The bloodbath continues along our southern border and now word is coming in that Los Zetas, the highly trained killers formerly with the Gulf Cartel, have crossed into the United States and taken over at least two ranches in the Laredo, Texas area. I am receiving word that the owners of the ranches have evacuated without being harmed.

Founder of the San Diego Minutemen Jeff Schwilk tipped me off to this story and passes along the following information on the location. The ranches are said to be “near Mines Rd. and Minerales Annex Rd about 10 miles NW of I-35″.

Update – Statement from Mr. Schwilk)

I can personally vouch that this info came in late last night from a reliable police source inside the Laredo PD. There is currently a standoff between the unknown size Zeta forces and U.S. Border Patrol and local law enforcement on two ranches on our side of the Rio Grande. The source tells us he considers this an “act of war” and that the military is needed on the border now!

Whether it is lone members or squads is not certain.

Anonymous sources in law enforcement in the Laredo area tonight have passed on word that US law enforcement agencies are in the area and are weighing their options regarding the ranches. The media has been silent on this incident and some law enforcement in the area says that they are furious that the media is not reporting the whole story of the continued violence along the border. Their frustrations are understandable because keeping the truth suppressed continues to hamper law enforcement from receiving the true support they need along the border.

The ranch assaults come on the heels of attacks in Nuevo Laredo that shut the city down as a gun-battle raged in the streets. Los Zetas blocked off intersections with vehicles and used fragmentation grenades to attack Mexican law enforcement. In the end 12 were killed and 21 injured in the assaults. Citizens in the area were told to stay in their homes and bullets whizzed all around.

Cypress Times

The U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo had posted warnings on its website hours before the gunfire was reported by Texas citizens, “We have received credible reports of widespread violence occurring now between narcotics-trafficking organizations and the Mexican army in Nuevo Laredo.”

The U.S. Consulate went on to say, “The consulate confirmed that fragmentation grenades were used in the attacks and that suspected drug-gang members had blocked several roads, adding that it advised ‘all U.S. citizens in Nuevo Laredo to remain indoors until the security situation improves.’”

US Citizens in Laredo called 911 after hearing gunfire and explosions just across the border. Laredo police spokesman Joe Baeza deflected the concerns of citizens with what I see as utter contempt. He said there was no spillover violence onto the US side and “We were getting reports from people who live on the river’s edge that they could hear gunfire and explosions from the Mexico side,” Baeza said, “We didn’t have any incidents on the American side. It’s hard for people to understand who don’t live here … They’re not Vikings, they’re not going to invade us, it doesn’t work that way.”

This was said just a day before the reported breaking news on the ranches being taken above.

Violence has been on the rise along the border. In April 2010 a Border Patrol agent in Laredo shot and killed an lllegal alien drug smuggler near the Rio Grande

The Los Zetas are highly trained killers initially trained by United States Special Operations forces to combat the drug cartes within Mexico. As the drug war heated up the Zetas saw more money in working for the cartels and joined up with the Gulf Cartel.

In March, 2010 there was a fracture between the Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel when a Zetas leader was said to have been assassinated by the Gulf Cartel. They demanded that the killer be turned over to them. When the Gulf Cartel refused the Zetas captured 16 Gulf Cartel members.

Since March Los Zetas abandoned their stronghold in Reynosa and moved to Nuevo Laredo, just across from the border with Laredo, Texas. There are estimated to be over 1,000 Zeta members there.
Additional Sources: Houston Chronicle, Borderland Beat

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE:  This article is re-published in its entirety from DiggersRealm.com, any requests from media, or others, wishing to learn more about the content of this article should contact DiggersRealm.com HERE – Thank you, John G. Winder, Publisher – The Cypress Times

