough to prevent anyone from spending the night in the hospital.
When serious injuries occur, they're unusual and deeply regretted. Mike Florimini, the Rain Dog, is still fighting despite his guilt over kneecapping an opponent. "I was pretty upset by it," he says, "but we all agree, it's what we can be in for."

Aggression lesson

As author Tom Wolfe observed about modern art, a martial art must have a "persuasive theory," a raison d'etre. In pursuit of a reason for stickfighting's being, Denny incorporates a wide range of existential justification into what could be construed as felonious assault with a deadly weapon.

At the beginning of each gathering, he lectures the combatants on the philosophical and anthropological implications of Real Contact Stickfighting, quoting Nobel laureate Konrad Lorenz on the nature of aggression.
"Any animal that has friendship has intraspecies aggression. The two go hand-in-hand, " Denny says. "Lorenz observed that there's an instinctual need to discharge this aggression. We do it in a ritual way."

Denny propounds the importance of this need for a form of ritual energy discharge as he rails against the loss of traditional male-initiation rites in modern American society. This could easily sound pompous, but the Dogs' sense of humor keeps things light. Consider their intellectual credo: "Higher consciousness through harder contact."

"In a way, all we are is a bunch of kids meeting in the treehouse with our nicknames and secret handshakes," Denny says. "Too many people in martial arts take themselves too seriously, anyway."
Ultimate dog fighting?

But others in the martial arts world take the Dog Brothers quite seriously. Art Davie, former promoter of the Ultimate Fighting Championships, heard about the group in 1995 and was interested in including a match on one of his pay-per-view bloodfests. He went to the Dogs and watched some fights.

The baron of barbarism's reaction? "I thought these guys were stone crazy. They're beating each other with sticks!" What could be more telegenic?

"When I offered it to some cable outlets, they said, 'You want to show what?"' Davie recalls. "I wanted to put it on TV, but we have enough trouble with bare-knuckle fights. All we need is to show 30 seconds of Eric Knauss beating on a guy like he's Rodney King and they'd run me out of town on a rail."

If the UFC is seen by some as a barbaric reversion to the age of Roman gladiators, the Dog Brothers regress still further. Standing in a clearing watching two men with sticks circle each other, a nearby percussionist pounding out riffs on an African djembe drum, seems to transport you back in time: For a fleeting instant, you know what it was like 10,000 years ago,

when sticks were the only weapon and the clan gathered to watch two warriors battle for land, a woman or tribal status.

Of course, the Dog Brothers could be seen as a bunch of macho lunatics - and they certainly are - but that perception would overlook something more vital. When they talk about stickfighting being a male-initiation rite in the traditional sense, a truly transforming experience, it's not some New Age con. The courage required to stand up to a 30-inch club (or sometimes two) whizzing at your head is a special commodity in modern society, where computer workstations are a bigger physical threat than a raiding tribe.

As the whipped author and poet Robert Bly pointed out in his book Iron John, the contemporary male seems to have lost contact with that sense of an inner wildman which keeps him strong yet avoids the pitfalls of macho cruelty. Though stickfighting probably isn't the most enlightened way of establishing inner strength, it's revealing that while stickfighting abides by neither rules nor referees, there are also no winners declared and no trophies awarded. Fighters show up merely to test themselves. For example, the Underdog is actually a 50-year-old, 145-pound supplicant named John Salter.

Salter, who was once owner of a medical-management company, picked up the sticks just three years ago without ever having been in a fistfight. Now, he's a combat fanatic.

"The idea is not to hurt people, but to prepare yourself on many levels. It takes over your life, and it's a higher-quality life than I used to be living. I will lose if I don't keep doing this," he says.

It's also telling that most of the crowd at the Dog Brothers' melees seems able to connect with the group's philosophy. Like the fighters, the audience doesn't lust for blood - only for well-executed combat. In part to preserve this respectful atmosphere, the group is comfortable to stay underground.

"I think we've found our proper level," Denny says. "It would have been an experience to fight in the UFC, but the way we do it now feels right. If we fought in a competition, it would be hard to remain friends at the end of the day."

But for the voyeur, violence is often a drug. As people become inured to the bare-knuckle action of the UFC and its ilk, they'll eventually require a stronger fix. Despite the resistance his tamer event has met from cable providers, Davie insists that we'll eventually be able to tune in and see weapons duels on television. One bare-knuckle television tournament, the now-defunct World Combat Championships, wanted the Dog Brothers to compete and actually asked if they would fight without their head protection.

"I talked it over with Top Dog and Salty Dog," Denny says. "We said, 'If you can find the three of us opponents and meet our price, we'll do it. But it's going to be gory.'"

Ultimately, the WCC decided to pass, perhaps sensing that this was one idea best left to the dogs.

Writer Dog Mark Jacobs is a frequent contributor to Men's Fitness.
COPYRIGHT 1998 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
Author: Mark Jacobs
Date: Aug. 1998
From: Men's Fitness(Vol. 14, Issue 😎
Publisher: Weider Publications LLC
"The dog pound"
Jacobs, Mark
Joe Weider's Men's Fitness, 1998-08-01, Vol.14 (😎, p.78
Source Citation   
MLA 9th Edition, APA 7th Edition, Chicago 17th Edition, Harvard
Jacobs, Mark. "The dog pound." Men's Fitness, vol. 14, no. 8, Aug. 1998, pp. 78+.

https://amgreatness.com/2021/09/15/doj-bans-no-knock-entries-chokeholds-and-other-practices/

TTT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqEUF_mUmQ8

 

CU’s El Betin Gunned Down in Street by Sicarios in Morelia, Michoacan
Monte Escobedo, Zacatecas: Cartel del Golfo Burns Captured Combatants
Reynosa, Tamaulipas: The Hunting of Innocent Civilians
Knights Templar Cartel joins CJNG to Form Michoacan New Mob Cartel
La Costa, Michoacan: CJNG Leaves Decapitated Heads and Message for El Abuelo (Graphic image Attached)
Chihuahua: Business Robbery, Crime With the Most Increase in Corral Administration
EXCLUSIVE: Los Zetas Cartel Builds Big Data Surveillance System on Mexican Border City
Mexican president vows to investigate deadly border shootings of innocent bystanders
 

 

Topic # 1:   CU’s El Betin Gunned Down in Street by Sicarios in Morelia, Michoacan

Source:  http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/06/cus-el-betin-gunned-down-in-street-by.html

 



 

The Story:

 

El Betín was gunned down inside his car in the middle of the street on Sunday. El Betín is the brother of a Carteles Unidos plaza boss named El Seco in Apatzingán. El Betín also allegedly had financial ties to powerful Carteles Unidos leader Alberto Espinoza Barrón, "La Fresa" an infamous, high ranking former leader of La Familia Michoacana.

 

The Shooting

 

On the afternoon of Sunday, June 20 2021, a man known by the alias “El Betín” or “El Cocón” was driving in his purple Chevrolet Camaro on Periférico Paseo de la República street, in an area south of the city of Morelia, Michoacán. When El Betín reached the section of the street near the subdivision “Morelia 450” unknown assailants opened fire on him. No details are given about the appearance of the attackers nor if they were inside a vehicle at the time of the shooting. The vehicle and El Betín himself were riddled with bullets in the attack. The assailants then fled in an unknown direction. El Betín received serious gunshot injuries from the shooting. Witnesses to the attack called the emergency services line to report the incident. Paramedics were dispatched to the scene. El Betín was given basic first aid on site and rushed in an ambulance to a hospital however Betín succumbed to his injuries and died while he was being treated by doctors at the hospital.



 

Who is El Betín? How does he relate to Carteles Unidos?

 

Contra Muro reports that El Betín is the brother of Juan Manuel Montero Nambo, alias “El Seco”, who is alleged to be the Carteles Unidos plaza boss in charge of the town of Santiago de Acahuato, in Apatzingán municipality. El Betín has also allegedly been financially linked to Alberto Espinoza Barrón, alias “La Fresa” or 'The Strawberry'. La Fresa is a former lieutenant of the La Familia Michoacana. He is currently believed to be a major leadership figure within Carteles Unidos. Back in the 2000s-2010s, La Fresa is believed to have taken over the Morelia plaza after the death of “El Güero”. La Fresa was believed to be a financial advisor and right arm of Dionisio Loya Plancarte, alias "El Tío" and Nazario Moreno González alias "El Chayo", the leaders of La Familia Michoacana at the time.



