VZCZCXRO0798
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHMC #0377 0892244
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 302244Z MAR 07
FM AMCONSUL MONTERREY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1946
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 2721
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEABND/DEA
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHMC/AMCONSUL MONTERREY 7087

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONTERREY 000377 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP/ITA AND DS/IP/WHA; WHITE HOUSE FOR ONDCP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  3/30/2017 
TAGS: SN KCRM KCOR KHLS KJUS PGOV PINS MX
SUBJECT: MONTERREY SEES BLOODIEST DAY EVER WITH NINE ASSASSINATIONS 
 
REF: A. A) MONTERREY 258 
     ¶B. B) MONTERREY 290 
     ¶C. C) MONTERREY 334 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Luis Moreno, CG, Monterrey, DOS. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) During Monterrey's most violent 24 hours to date, nine 
people were killed in four separate incidents in Monterrey on 
March 28 and 29.  The first incident took place on March 28 when 
an off-duty Nuevo Leon State Police Commander was shot and 
killed near his home in Monterrey.  The second incident took 
place on March 29 when an unknown male victim was shot numerous 
times while driving in a residential area.  In both incidents, 
the assailants fired numerous rounds from another vehicle as the 
victims were driving.  It is not known if the two incidents are 
related.  The third incident on March 29 claimed the lives of 
three people in a used car lot owned by a law enforcement 
officer.  The lot owner, a Nuevo Leon State Attorney 
Investigator, was shot and killed along with his teenage son and 
another lot employee.  The three victims were shot multiple 
times by 10 heavily armed men who arrived at the business in 
three vehicles.  In the fourth incident on March 29,  four 
victims were shot and killed while standing in front of a house. 
 The identities of the victims are currently unknown.  Including 
these latest victims, there have been 42 murders victims in the 
State of Nuevo Leon, compared with 55 for all of 2006.  Of that 
42, sixteen were active duty law enforcement officials and three 
were former law enforcement officers. 
 
¶2.  (C)  COMMENT.  The spike in narco-related violence in March 
further supports Post's belief that these killings will continue 
and perhaps escalate, unabated, for the foreseeable future as 
rival drug gangs vie for control of the Monterrey "plaza".   It 
is likely that the increase in violence is a direct result of 
the fact that senior drug cartel members have moved from Nuevo 
Laredo to Monterrey.  The battle for the Nuevo Laredo plaza, 
which left hundreds dead and missing, lasted for over three 
years and the same is possible in Monterrey.  Post's contacts in 
the local law enforcement community have said that authorities, 
up to the highest levels of the state government, are paralyzed 
with fear.  Law enforcement officials are now completely 
intimidated and unwilling to conduct serious investigations into 
these murders.  This, coupled with corruption and limited 
training and resources within the law enforcement community, is 
the reason there have been no arrests made related to any police 
assassinations.   On March 28, the Consul General met with the 
State Attorney General, Luis Carlos Trevino, to reiterate the 
Consulate's continued support in light of the recent escalation 
in assassinations carried out by "sicarios" (drug cartel 
hitmen).  The Attorney General expressed his gratitude and said 
that he believes that rival drug cartels are stepping up their 
violent campaign in an effort to destabilize the state 
government.  While Nuevo Leon Governor Natividad Gonzalez Paras 
has stated publicly that he is commitment to fighting organized 
crime in the state, he seems paralyzed in demonstrating that he 
is serious about expending his political capital to remove 
corrupt officials.  Interestingly, Antonio Garza, the Nuevo Leon 
Secretary for Public Security, has remained in office despite 
 
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his failure to curb the increasing violence.  Post has long 
believed that Garza is less than trustworthy, has cooperated 
with drug traffickers in the past, and does little to fire known 
corrupt state law enforcement officials.  Post will continue to 
monitor the situation closely.  END COMMENT. 
 
MORENO