Additional Source Reporting on Laredo Siege -

AllVoices.com reports the following -

In what could be deemed an act of war against the sovereign borders of the United States, Mexican drug cartels have seized control of at least two American ranches inside the U.S. territory near Laredo, Texas.
Two sources inside the Laredo Police Department confirmed the incident is unfolding and they would continue to coordinate with U.S. Border Patrol today. “We consider this an act of war,” said one police officer on the ground near the scene. There is a news blackout of this incident at this time and the sources inside Laredo PD spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Word broke late last night that Laredo police have requested help from the federal government regarding the incursion by the Los Zetas. It appears that the ranch owners have escaped without incident but their ranches remain in the hands of the blood thirsty cartels.
Laredo Border Patrol is conducting aerial surveillance over the ranches to determine the best way to regain control of the U.S. ranches, according to the Laredo Police department.
See the entire article at AllVoices.com

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law Friday the most restrictive immigration bill in the country, setting the stage for a showdown with the Obama administration and reigniting a divisive national debate less than seven months before congressional midterm elections.

Brewer, a Republican facing a stiff primary challenge, said she had no choice but to act because Washington’s failure to address the issue had effectively left border protection to the states. “We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act,” she said, as hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside her Phoenix office. “But decades of federal inaction and misguided policy have created an unacceptable situation.”

Even before it was signed, President Obama criticized the Arizona law, which requires police to question anyone who appears to be in the country illegally. Obama called the effort “misguided” and directed the Justice Department to monitor its implementation, warning that it could violate citizens’ civil rights. Immediate legal challenges were expected from outside groups.

Obama cited the measure as a sign that Congress must act swiftly on overhauling immigration, saying failure to do so would “only open the door to irresponsibility by others.”

With the stroke of a pen, Brewer unleashed the passions of activists and politicians on both sides of the issue. Hispanics across the country, a key political bloc, promised an energetic push to elect Democrats in November. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), an advocate of immigration reform, issued a statement describing the law as “harsh.”

The response among national Republican lawmakers was more muted, reflecting a split over whether to pursue stricter immigration laws or to court the expanding pool of immigrant voters.

Under Arizona’s new law, to take effect in 90 days, it will be a state crime to be in the country illegally, and legal immigrants will be required to carry paperwork proving their status. Arizona police will generally be required to question anyone they “reasonably suspect” of being undocumented — a provision that critics argue will lead to widespread racial profiling, but that supporters insist will give authorities the flexibility to enforce existing immigration laws.

Obama’s opposition

On Friday, Obama voiced opposition to the bill for the first time at a naturalization ceremony for two dozen foreign-born members of the U.S. military. He urged the country to “choose a different future” than the one envisioned in the Arizona legislation. Although he said the Justice Department would “closely monitor” developments, Obama stopped short of demanding immediate intervention.

Joining Obama at the Rose Garden event was Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who vetoed similar bills repeatedly during two terms as Arizona’s Democratic governor. She said she did so because “they would have diverted critical law enforcement resources from the most serious threats to public safety.”

Recent events have underscored Arizona’s role as a roiling cauldron of immigration politics: Brewer has been under pressure to sign the bill from state Treasurer Dean Martin, who is considered her biggest threat in the Aug. 24 Republican primary. Sen. John McCain (R), in his own tough primary for reelection, only recently came out in support of the bill — and, on Friday, did not issue a statement. His opponent, former congressman J.D. Hayworth, praised Brewer in a statement and attacked McCain “and others serving in Washington [for having] alternated between inaction and amnesty.”

The measure goes far beyond a controversial federal program that provides grants and training to about 70 state and local police agencies to enforce immigration laws. Frederick County, Md., and several jurisdictions in Virginia, including Prince William County, have joined that 287(g) program, which is named for a section of federal law. Under another program, state and local jurisdictions in the Washington area and nationwide check fingerprints of people booked into local jails against federal immigration databases.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), having concluded that talks to advance a bipartisan immigration bill were stalled, recently told Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) that if they cannot strike a deal within three weeks, Democrats will bring their own bill forward, aides and lobbyists said.

Many lawmakers on both sides, familiar with how treacherous immigration reform proved when President George W. Bush sought it and failed, say they are uncertain about its prospects.