La Fresa was arrested in December 2008 and was believed to be succeeded by Rafael Cedeño Hernández alias “El Cede” after Fresa’s arrest. El Cede was later famously arrested in 2009 while attending a baptism party for a baby born to a cartel member. With La Fresa having all these historic ties to the criminal underworld of Michoacán, Fresa is a very interesting character for El Betín to allegedly have direct financial ties to.

 

Who is his brother, El Seco?

 

Juan Manuel Montero Nambo, alias “El Seco” a native of the town of Acahuato, municipality of Apatzingán, Michoacán. He first came to the attention of the public in 2014 when an avocado farmer from Tancítaro came forward to authorities and revealed that two years prior, in November 2012, El Seco had kidnapped him and held him for ransom. The avocado farmer was only released by El Seco and his men because the farmer had promised he would sell some property he owned in order to afford the large ransom they were demanding. After his captors released him, the farmer made good on his promise, sold the property and delivered the money to appease El Seco. The farmer did not report the incident to police at the time because he was afraid of reprisals against his family.   



Juan Manuel Montero Nambo, alias “El Seco”

 

The farmer had chosen to come forward in 2014 because El Seco was believed to have fled the state and believed to be in hiding so he was unable to hurt the farmer’s family in retribution. When the Michoacán State Attorney General’s Office received this report from the avocado farmer, they began investigating the current whereabouts of El Seco.  They were able to locate him in the town of San Pedro Tlaquepaque, in the state of Jalisco. According to Vallarta Uno,  El Seco had been hiding out in Jalisco for the last 8 months because “he was hiding from another subject with whom he had problems in his state [Michoacán]”. El Seco was arrested by authorities and presented before a judge on charges related to the homicide of six people and the kidnapping of seven others.  In addition to the November 2012 avocado farmer kidnapping, El Seco is believed to be involved in the kidnapping and ransom of two women in Tancítaro, also in November 2012. One of the kidnapped women was released, presumably after payment was received while the other woman was later found dead.



El Seco after being apprehended by the PGR in 2014

 

El Seco is believed to be involved in the August 2013 kidnapping and subsequent murder of five people in Tancítaro. Only 3 remains of the five kidnapped were ever recovered. Those three remains were located in September, a month after they were kidnapped, in the Tepalcatepec river. El Seco is also suspected in the November 2014 kidnapping of 4 farmers in the city of Apatzingán. Those four farmers are still missing to this day, their whereabouts unknown.



El Seco after being apprehended by the PGR in 2014

 

Who was behind the hit on El Betín?

 

The cartel affiliation of the assailants who killed El Betín is currently unknown. There are no confirmed reports on who was behind the attack. It should be noted that Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) has previously threatened El Betín’s brother El Seco on social media. The CJNG is widely considered to be Carteles Unidos’s primary rival in the state of Michoacán. According to Letra Roja, in May 2021 the CJNG publicly named and threatened members of the Michoacán Police who they allege are working for El Seco and fellow Carteles Unidos member, El Tukan.

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Topic # 2:  Monte Escobedo, Zacatecas: Cartel del Golfo Burns Captured Combatants

Source: http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/06/monte-escobedo-zacatecas-cartel-del.html

 



 

A new video from the Mexican underworld has just surfaced online. For this broadcast hitmen from the Gulf Cartel (CDG), in alliance with the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) are disposing of their adversaries with fire in an open field. An ominous message for the enemy is being spoken. While an enforcer is pouring a flammable liquid from a one gallon container onto a tight firewood stack. Beneath the mound of wood lies an injured Grupo Flechas combatant. Before their communique concludes the horrific screams of the immolated individual can be heard in the background.

 

Video translation is as follows:

 

Sicario #1: This will be the fate of everyone who wants to help out the Sinaloa enforcers. For those of you wanting to do a favor for the Sinaloa Cartel. As it is you owe us for that loss we took in Tepetongo. Little by little we are going to turn things around in our favor. I’m telling you this ahead of time so that you don’t find yourselves in disbelief afterwards. So you all know how Commander Fantasma takes care of things.

 

Sicario #2: Pay attention gentlemen. This is how the Sinaloa gunmen are being burned away. Because you guys are assholes and pieces of shit. You still owe us for that loss we had in Tepetongo. We are the absolute mob of Mr. Fantasma. This is an operation for Mr. Fantasma you fucks. The fucking towns of Monte Escobedo and Tepetongo belong to us.

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Topic # 3:  Reynosa, Tamaulipas: The Hunting of Innocent Civilians

Source:  http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/06/reynosa-tamaulipas-hunting-of-innocent.html

 



 

The Story:

 

Last Saturday, the city of Reynosa was again a ghost town of desolate avenues and closed shops. Messages circulating on WhatsApp asking people not to leave their homes and alert their families that the nightmare had begun again. That day a caravan formed by trucks and sedan cars arrived in Reynosa from Río Bravo. Those who were part of the convoy toured four colonies in the east - Almaguer, Lampacitos, Unidad Obrera and Bienestar - shooting at the people they were encountering in their path. Construction workers, workers repairing the sewer, a young newly graduated nurse, an elderly person who walked under the burning sun (and who was shot in the throat), the owner of a grocery store and a customer who was shopping at the time he passed the hitmen's armed criminal cell. In total, 14 people whose lives were cut up on the chopping block at the whim of the murderers. The citizens of Reynosa have learned to live between shootings that are recorded almost every day, at any time. It is common for citizens to check their social networks before leaving home or work, in order to avoid war zones: roads in which persecutions are recorded, or vehicles are burned.

 

It’s not strange that civilians lose their lives by being caught in the crossfire of the groups that dispute control of that border city. But nothing like this had ever happened. The hunt for innocent people, without a criminal record or any relationship with organized crime. "Unpublished, unprecedented," said Attorney Irving Barrios. In April 2017, a former bodyguard who had become leader of the Gulf Cartel, Julián Manuel Loisa Salinas, El Comandante Toro, was killed by the Navy. Loisa was fleeing for the sixth time from an operation designed to stop him. On that occasion he couldn't escape. The truck in which he was fleeing crashed into a tree: he descended opening fire on the sailors. He was riddled on the spot. His death unleashed two days of chaos and extreme violence in Reynosa. His men burned shops, cars, buses, cargo trucks. There were 32 blockades in the city. The Gulf Cartel itself circulated audios ordering people not to leave their homes. There were versions that a group of Cyclones - one of the factions of the cartel - had been sent from Matamoros to take over the city, one of the main drug and migrant crossings: a kidnapping gold mine, "protection fee", hydrocarbon theft and extortion.

 

The command was assumed by Jesús García, El Güero Jessi. But other cartel leaders opposed: Alberto Salinas, El Betillo; Petronilo Flores, aka El Metro 100 or El Comandante Panilo; Lui Alberto Blanco, El Pelochas, as well as Juan Miguel Lizardi, nicknamed Miguelito 56. Between April and July of that year, 90 executions were recorded in Reynosa. There was talk of a hundred disappearances. Clashes between Los Metros (fraction of the CDG whose stronghold is Reynosa), Los Ciclones (armed wing created by Alfredo Cárdenas Martínez, El Contador) and Los Escorpiones (fraction created by Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén, aka Tony Tormenta, and composed of ex-police officers) intensified. The internal struggle ended in a bloodbath that plunged Reynosa into darkness. El Betillo and El Güero Jessi were killed. El Pelochas and El Metro 100, arrested. His successors continued to be engaged in a struggle that has made Reynosa one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico - and with the greatest perception of insecurity.

 

In 2019, 140 inhabitants of Charco Escondido, just 20 kilometers from Reynosa, left their homes: the hitmen had entered the community to burn several homes: seven people from the same family were killed days later. In the middle of all that fire, the Northeast Cartel was also introduced into the area, commanded by a nephew of the bloodthirsty Z-40, former leader of the Zetas: Juan Gerardo Treviño, known as El Huevo. For years, the bodies of executed people have appeared on rural roads, as happened in May 2021 when six men in tactical vests were found with gunshots in the head, or as happened in August last year, when the heads of three "bodyguards" of Commander Maestrín (a lieutenant of Miguelito 56) appeared.

 

For years, blockades have been a daily thing, as happened last March, when Mayor Maki Ortiz could not reach the celebration for the 272 years of the foundation of the city because criminals had crossed vehicles and placed caltrops on various avenues. For years, in one of the main manufacturing and cross-border trade centers, classes have been suspended, shops close, people have equipped themselves in their homes: the streets become a cemetery. And yet, nothing similar to what happened this Saturday had never happened: hitmen hunting people in the streets: murderers who go through four colonies killing at random, without anything happening: without being persecuted, arrested, judged. The massacres are repeated. Violence in Mexico is out of control and the State is increasingly incapable of guaranteeing the security of citizens.

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Topic # 4: Knights Templar Cartel joins CJNG to Form Michoacan New Mob Cartel

Source:  http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/06/knights-templar-cartel-joins-cjng-to.html

 



 

Synopsis:

 

The Knights Templar Cartel has separated from the United Cartels (CU) and joined forces with the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) and now call themselves the Cártel Gente Nueva de Michoacán (Michoacán New Mob Cartel). The possible rupture between the Knights Templar and United Cartels came after the murder of a well-known owner of a steakhouse in the town of Coalcoman, who had alleged links with the criminal organization. It is believed that the hitmen behind the attack were from Cárteles Unidos, who in addition to murdering the owner Margarito Gálvez, also set fire to the restaurant with the victim inside. A crime that caused indignation because residents claimed that the man was honest and had no criminal activity, a fact that contrasts with the version of the reason for the rupture between the Michoacán cartels. The owner of the restaurant gained notoriety in 2019, when Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) ate at the restaurant during a visit to the state of Michoacán along with two other members of his cabinet.

 

The Knights Templar Cartel

 

The Knights Templar Cartel emerged in the state of Michoacán as an ally of the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS). And publicly announced its appearance in March 2011, originally it would replace the La Familia Michoacana (LFM) but over the years both groups followed each other in their own way. The original leaders of the Knights Templar were Enrique Plancarte aka El Kike Plancarte, Servando Gómez Martínez, aka La Tuta and José Antonio González aka El Pepe, who after the alleged death of the leader of the Michoacana Family, Nazario Moreno González aka El Chayo, the Madest Male and the Craziest One, in December 2010. Following after the break with Jesús Méndez Vargas, tried to take over the social base that The Michoacana Family captured in its beginnings. But most of its founders have been killed or arrested, which turned The Knights Templar into a very small cartel with a discreet presence which led it to be part of United Cartels to confront the CJNG. Unidos is an alliance of several small criminal groups such as Los Viagras and La Familia Michoacana, as well as some self-defense groups that have allegedly received support from the Sinaloa Cartel to combat the CJNG's attempts to take control of key coastal areas used to bring drugs to Mexico, as well as production territories in the mountains.

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Topic # 5:  La Costa, Michoacan: CJNG Leaves Decapitated Heads and Message for El Abuelo

Source:  http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/06/la-costa-michoacan-cjng-leave.html

 



 

Synopsis:

 

The Cartel Jalisco New Generation released online a narco message directed at Juan Jose Farías Álvarez aka El Abuelo Farías. Their notice also included the heads of two decapitated males in a styrofoam cooler. The ascending CJNG is looking to assassinate him. El Abuelo is a controversial figure in Mexico. He’s been linked to the self-defense groups and the world of drug trafficking. In the city of Tepalcatepec he is received with praise and cheers by the townspeople. El Abuelo is a celebrity for some but for the Michoacán government El Abuelo is a criminal. Currently he’s the leader of the Tepalcatepec Cartel.

 

Narco message reads as follows:

 

This will be the fate of everyone who supports El Abuelo, El Torró, El Teto. Along with you Chopo Panzón, you’re next bitch. Jackass, jackass, jackass. Sincerely, CJNG

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Topic # 6:  Chihuahua: Business Robbery, Crime With the Most Increase in Corral Administration

Source:  http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/06/chihuahua-business-robbery-crime-with.html

 

   

 

The Story:

 

According to data from the Trust for Competitiveness and Citizen Security (Ficosec), during the administration of Governor Javier Corral Jurado the crime that increased the most was that of robbery without violence, while in the rest of crimes the variation is not very significant. “The truth is that the statistical behavior comparing the last three state administrations is very similar; There is not much to analyze, because it varies in some crimes, well, there are some that have gone down in this administration, but there are others that have gone up ”, explained Arturo Luján Olivas, director of the Ficosec Foundation. Regarding the investigation folders for business robbery without violence, the director of the association points out that in the administration from 2010 to 2016, a total of 7,805 folders were found, while the current administration, which ends in September, has registered 9,046, which corresponds to an increase of 27.6%. This is by comparing the first 55 months of each administration, to make a fair comparison, since it should be remembered that this last period of government has been shorter than the previous ones.

 

Regarding intentional homicide, it only increased 1% compared to the previous administration, since from 8,894 folders during the period of César Duarte, the figure increased to 8,990 in the Corral government. “Those 100 folders are a very small variation; but in what corresponds to victims there is a significant decrease, since in the previous administration there were 11,291 victims, while this administration has registered 10,198 deaths ”. The highest peak in this crime was registered in August 2020, with 247 folders, which compared to the most complicated month of the previous administration, which was January 2011, with 311 folders, shows a decrease of 20.5%. "Yes there is an important change, but we must also take into account that the figures are sometimes highlighted in folders and sometimes the victims must be highlighted, as a folder can have more than one victim." However, historically the month of January 2011 is not the highest, since in the Reyes Baeza administration, which was from 2004 to 2010, August 2010 had a total of 406 research folders; 39.1% more than the most violent month of the last administration.

 

“The rest of the crimes that we monitor, which is the robbery of a house with and without violence; business robbery with violence, vehicle robbery in its two forms, kidnapping and extortion, the numbers decreased; that means we can talk about an improvement.” As for the crime that decreased the most in the last 55 weeks, it is theft of a vehicle with violence, it has a decrease, in the comparison of administrations, of more than 82% in the investigation folders, while theft without violence also decreased up to 60% statewide. “Of course the decline is a good thing, although we will never be satisfied with the numbers around public safety; it would be wrong for us to affirm satisfaction with the numbers, but we are able to recognize that in hard data there is improvement in some crimes ”. Therefore, the head of the Ficosec Foundation points out that the crime trend has been downward, despite the fact that there are erratic months in terms of crime, however crime levels are still above the national average.

 

“In the last 12 months, which correspond from June 2020 to May 2021, the mobile homicide rate is 6.6 victims per 100,000 inhabitants; while the municipalities of Chihuahua bring a rate of 44 victims and Ciudad Juárez of 102 per 100 thousand inhabitants ”. Likewise, he pointed out that 45 of the 67 municipalities in the state are above the national average in terms of homicides; taking into account that there are municipalities where the rate must be for every 10,000 inhabitants, because the population is smaller. "It is not the same to speak of 20 homicides in Ciudad Juárez, to speak of 20 homicides in Cuauhtémoc, in Uruachi or any of the towns that are located in the mountainous area, which do not even reach 100,000 inhabitants."