Some Democrats have calculated that even if an immigration bill fails, a debate on it could rally their base and mobilize Hispanic voters against GOP lawmakers in some districts. And while it could also energize Republican voters, some Democrats said the Arizona bill has also provided them with the opportunity to put Republicans on the defensive nationally.

Earlier attempts

The legislation makes Arizona the first state to criminalize illegal immigration by defining unlawful presence as trespassing, according to the National Council of State Legislatures. Between 2007 and 2009, California, Colorado and Texas considered similar proposals but killed them.

However, frustration in the states continues to drive legislatures to pass a patchwork of laws each year, some cracking down on illegal immigrants and others seeking to prevent exploitation of them by human traffickers and unscrupulous employers. The NCSL estimates that about 1,400 bills are introduced each year.

“There’s a huge concern, and states have been down this path before, where they have been taken to court and that has been very costly. . . . This will be very much a wait-and-see approach,” said Ann Morse, director of the NSCL immigration policy project.

The law could also have diplomatic and economic repercussions. The Mexican Senate voted unanimously to urge Brewer to veto the bill, saying it could lead to persecution and harassment of Hispanics, and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed great concern and said the measure could harm cross-border relations “for generations.”

At the White House and the Justice Department, lawyers on Friday began examining the Arizona law to see if questions about racial profiling might require federal intervention. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and its Civil Division, which represents the United States in civil litigation matters, are expected to conduct a joint review.

Theft, robbery, vandalism and drug smuggling have always been part of illegal immigration in Cochise County, but murder is not something the cattle ranchers along the Arizona-Mexico border expected to happen to Robert Krentz.

Arizona rancher Robert Krentz, pictured here in 2008, was killed on his own property 35 miles outside of the border town of Douglas, Ariz.

Police say Krentz, whose family has been ranching in southern Arizona since 1907, was gunned down early Saturday morning by an illegal immigrant while out on his ATV tending to fences and water lines on the family’s 34,000-acre cattle ranch.

Reached by phone early Tuesday at his family’s ranch, Andy Krentz, Krentz’s oldest son, said his father was a churchgoing man who routinely went out of his way to help those in need.

“My father was a very good family man,” Krentz told FoxNews.com. “He supported his kids, supported his family. He went out of his way to help anybody we could without regarding to who they were.  It didn’t matter who they were.”

Sue Krentz, Krentz’s wife, said she was “pretty overwhelmed” by her husband’s death, which coincided with her parents’ deteriorating health.

“This is icing on the cake,” Krentz said.

In 1999, Krentz and his wife told PBS’ Religion & Ethics Newsweekly that the Krentz ranch had been broken into and burglarized of $700 worth of items. Despite the crime, Krentz said he helped any illegal immigrant he could.

“And you know, if they come in and ask for water, I’ll still give them water,” he said. “I — you know, that’s just my nature.”

Locally, the 58-year-old Krentz was known as a good Samaritan who often brought water and helped injured illegal immigrants who tried to cross the desert in an area where summer temperatures often hit 120 degrees.

Krentz radioed his brother Phil between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning that he had encountered an illegal immigrant, and was supposed to meet Phil on the ranch at noon, according to sheriff’s deputies. When Krentz didn’t show up, the brother called police, and a search team was soon scouring the sprawling desert 15 miles north of the border, near Douglas, Ariz.

At around 11 p.m., a state police helicopter found Krentz slumped over his ATV, the engine and lights still on. Nearby, his dog lay critically wounded, also hit by a bullet. The dog was put down Sunday morning and will be cremated, its ashes spread on the property along with Krentz’s.

Tracker dogs have now followed the tracks of the killer back into Mexico, some 15 miles south.

Police have several scenarios of what might have occurred.

One, a drug cartel scout. The Chirachua mountains in southeast Arizona are 11,000 feet tall, rugged and remote. It is a popular drug corridor and the killer may have been clearing the way for a load of drugs moving north when Krentz surprised him.