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Topic # 7:  EXCLUSIVE: Los Zetas Cartel Builds Big Data Surveillance System on Mexican Border City

Source:  https://www.breitbart.com/border/2021/06/22/exclusive-los-zetas-cartel-builds-big-data-surveillance-system-on-mexican-border-city/

 



 

Synopsis:

 

Los Zetas Cartel checkpoints in the border city of Nuevo Laredo are linked to more than 100 forced disappearances–including the recent kidnapping of three U.S. citizens. The checkpoints exist with complete impunity and are part of a complex strategy to give the criminal organization more control by harvesting the data of those stopped at the roadblocks. Breitbart Texas consulted with U.S. law enforcement agents in Mexico who are working the case of a missing Texas family from earlier this month as they were traveling from a town in Nuevo Leon to the border city of  Nuevo Laredo. 39-year-old Gladys Cristina Perez Sanchez traveled with her 16-year-old son, Juan Carlos Gonzales, and her 9-year-old daughter, Cristina Duran, when they went missing. The current theory is the family encountered a cartel checkpoint. In 2021, authorities have documented close to 100 similar cases in and around Nuevo Laredo–prime Los Zetas turf.

 

Authorities from both sides of the border shared with Breitbart Texas exclusive information about a complex intelligence apparatus used by the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas to exert complete control of their territories. The region is under the cartel command of Juan Gerardo “El Huevo” Trevino Chavez. The cartel operation uses lookouts and informants placed in strategic turf locations. Those individuals call in suspicious vehicles or persons who then intercepted. The gunmen interrogate the disappeared about their identities, where they are traveling, and why. The gunmen also order motorists to unlock their cell phones and check their social media. The cartel operators reportedly can quickly clone a phone they deem suspicious for deeper data mining. The information is relayed to a central network of radio, phone, and database operators, similar to a 911 call center. Authorities share grave concern about how CDN-Los Zetas has created a database which mimics government ones loaded with property records, license information, and other contents.

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Topic # 8:  Mexican president vows to investigate deadly border shootings of innocent bystanders

Source:  https://www.borderreport.com/regions/mexico/mexican-president-vows-to-investigate-deadly-border-shootings-of-innocent-bystanders/

 



 

The Story:

 

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico’s president vowed to investigate the border shootings that left 19 people dead over the weekend, even as the latest homicide figures showed a rebound in killings nationwide. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said evidence indicated that 15 of the victims were innocent bystanders. The other four dead were suspected gunmen from a group that drove into the northern border city of Reynosa and opened fire indiscriminately. “Everything indicates that it was not a confrontation, but rather a commando that shot people who were not involved in any conflict,” López Obrador said. The government of Tamaulipas state, where Reynosa is located, said in a statement there was evidence the killings involved “organized crime,” which in Mexico is generally used to refer to drug cartels. Cartels in the Reynosa area have become increasingly involved in migrant trafficking or charging protection fees to migrant traffickers. Raymundo Ramos, who leads one of the state’s most active human rights groups, said he believed the killings were related to the June 6 elections that chose new mayors for Reynosa and most other Mexican cities and towns.

 

“This is clearly an act of post-electoral terror directed at the people of Reynosa, and probably a warning for the rest of the townships in Tamaulipas,” wrote Ramos. Drug gangs in Mexico rely heavily on intimidating or coopting local governments to extort money or gain protection from municipal police. Reynosa is located across the border from McAllen, Texas, and has been the scene of fighting between factions of the Gulf cartel. But those disputes usually target rival gunmen or security forces. The dead in the Saturday attack included taxi drivers, workers and a nursing student. On Monday, federal prosecutors said they were taking over the case, in which one suspect has been arrested. The Attorney General’s Office said the attack was “the result of territorial disputes between gangs from Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas and the cartels that operate in Reynosa.” Rio Bravo is located just to the east of Reynosa. Authorities are still investigating the motive, though in the past, drug cartels have sometimes used random killings of civilians to turn up the heat on rival gangs, or intimidate local authorities.

 

López Obrador pledged “a thorough investigation.” María Elena Morera, director of the civic anti-crime group Common Cause, said many people have become inured to such violence. “Mexicans have become accustomed to all these atrocities, without there being any real reaction,” Morera said. “In the face of so much violence, people prefer not to let the pain in, and turn away.” The killings Saturday in Reynosa, and the latest nationwide homicide figures, suggest that López Obrador’s “hugs not bullets” crime strategy is doing little to decrease killings. There were 2,963 homicides in May, the latest month for which figures are available, higher than May 2020 and well above the numbers that prevailed when López Obrador took office in December 2018. The government says homicides declined 2.9% in the first five months of 2021 compared to 2020, but that may be because January and February of this year were marked by Mexico’s worst coronavirus wave, when public activities were curtailed. “This is nothing,” Morera said of the drop. “It is as if you keep a patient in a coma and then say he’s doing very well.”

 

Tamaulipas Gov. Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca called the Reynosa victims “innocent citizens,” and said “Criminal organizations must receive a clear, explicit and forceful signal from the Federal Government that there will be no room for impunity, nor tolerance for their reprehensible criminal behavior.” García Cabeza de Vaca belongs to the rival National Action Party and is himself being investigated by the federal prosecutor’s office for organized crime and money laundering – accusations he says are part of plan by López Obrador’s government to attack him for being an opponent. Local businessman Misael Chavarria Garza said many businesses closed early Saturday after the attacks and people were very scared as helicopters flew overhead. On Sunday, he said “the people were quiet as if nothing had happened, but with a feeling of anger because now crime has happened to innocent people.” The attacks sparked a deployment of the military, National Guard and state police across the city.

 

The area’s criminal activity has long been dominated by the Gulf cartel and there have been fractures within that group. Experts say there has been an internal struggle within the group since 2017 to control key territories for drug and human trafficking. Apparently, one cell from a nearby town may have entered Reynosa to carry out the attacks. López Obrador has sought to avoid confrontations with drug cartels, at one point releasing a top trafficker to avoid bloodshed. He prefers to focus on addressing underlying social problems like youth unemployment. Earlier this month, López Obrador praised the drug cartels for not disrupting the June 6 mid-term voting, even though three dozen candidates were killed during the campaigns. “People who belong to organized crime behaved very well, in general, there were few acts of violence by these groups,” the president said. “I think the white-collar criminals acted worse.”

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Topic # 2:  Roberto Sandoval, Former Governor of Nayarit is Arrested in Nuevo Leon

Source:  http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/06/roberto-sandoval-former-governor-of.html

 



Photo # 1: Roberto Sandoval Castañeda's taste for Pura Raza Española (PURE) horses led him to ally himself with drug cartels

Photo # 2: Roberto Sandoval Castañeda was governor of Nayarit from 2011 to 2017

 

The Story:

 

This Sunday, in the midst of the largest elections in the history of Mexico, the arrest of the former governor of the state of Nayarit, Roberto Sandoval, was reported in Linares, Nuevo León, who is accused of operations with resources of illicit origin. Sandoval was arrested with his daughter, Lidy Alejandra, who was also charged with the same crime. The operation to arrest the former governor and his daughter was led by agents of the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR), Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), Secretariat of the Navy (Navy), National Guard (GN), and the National Center Intelligence (CNI). According to information from journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva, Sandoval and Lidy, his daughter, were arrested at 5 in the morning this Saturday. When issuing the arrest warrant against Roberto Sandoval and Lidy, a federal judge considered that there is evidence, both in the common and federal courts, of the alleged connection of the former governor with people who have been detained abroad for crimes related to organized crime. Sandoval and his children, as well as his wife, have several arrest warrants against them, the last complaint against the family was made by the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) last March, since it established through different federal agencies of that state and its relatives a network of diversion of public resources and money laundering, during the years of his government (2011-2017).

 

During his administration, violence and insecurity linked to organized crime escalated dramatically so that at the end of his term there was talk that he had ties to drug trafficking. He was wanted in 194 countries after Friday, November 13, a Nayarit control judge accused him of the crimes of illicit enrichment, embezzlement and improper exercise of functions. But it is not the first time that accusations have been made against the former governor. Since May 17, 2019, the United States accused him of ties to drug trafficking in Mexico, having received bribes from the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), and froze accounts that the former state governor had in the US. That is why on February 28, the Secretary of State of the American Union, Mike Pompeo, reported that the Treasury Department included the former governor of Nayarit, in the list of people who committed acts of corruption, which in his case It was because of the links with criminal drug trafficking groups. In addition, he pointed out that neither Sandoval Castañeda nor his family can enter that country. Days later, Roberto Sandoval gave an interview to Radio Fórmula.

 

He said he was surprised by the determination of the neighboring country and clarified that for two years he has been in contact with the authorities of that country. In addition, he said that in 2016 he received a letter informing him about the suspension of his US visa until his situation was clarified, so he had already had time without visiting the neighboring country. He insisted that he was innocent of the accusations. In addition to diverting millions of pesos of public resources, the American Union pointed out that the former governor accepted bribes from the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, its financial arm "Los Cuinis" and the Los Beltrán Leyva Cartel. In the plot with drug trafficking and abuse of power, the Nayarit prosecutor, Édgar Veytia Cambero, alias “El Diablo” and personal friend of Sandoval Castañeda, was also involved. "El Diablo" was not only involved with organized crime, but also carried out land grabbing, threats, extortion, torture, femicide, kidnapping and forced disappearances in the state.

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Topic # 3:  “Tony Duarte” Lawyer Linked to Late Governor Aristoteles Sandoval & Defended Sinaloa Cartel Members Killed in Guadalajara

Source:  http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/06/tony-duarte-lawyer-linked-to-late.html

 



José Luis Duarte Reyes, a lawyer and businessman linked to former governor Aristóteles Sandoval, was executed in a parking lot in Guadalajara, Jalisco

 

Synopsis:

 

José Luis Duarte Reyes, a lawyer and businessman linked to former governor Aristóteles Sandoval, was executed in a parking lot in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Although the state government assured that this election day has not had major incidents, Duarte Reyes was executed along with another man, while two more people were injured. resumably, the lawyer known as "Tony Duarte" was singled out for being a defender of members of the Sinaloa Cartel. According to the first reports, the businessman was attacked when he was in the vicinity of a parking lot of his property, located on Herrera and Cairo and Mayor streets of the Jalisco capital. Subjects aboard two vans fired up to 50 rounds around 9:30 am on June 5, according to police reports. The same state prosecutor, Gerardo Octavio Solís Gómez, went to the site. When Aristóteles Sandoval served as mayor of Guadalajara (2009-2012), Tony Duarte's daughter, Rocío del Carmen, worked as the Director of Parking. It should be noted that in September 2011, José Luis Duarte Contreras, Tony Duarte's son, was assassinated. The crime occurred in Puerto Vallarta. Other reports indicate that the lawyer had a criminal record for his probable responsibility in crimes of misrepresentation and fraud in the 1990s. The former Governor of Jalisco; Aristóteles Sandoval, close to Tony Duarte, was killed in a Puerto Vallarta bar in the early hours of December 18, 2020.

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Topic # 4:  Fresnillo, Zecatecas: Armed Confrontation Between Civilians and Police

Source:  http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/06/fresnillo-zacatecas-armed-confrontation.html

 



 

Synopsis:

 

This Friday afternoon elements of the Investigative Police clashed with armed civilians in the Buenavista community of Trujillo. In the confrontation two alleged criminals died and an officer was badly injured. According to the security authorities, there was also one civilian arrested and another managed to evade the officers. The events were recorded on the way to the Leobardo Reynoso community, where the agents of the state prosecutor's office were shot at by armed people. Elements of the National Guard (GN) State Preventive Police (PEP) and from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) arrived in support. While the shooting broke out, the inhabitants ran to their homes to get to safety. A helicopter from the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) also participated in the operation. Through breaches and dirt roads, an intense operation was deployed. Local residents reported that it is very recurrent in the area to see vehicles of armed civilians without any authority detaining them. In the end the forensics of the General Directorate of Expert Services took charge of what happened.

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Topic # 5:  Sanalona, Sinaloa: The Holy Death Highway for Fervent Worshipers

Source:  http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2021/06/sanalona-sinaloa-holy-death-highway-for.html

 

 

 

The Story:

 

Every day it is populated with chapels and cenotaphs that are well visited. Tell me she doesn’t look tough as fuck...! boasts a young man dressed in black who sanctifies himself again and again before the Holy Death and offers her "I will idolize you all of my life by putting your image as many times as necessary for this place, because you have helped me and my friends." He assures that in addition to the six chapels that exist in less than 14 kilometers he will install more "every time my girl supports us, we reward her. We want people not to be ashamed and follow Holy Death, so we have to place her image everywhere." The street is gradually populated by chapels that together with the dozens of cenotaphs are part of the road landscape before the fervor that is increasing, by the road that leads to Tamazula, Durango and that is part of the Golden Triangle, the chapels are becoming an obligatory place to stop, some do it out of curiosity, others out of devotion. The cenotaphs and the Holy Death compete in the exaltations that are lived daily in those places, it’s a practice of challenge, there death is combined that is the physical representation of the transition that occurs when leaving life and the cenotaph where they are finally part of the world of the dead.

 

WITH STYLE

 

Chapels and cenotaphs compete in their structure, for example there is a cenotaph that emulates the Parthenon, an icon of ancient Greece. The replica of the crown jewel of Greek architecture is lost on the wild road, a few meters from the dam. Believers indicate that they have a perception of death as inevitable, so they do not consider it incorrect to establish conversations or practices in honor of the deity who is in charge of it. "I come to ask you to move away from all those negative vibrations that try to harm my destiny and my life ... just like that," details a fervent admirer of Holy Death. Police authorities and the Catholic Church itself assure that the followers of the Holy Death are people who live outside the law, but that to date in Sinaloa there are no statistics on how many criminals venerate the Holy Death. According to police authorities, they say that when they have searched the homes and vehicles of some criminals, statues, altars and other objects have been found that pay tribute to the Holy Death.

 

Holy Death is represented as a skeleton dressed in a dark robe that covers it from head to toe and that also has other elements. One of the chapels of the Holy Death that is at the road junction Sanalona-El Coyonqui, at that moment is being renovated, now, the seven different colors are being painted in reference to all kinds of requests. The painter says that he takes care of the place at the request of its owner "I come from a rehabilitation center, the boss supplies us with the paint and we are gladly painting, we do it little by little because there are many people who come." The colors are white to achieve peace, harmony and success. Red means love. Blue is to achieve success. Yellow means the solution to problems for all those who do not find the way out of what afflicts them. The golden color, allows economic tranquility. The "guardian" of Holy Death, at this moment, assures that lately the statues are being stolen. "People are stealing from the Niña, here they recently took the scythe of one of the images we have..." he details. He assures that lately people are going more to these places "we have to remove twice a day the candles, the flowers because the truth is they don’t fit, the truth is it’s unusual how men arrive, older males, everything, they come here."

 

HOMICIDE

 

In another of the chapels, precisely where about a month ago a man was murdered, the traces of the event are still present, blood sprinkled on the feet of the Holy Death, just like in the photograph of an individual who is on one side, give an account of what happened there. "We come to leave flowers in memory of the friend who killed him here, not even Holy Death saved him, the good thing is that it was at her feet," says an 18-year-old boy who has a huge tattoo on his left arm "The girl close to my heart." He points out that "Mahami N" was a friend of his brother and that obviously he knew him very well. While snooping inside the place, he takes out beer cans, even assures that they left a joint to the Holy Death. There are also bouquets of dried flowers, it seems that from that moment, this chapel is no longer as visited as the rest of them. "Since she doesn't smoke... I take the joint," she jokes. Another visitor says that he is Catholic, that he believes in the Virgin of Guadalupe and assures that she has done miracles for him, but that the Holy Death, fulfills another type of help. "I dare not ask the little Virgen of Guadalupe to help me in my "business", I always traverse in the jaws of danger ... afterwards I come to visit her, she’s fucking cool.