Two, the suspect belonged to a band of thieves terrorizing the remote ranches spattered around the area — an idea supported by other ranchers.

“Two days earlier a 9mm and a 9mm Glock had been stolen from a home in Portal,” said rancher Roger Barnett. “There is no way to know for sure it was the murder weapon. But the bullet the killed Rob and his dog was a 9mm.”

Three, retaliation. The day before the killing, Krentz’s brother Phil stopped a caravan of illegal immigrants carrying 280 pounds of marijuana. All eight were arrested by the border patrol and the pot was impounded.

The odd part, according to local land owners, is that the killer was apparently alone. Illegal immigrants crossing the border usually hire coyotes to help them pass and travel in groups or 5, 10, 20 or more.

“I think Rob came to help this guy, and the moment he put that telephone to his ear, he was shot,” said rancher Richard Humphries, who lives in nearby Elfrida. “It’s happened to me. They don’t want you to call the border patrol.”

Krentz had both a rifle and a revolver, neither of which he used. And both were still with the ATV when his body was found.

Unless the Mexican government finds the killer, Humphrey doubts we’ll ever discover the killer’s motivation.

The bigger question now looming is how — if at all — the rancher’s death will affect the immigration debate.

While Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and other politicians will call once again for the deployment of the National Guard along the border, few here expect the troops to actually carry guns and provide a deterrent effect.

“What would it show? It would show we’re serious about controlling our border, which is not the message this administration wants to send,” Humphries lamented.

Advocates of reform will argue the killing is an aberration and that most illegal immigrants come to work, not commit crime.

And while the ranchers here dispute that, as they see illegal immigrants crossing their land everyday, most in Cochise County expect little more than lip service from Washington.

Rancher Roger Barnett was sued for $32 million for pointing his gun at a group of illegal immigrants. He says that immigration advocates in Washington may argue the border is secure, but that Krentz’s death puts paid to those claims.

“Obama and [Secretary of Homeland Security Janet] Napolitano are dead wrong about our border being secure,” said Barnett.

Members and leaders of the Upcountry Coalition of Conservative Organizations, “The Coalition,” led by consultant Roan Garcia-Quintana and member Margaret Thompson, will hold a press conference in front of the building housing the Anderson District 5 Office Board Room, 400 Pearman Dairy Road, Anderson, SC. The press conference will take place at 6:00 PM, Tuesday March 16, prior to the regular Board of Trustees meeting. Local contractors who have been out of work due to the use of illegal aliens by government entities in Anderson city and county will be present to voice their frustration over the loss of employment opportunities. The Anderson Tea Party Organization, in addition to other liberty organizations, will participate in the protest.

“At a time when Anderson County is experiencing one of the largest unemployment rates in SC, it is inconceivable that School District 5 has hired not only out-of-state contractors, but also contractors that employ illegal aliens. I know that they are illegal because they have told me so,” Roan Garcia-Quintana, executive director of the Americans Have Had Enough Coalition stated. He continued, “We urge the school district to require the necessary documentation from the contractors and subcontractors to establish compliance, as the SC Illegal Immigration Reform Act allows (§ 8-14-40 (b)).”

“The school district is facing budgetary woes due to the federal stimulus money that they received and is no longer available. Allowing illegal aliens to live and work in the district increases the operation costs to school, as these foreign nationals bring their children who don’t speak English, and for whom the school district has to provide English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instruction.” Garcia-Quintana added. The number of ESOL teachers required in SC increased over 200% between the 2005 and 2006 year according to a SC Department of Education report published a year ago.

“Illegal is Illegal” former city councilwoman Margaret Thompson said. “Here we have an education system that is trying to get by with the minimum application of the immigration law at the expense of the citizens and students of the school district. Illegal Immigration is not cheap. The Heritage Foundation has estimated the cost to our government services for each illegal alien to be $20,000. No one is factoring this into their budgetary equation. This county and its governmental entities have created a sanctuary for illegal aliens,” Ms. Thompson concluded.