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Topic # 6: Gulf Cartel Boss Behind Mass Graves Sent to Prison in Mexico

Source:  https://www.breitbart.com/border/2021/06/06/gulf-cartel-boss-behind-mass-graves-sent-to-prison-in-mexico/

 

 

 

Synopsis:

 

A former top-ranking leader with the Gulf Cartel responsible for a series of mass murders, clandestine gravesites, incinerations sites, and other gory methods of disposing of humans has been sentenced to more than 11 years in a Mexican prison. The cartel boss spent time in a U.S. prison in his early years and is known for an incident where he began crying in front of a judge. Known in the criminal underworld as El Pelochas, or Metro 28, Luis Alberto Blanco Flores climbed the ranks of the Gulf Cartel while surviving and taking part in a series of shifting alliances and betrayals. Those actions eventually led to him becoming a top regional boss before his latest arrest. This week, a sentencing tribunal handed down a term of 11 years and six months in prison following his conviction for aggravated extortion and engaging in organized criminal activity, information provided to Breitbart Texas by the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office revealed. According to authorities the crimes that led to Pelochas’ sentence took place during the summer of 2017. Breitbart Texas reported extensively on the criminal career of El Pelochas who became one of the leading Gulf Cartel figures between 2016 and 2018. During that period, he made a push to take control of the Reynosa faction and clashed with another top commander.

 

Breitbart Texas kept a record of the murders directly attributed to that power struggle with more than 500 murders taking place during that time. The murders included executions, assassinations, kidnapping victims, and casualties of the large-scale shootouts. One gruesome trend that grew during that time was the use of clandestine crematoriums and mass graves where Gulf Cartel members worked to dispose of the bodies of their victims and rivals. During the start of his criminal career, El Pelochas spent time in a U.S. prison. In August 2010, federal agents arrested him in the border city of Brownsville, Texas, and only charged him with one count of illegal re-entry. At the time of his initial hearing, the fearsome cartel leader began to sob as he was escorted into the Brownsville federal court and he saw his mother in the audience. El Pelochas was one of three cartel commanders who fled to Brownsville to hide from rivals who had been hunting them.

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Topic # 7:  GRAPHIC: Gulf Cartel Dumps Ice Chests with Body Parts in Border City in Mexico

Source:  https://www.breitbart.com/border/2021/06/06/graphic-gulf-cartel-leaves-ice-chests-with-body-parts-in-mexican-border-city/

 

 



 

Synopsis:

 

A group of gunmen believed to be with one faction of the Gulf Cartel left at least two ice chests filled with dismembered human body parts in the Mexican border city of Reynosa. Authorities recovered one of the ice-chests, while unknown gunmen absconded with the other one. The incident took place on Saturday afternoon when residents spotted two ice chests along the Monterrey-Matamoros highway near the Jarachina Norte neighborhood. The ice chests had been tied closed with a piece of rope. However, by the time authorities responded to the scene, the ice chests were gone. Authorities believe that a group of gunmen picked up the two ice chests before they arrived. Soon after, authorities responded to another location also along the same highway about a body left next to an ice chest. Authorities arrived to find a dismembered torso next to one ice chest that looked similar to one of the two that had been reported earlier in the day. While the male victim has not been identified, the current theory points to one of two rival factions of the Gulf Cartel leaving the gory crime scene as a message to their rivals. As Breitbart Texas has reported, two factions of the Gulf Cartel have been actively fighting for years over control of lucrative border areas in and around Reynosa.

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Topic # 8: "FOR EACH ONE OF US WE WILL KILL 2" FOR THIS REASON THE CJNG DECIDED TO HUNT DOWN THE POLICE

Source:  https://elblogdelnarco.com/2021/06/06/por-cada-uno-de-nosotros-les-mataremos-a-2-por-esta-razon-el-cjng-decidio-cazar-a-policia/

 



 

Synopsis:

 

It's a type of direct attack on officers rarely seen outside of the most gang-ridden nations in Central America and it represents the most direct challenge yet to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's policy of avoiding violence and rejecting any war against the cartels. The drug trafficking group has declared war on the government with the aim of eradicating the Tactical Group, because according to the criminal group, it unfairly treats its members. “They want war, they are going to have war and we have already shown them that we already have them located. We're going for all of you, ”says a professionally printed banner signed by the Jalisco cartel that appeared hanging in a building in Guanajuato in May. "For each member of our company (CJNG) that you send, two of your tacticians will be killed, wherever you are, at home, on patrols or fixed services," says the banner, referring to the cartel by its initials. Officials in Guanajuato, Mexico's most violent state, where the CJNG fights local gangs backed by the Sinaloa cartel, declined to comment on how many members of the elite group have been killed so far.

 

In the most recent case, state police publicly acknowledged that an officer was abducted from his home Thursday, killed, and his body dumped on a highway. Security analyst David Saucedo says there have been many cases. “Many other (officers) decided to defect. They took their families, abandoned their homes and are in hiding and on the run." He added that the "CJNG is hunting down the elite policemen of Guanajuato." It's hard to find the number of victims, but Poplab, a news cooperative in Guanajuato, said at least seven police officers have been killed on their days off so far this year. In January, armed men went to the home of a policewoman, killed her husband, dragged her away, tortured her and dumped her bullet-riddled body. Guanajuato has had the highest number of murdered police officers of any Mexican state since at least 2018, according to Poplab. Between 2018 and May 12, a total of 262 police officers have been killed, about 75 officers each year, more than are killed by gunfire or other assaults on average each year across the United States. The problem in Guanajuato has gotten so bad that the state government published a special decree on May 17 to provide an unspecified amount of funding for protection mechanisms for police and prison officials. "This is an open war against the security forces of the state government," Saucedo said.

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Though Gabe and I no longer work together, the piece beginning this thread has resonance for me as I research the CCSS issue.

https://blog.mandirigmafma.com/?fbclid=IwAR30VAkiCyTqvkkhBERh-tXyP8UCr7TGfeN7zb-LwrDBYFshSBz_1fmkI7Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qx769iTWSg

March 22, 2015
"The Altered Space" (c)
Crafty Dog
==============================
Woof All:

A Dog Brothers Gathering is an experience that takes us into an "altered space" where deep lessons are absorbed and consciousness is moved forward.

How long we choose to remain in this space is up to us and what an interesting choice that is-- for it is clear from the effort we invest to get to this space that this space is deeply important to us.

This is where we learn just which self it is we truly wish to defend-- whether what is learned can be articulated or not.

As we sometimes riff, "Intelligence is the amount of time it takes to forget a lesson."  To forget a lesson is for Life to teach it to you again--as many times as necessary for you to get it.  Learning takes but an instant, it is the NOT learning and the NOT remembering the learning that consumes so much of our time!

For Life to give you new lessons, you must remember the previous ones.

So instead returning to our lives outside of this space as before with the time inside this space but a fleeting memory we choose to remember that which we have learned of the higher consciousness that can come from harder contact.

"Higher consciousness through harder contact" (c) DBI
Crafty Dog
GF

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/03/01/i-5-strangler-roger-reece-kibbe-killed-in-state-prison-attack/

The forgotten story of UFC’s flirtation with stick fighting – The Athletic

‘Too extreme’: The forgotten story of the UFC’s flirtation with stick fighting
Shaheen Al-Shatti Feb 18, 2021 9

It’s often said that nothing was off-limits in the early days of MMA. And though that’s not entirely true, it’s not far off the mark either. With the UFC all too happy to poke the edges of polite society in its No Holds Barred years if it helped attract a few extra eyeballs, its metaphorical head was always on a swivel in search of the next great controversy or idea. And one of the wildest examples — one that’s been lost to history — was a proposal that floated across the promotion’s desk in 1995.


The UFC had already held a handful of successful pay-per-views by the end of 1994, the last of which — UFC 4 — featured a bout that perfectly embodied the lawless ethos of a fledgling sport. The image of Keith Hackney, a blue-collar air conditioning technician out of the Midwest, raining down a hurricane of blows upon the family jewels of Joe Son, one of the era’s many charlatans who represented his own fictional style called Jo Son Do, was peak No Holds Barred.


The popularity of those first shows coaxed a wave of martial arts oddities out of the woodwork, with many fighters representing their own obscure disciplines, and all of them seeking validation in the UFC’s tournaments. But one group’s aspirations rose higher than just competing: the Dog Brothers.


The brainchild of a trio of well-to-do friends out of Southern California, the Dog Brothers extolled a self-styled, weapon-based martial art that was essentially a loose combination of the Japanese discipline of kendo and the Philippine discipline of escrima, both of which focused on combat with wooden sticks.
All three creators went by elaborate nicknames — “Crafty Dog” Marc Denny, “The Guiding Force of the Dog Brothers”; “Top Dog” Eric Knaus, “The Fighting Force of the Dog Brothers”; and “Salty Dog” Arlan Sanford, “The Silent Force of the Dog Brothers” — as did their disciples. Matches were brutal and protective equipment was sparse. Their mission statement was a simple one — and they were all-in on their canine aesthetic.


“These guys were doing full-on stick fighting,” remembers UFC co-founder Campbell McLaren.
“They had this crest, and it was two dogs standing up fighting with sticks. Not real — like, cartoon dogs fighting with the escrima sticks. And then their motto was: ‘No suing.’”


The latter point was an important one. The UFC had burst into the public consciousness in part because of its willingness to embrace violence, but the Dog Brothers had raised the bar in that regard.


“They were white-collar guys and they would beat the fuck out of each other,” remembers UFC co-creator Art Davie. “Just beat the fuck out of each other with these sticks. They were still wearing like a (fencing) mask or a goalie’s face mask, and they were wearing some sort of gloves, but it wasn’t a big deal.


“They would wind up with fucked up knuckles or somebody would get a broken finger. And that’s how these things would end. Somebody would either signal defeat — very rarely — or they would get injured. They would get injured, and that’s what I found fascinating.”


A lawyer who continued competing in stick fighting until his late 40s, Denny insisted on his combatants “self-governing” their own matches, “without relying upon a referee.”


“No judges, no referees, no trophies,” Denny says.


“We’ve certainly had some concussions and plenty of broken bones. One guy had a split kneecap. So it’s serious, it’s rowdy.”


The outlaw tenor of the era fit the two groups to a tee. Believing to have found a kindred corporate spirit, the Dog Brothers broached conversations with the UFC in early 1995 with a proposition: Bring us on as mid-card programming between tournament bouts and we’ll not only kill the dead air on a pay-per-view, we’ll also show your audience a spectacle unlike any they’ve seen before.


And there was mutual interest, at least initially.


Davie attended two different Dog Brothers demonstrations — afternoons in Huntington Beach that were styled as “Gatherings of the Dog Pack,” which ended up being half kumite, half friendly neighborhood barbecue.


He came away genuinely intrigued by what he saw.


“There was Buck Dog, Spit Dog — everybody was a dog,” Davie says. “And it was funny because they were educated. These were not a bunch of yahoos from some corner of Los Angeles that you would’ve said, ‘Well, you know, it’s logical that they would have gotten (into this).’ … And they would just beat the frick out of each other, then they’d all barbecue chicken and hamburgers and we’d sit around and eat.


“One of the things I found once we did the first UFC is that there was a universe of people out there that was available. That was the beauty of the martial arts, is that every city had you-name-it. So there were people out there that we’d never heard of, and the universe was full of people in those days who were absolutely off the wall — and to me the Dog Brothers were just another wonderful, crazy group of guys who had gotten into these exotic martial arts and pursued them. So it was fascinating. I thought they were very legitimate, and I felt that the demonstrations I saw would have fascinated our audience.”


McLaren was equally smitten. The weaponry used at “Gatherings of the Dog Pack” wasn’t only limited to wooden sticks. From the traditional — whips, practice knives, triple staffs — to the outlandish such as hockey sticks, frying pans, and other household objects, any weapon was fair game as long as it was mutually agreed upon before a match.


The UFC had already done interstitial programming in the past, often in the form of an award presentation to a martial arts luminary, so it wasn’t a foreign proposition as far as pay-per-view resources. But McLaren also courted bombast as gleefully as Davie did, and in the Dog Brothers, he saw an untapped market that could turn into more than just a halftime show.


“The moment they start hitting each other and jumping around, the mask would come flying off. And I’m looking at this and I’m going, ‘This is the coolest stuff I’ve ever seen,’” McLaren said.


“They’re like proto-bros, right? ‘Bro, come on. We can do some stick fighting, bro. Come do it, bro. Come on.’ And then they beat the shit out of each other. And they’re like bamboo sticks, so there’s probably some concussions involved, but mostly it’s like scalp cuts, so it’s just a lot of blood. And I’m looking at this — I go, ‘this is fucking awesome.’ I mean, we need to do one of these fights in between fights and see if we could spin this off. Full-contact stick fighting.”


Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately depending on your opinion of grown men beating the living bejesus out of each other with wooden sticks, the temperature around UFC had already begun to rise by the time the Dog Brothers entered the picture. Pressure from media and politicians, both on the state and federal level, to shut down the sport was creeping through the front door of the UFC’s party in a way that felt soberingly real, and the infamous “human cockfighting” remarks of U.S. Sen. John McCain were lurking around the corner.


As early as 1994 at UFC 3, local law enforcement had already begun threatening to arrest athletes on assault charges if the promotion’s events proceeded as planned. As much as MMA thrived on controversy, it was becoming clear to all involved how dire the situation could get if they didn’t draw a line in the sand.
“We had a CFO that sometimes he’d literally pass out from stuff I would show him, so I brought him in, because he was kind of the litmus test. If he passed out, I knew it was good. And he passed out (watching the stick fighting), so I figured it was good,” McLaren says.


“But everybody just went, ‘No, you’re out of your mind. Are you kidding? We’re in trouble and it’s guys punching each other, and you want to bring in full-contact stick fighting?!’ And you’re laughing and I’m laughing as I tell this, but when I did it, it was like, ‘Oh, hell no, Campbell. No. And in fact — you should probably leave.’ It wasn’t even (a discussion). And I’m like, ‘Ah, come on! An exhibition? No suing!’ But that was that. It was enough.”


As bizarre as its brief lifespan may have been, the UFC’s flirtation with full-contact stick fighting died a swift death. In May 1995, Davie penned a wistful rejection letter to the Dog Brothers in which he wrote, “it is with great reluctance that I must tell you that stickfighting, such as your group has pioneered in the USA, is just too extreme for the UFC format at this time.”


The phrase “too extreme for the UFC” served as its own badge of honor in 1995 — “We’re proud of that one,” Denny says, laughing — but the matter was settled.


And so the sport moved on. Davie sold his share of the UFC by the end of 1995 and McLaren was pushed out of the picture soon after. MMA ultimately exploded in popularity over the ensuing decades, culminating in the UFC’s sale to WME-IMG in 2016 for a then record-breaking sum of over $4 billion. And the Dog Brothers even played their own small roles in the ecosystem.


Denny, one of the group’s founders, served as a judge for a single fight at UFC 10. His fellow stick-fighting apostle, Lester Griffin — aka “Surf Dog” — followed a similar path and judged myriad high-profile MMA events from 2006-16, counting the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, WEC and Invicta FC among his credits.
The Dog Brothers pressed on as well — their YouTube channel continues to upload content to this day, and their website still proudly displays Davie’s letter.


“If I could’ve made the decision unilaterally,” Davie says 26 years later, “especially me — the spectacle guy — I would have put them in.”


Who knows what could’ve been?


The UFC’s dalliance with stick fighting is now a lost footnote in history, but perhaps an alternate universe exists somewhere out there in the cosmos where the Dog Brothers reached out with their proposition before the deluge of outside pressure devoured the early UFC whole. Perhaps their weaponized mid-card exhibitions became a smash hit in that universe, and full-contact stick fighting turned into the spinoff McLaren always envisioned, a bastard cousin to the UFC’s original offering that spawned thousands of Dog Brothers gyms and “Gatherings of the Dog Pack” around the globe.


Probably not. But hey, anything was possible in those Wild West days.


(Photo of Art Jimmerson and Royce Gracie: Markus Boes)

https://issuu.com/budoweb/docs/budo_international_edition_in_russian_language_3?fbclid=IwAR3Z7kbBehp_gF2abHeQtpggxKuHak_1wiaOVsGBqItPT5sciTBeBicU6QU

A free beer to the first person to put the photos in the right order , , , haha

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/tacoma-police-cruiser-plows-through-crowd-hooligans-illegal-street-race?utm_campaign=&utm_content=Zerohedge%3A+The+Durden+Dispatch&utm_medium=email&utm_source=zh_newsletter

BTW Antone (Splinter Dog) is my right hand in DMBA on things pertaining to firearms.  The insight that began the gun-knife integration with our Akita/Shiba knives was his-- though I did change it, the starting insight was his.  I bring him with me when I train US Border Patrol at the Advanced Training Center in Harper's Ferry WV.

He is the 2x National Camp at Tactical Games.

Currently he sees a lot of street action in San Fran PD in the Tenderloin.

=================================================

Preparing for the Tactical Games
by DBMA Guro "Splinter Dog" Antone Haley

Some years ago I stumbled across an organization called the “Dog Brothers.” The group self identified as “a bunch of sweaty, smelly psychopaths with sticks” who followed the mantra of “higher consciousness through harder contact.” The group gathered at certain times throughout the year to fight one another. No rules, no weight classes, no referee. And they did it with weapons. As a life-long martial artist I couldn’t help but be intrigued...

Looking at it from the outside I thought what most people think when they see a Dog Brothers gathering for the first time; these guys are f@cking nuts! The more I observed the more I wondered; is that something I could do?

When you spend your entire life sharpening a sword it’s only natural to, at one point or another, ask yourself; how sharp is this sword really? I suppose that’s all it took. That curiosity alone propelled me to step out on the field and see what I could do. I had to see how sharp my sword was. And with that I too became a sweaty, smelly psychopath with a stick.

The lessons I learned during my 5 years of fighting in the Dog Brothers are simply invaluable. They support the very core of what I am. Looking back I think the transformation many experience during the gathers have much to do with the setting of the events, as well as the structure of the group. The Dog Brothers see themselves a a pack. They gather throughout the year not to compete, but to test one another in combat. The idea is to push but not to break the man in front of you, or yourself. In this way the tribe walks away from a gathering stronger than when it arrived. Each member taking with them valuable lessons learned in ritualized combat.

This idea is not a new one. For centuries warriors have come together to test their skills against one another. Ritualized combat, such as MMA and boxing, is central to the warriors ethos. It’s the method by which one can sharpen their sword with out paying the ultimate price for their efforts. Perhaps more than anything this path helped direct my actions through focused intention. I now had a reason to train hard. I had a reason to stay healthy. I had a reason to develop technique and disciple. It was now a necessity. I’d wager becoming a full Dog Brother was one of the the most difficult things I’ve ever done. It was a test physically, psychologically, and spiritually. When I walked away from it I had a much better perspective on just how sharp my sword was, and more importantly, was not.

As time passes life has a stubborn habit of following right along. Always looking for a new challenge I stumbled across an event called “The Tactical Games.” I think anyone that gives the event a serious analysis will quickly determine it is undoubtedly the most difficult shooting sports venue in the US. The Tactical Games combines incredibly difficult physical tasks with shooting under extreme duress. During a given event an elite-level competitor may be required to do 200 pound sand bag carries, 12 mile ruck runs, obstacle courses, 300 plus pound farmers carries, and engage targets out to 400 yards. In short, it’s a serious undertaking that requires a high degree of commitment and ability.

About this time I had been shooting recreationally for several years and considered myself a proficient shooter. But when I looked at The Tactical Games I couldn’t help but wonder, is that something I could do? Well.... here we go again...

I think more than anything I saw in The Tactical Games what I came to admire about the Dog Brothers; it connects to the deep tradition of the warriors ethos. Participants come from all walks of life to test themselves against one other. How sharp is this blade really? Step on the field and find out.

I think what people on the outside miss is the honesty of it. When you step out to test yourself, whatever the task may be, what you think is washed away and what you can do is acutely revealed. Excuses are often created but only serve to poison the process. The results bare the truth, however reassuring or disappointing they may be. With that, you can really only learn and move forward. Several podium finishes later and I am now the director of training for Tactical Games University. This position is one I arrived at through a process I learned some years ago in the Dog Brothers gatherings, and will undoubtedly apply to whatever it is I do next.

Being part of The Tactical Games I am often on the receiving end of a lot of questions. People want to know what gear they need? How strong do they need to be? How heavy a certain apparatus is? People want specific answers. They want makes, models, brands, and precise instruction, but it really isn’t all that simple, and in truth I am not sure how much of it really matters. In that, for anyone considering The Tactical Games as a possible mountain that they want to climb, I’ll offer the following three pieces of advice:

1. Come as you are with what you have: I won four straight matches in 2019 with some very substandard equipment. I built my own rifle using one of the least expensive barrels on the market, in my own garage, with parts purchased on ‘clearance.’ I also shot my department issued pistol which is about as far from a competition handgun as you can possibly get. My plate carrier was made by a company that produces air-soft gear, and my optic was loaned to me by a friend. It doesn’t take much to hit targets at 400 yards with a rifle. Pretty much any off-the-shelf gun will do it. The limiting factor is the shooter and what he can do under extreme duress. You can certainly blame the gun, but, in my experience, its only because your ego won’t accept the reality of the situation. The same goes for your physical condoning; if you wait until you feel “ready” you’ll never get there. Show up as you are with a positive attitude. The rest will take care of itself.

2. Be prepared to suffer: You will be competing in a match that is extremely difficult in every respect, and its going to hurt. It’s going to test you physically and mentally. By the end of the event you will discover that you are more than you thought, and that you can push harder than you had previously believed. Growth, unfortunately, only comes at great cost and you’ll be expected to pay for it.

3. Be grateful: If competing is even a possibility understand that you are very blessed. It means you’re a gun owner in a country that allows gun owners. It means you have the means to travel and to be away from your home and job for a few days. It means you have the courage to try something new. I fully understand that these things come as larger sacrifices by some than others, but the fact that its possible for you means that you’re very fortunate. If you can’t find a reason to be grateful the fault lies in you.

I’d imagine none of the above mentioned advice is what you came looking for when you started reading an article about The Tactical Games. The truth is the preponderance of technical information needed to be successful is tremendously extensive. The resources you need to step out on the field and see how sharp your sword is, however, are really pretty modest. So come as you are, prepare to suffer, and be grateful for the experience. We can work out the rest as you go.
For those looking for advice regarding movement preparation, the tasks you’ll encounter are really no secret. You are going to climb a rope, farmers carry, move sandbags, ruck with a backpack, run in full kit, pull a weighted sled, and likely lift a bar overhead and walk with it. There are always surprises that come up, but those are the core movements of most events. Everyone stresses about how much and how far. Remember my first piece of advice? Come as you are with what you have. It’s only as complicated as you decide to make it. You’ll never feel ready because you can’t be ready. Show up and be grateful for the weekend you spent sweating and making a lot of noise with a group of amazing people.

I guess the next question is where to start? I suggest you start by researching past events via pictures and video. Look at the tasks athletes are performing and expect to execute similar movements at similar intensities. Start with whatever you are the worst at and go from there. I always highly suggest professional coaching if it is an option. The Tactical Games has a training initiative called Tactical Games University which is a great place to learn. If that isn’t feasible most athletic coaches and trainers will be able to help you move safely and efficiently.

Descriptions of divisions and rules, as well as suggested physical and shooting standards, are listed at thetacticalgames.com. Keep in mind they are only suggestions. I don’t think I can do half of what is listed and I seem to do ok for myself.

Got a question? Feel free to email me! antone@thetacticalgames.com.

DBMA Guro Splinter Dog Antone Haley

==================================================
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqOTMUakUXI

Haven't watched anything from this channel yet, but it came recommended

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYwVxWpjeKFWwu8TML-Te9A?fbclid=IwAR1UCkPn97WB0-km728z5_5NhJ0KGVcK-vha4nvyKMzmjeLAxCqku0HHBxE

https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/dog-parachutes-paratec/?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&tp=i-1NGB-Et-Sk1-1E7438-1c-16U2a-1c-1E6oSS-l5YYZzG7OQ-FUFNv