A ROUNDUP OF STORIES on the Casino attack in Monterrey that killed
more than 50 people. Most of the victims were either workers or older
women passing the afternoon playing bingo or slot machines. The first
story from Proceso has comments from family members seeking
information at the morgue about their loved ones.
Below, an article from Exelsior reports that a representative of the
Casino Royale's owner also served a the Judge who decided in favor of
the Amparo (injunction) granted in 2008 that allowed the casino to
operate...
AP reports on army raids on other casinos in the aftermath,
confiscation of machines, etc...problem solved.
Famous Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes calls for an international police
force (Israeli, French, German) to clean up organized crime in
Mexico...
NYTimes has a roundup of the usual government spokesmen and pundits.
Where is James Bond in all of this?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381061/
molly
http://www.diario.com.mx/notas.php?f=2011/08/28&id=2b8c2e3bcc482559e33fdb99608092bd
‘¿Por qué matan a gente trabajadora e inocente?’
Columba Vértiz de la Fuente
Proceso 28-08-2011 00:19
Monterrey— “¿Por qué?, ¿por qué matan a gente trabajadora e inocente?
¡No es justo ¡No..”
Es Julia, quien reconoce el cuerpo de su hija, del mismo nombre. Tenía
24 años. En tanto, varios grupos lloran en la entrada del Servicio
Médico Forense (Semefo).
La joven Julia era soltera y trabajaba en el Casino Royale. Su mamá
prosigue consternada: “Aún no la puedo sacar. Esperaremos el resultado
de la autopsia. Creo que murió por el humo”.
Casi todo el rostro lo tiene mojado. Ya no puede hablar y su mirada se
halla perdida. Su otra hija que la acompaña aún no da crédito.
Según médicos forenses, llegaron 52 cuerpos. Corre la voz de que
muchos quedaron totalmente quemados. La mañana del viernes 26 es
nublada, pero la temperatura llega a 24 grados. Nadie está quieto. La
oficina de información es un torbellino: gente entrando y saliendo
todo el tiempo.
En el Semefo cerca de 15 personas, instaladas en la entrada de la
morgue, buscan familiares y amigos. Se molestan porque no hay quién
les informe. La mayoría pretende hallar a mujeres mayores de 60 años a
las que gustaba “distraerse en el lugar”.
Sale Luis de donde yacen los cuerpos, con los ojos rojos. Vio a su
primo Jesús, de 30 años, otro trabajador del Royale: “Está muerto,
está muerto… apenas llevaba una semana allí. No encontraba trabajo.
Buscaba, buscaba y buscaba, y nada. De repente aquí le dieron chamba.
Dejó hijos chicos. ¡No se vale, ¡no se vale..”
No habla más ni menciona su nombre completo:
“No quiero que me hagan propaganda. Sólo exijo que el gobierno ya pare
todo esto. ¿De qué se trata? Que viene al rato el presidente... ¿a
qué? Si sólo viene a hacer acto de presencia para la foto, lo
considero como burla. En lugar de que ayude a los familiares de los
asesinados y de verdad haga algo por Monterrey... Y nada. Donde sea,
te matan sin deberla ni temerla.”
Prefiere no continuar, pero golpea con su puño derecho la pared. Suena
su celular y se aleja para contestarlo.
Presidente, 'sólo es un teatrero’
María ya casi no ve por la inflamación de sus ojos: “Vine a
identificar a mi mamá; ella trabajaba en ese sitio. Ya la identifiqué.
Me dicen que no tengo servicio para el panteón, y a muchos les están
dando. Mi mam* tenía 58 años. Era muy trabajadora. No puedo creer que
esté muerta, no puedo. Le encontraron quemaduras, aún no me dicen cómo
falleció. Ya no quiero saber, ¿para qué? Qué triste, qué triste...”
Una mujer humilde de 60 años busca a una amiga de su edad que siempre
estaba en el segundo piso:
“No la encuentro. No tengo su celular. Creo que no tiene familia. No
hay listas de nada. Ojalá y aparezca. Me dicen que para entrar a la
morgue debo traer su acta de nacimiento o una credencial de elector de
ella o una foto de ella. No tengo nada de eso. Y debe acompañarme un
familiar. Ya me voy porque me siento muy mal, se me baja la presión.”
“En estos momentos me siento muy nerviosa, parece que estoy volando,
no estoy concentrada”, externa Carmen, quien busca a su mamá de 58
años que acudió con amigas al casino.
Don Gabriel, de siete décadas cumplidas, cuenta que busca a su esposa.
Se reserva su nombre: “No entiendo nada, no tengo cabeza para nada,
para qué demonios viene Calderón, sólo es un teatrero, queremos
soluciones, ya no podemos, todo está muy mal”.
Tres familias de evidente buena posición económica esperan los cuerpos
de sus muertos. No dan declaraciones. Sólo exigen que se acabe la
violencia.
“Ya no podemos más -señala uno de ellos, un muchacho de unos 20 años-,
este gobierno no hace nada”, lamenta.
Lo que queda del Royale no se aprecia bien por el humo. Se ve que la
cocina y el restaurante son lo más dañado del edificio, en el primer
piso. En la entrada se encontraba el Bingo, un juego de azar al que
concurría la mayor parte de los clientes. Atrás eran los baños.
Arriba, dicen, se hallaban las maquinitas.
Una joven jugadora sale del local en estado de shock:
“Entraron tres tipos. Uno estaba todo pelón. Me sacaron con su arma.
Ya no sé más. Mucha gente salió por la azotea. Yo sí vi que se
llevaban a algunos... no sé, no sé. Rociaron gasolina. Ya no quiero
decir más.”
Temerosa, una señora indaga el destino de su mamá, Petra Bustos
Velázquez, de 63 años: “Siempre juega aquí. Venía con mi hermana Ana,
quien sí alcanzó a salir, pero de mi mamá no sabemos nada.”
Su hermana le contó que entraron dos personas con armamento y
empezaron a sacar a la gente. “Cuando mi hermana se regresó a buscar a
mi mamá, uno con su arma le dijo que se saliera”.
Una trabajadora de la cocina del Royale cuenta que una mesera, amiga
suya que salió ilesa, le narró: “Llegaron apuntándoles y los sacaron.
Que la intención no era agredir a la gente, pero aventaron las bombas
y la gente salió volando. Les valió. Me preocupa que no encontramos a
una compañera llamada Julia.”
Casino ya había sido baleado
Cuatro trabajadoras, de 30 a 45 años, del turno de la noche, recuerdan
que hace seis meses ya había sido baleado el casino.
Una de ellas alza la voz: “Ahora quiero trabajar en otro lado, ya no
en un casino, no, porque en todos ha habido balazos. Pero esto es una
tragedia. No es posible que pase esto, ya es demasiado. Bueno, dicen
que el casino es de Jorge Hank, pero no sabemos.”
La voz de otra de ellas sobresale: “Cuentan que el casino Caliente,
que sí es de Hank, es el único que se ha salvado, no le han hecho
nada.”
Otra trabajadora, del turno de la mañana, no intenta contenerse: “No
le deseo nada malo a nadie, pero me hubiera gustado que un hijo del
presidente hubiera estado aquí, un hijo del gobernador o un hijo del
procurador. Para que sintieran este dolor y se comprometieran a luchar
de verdad por el ciudadano. Lástima, los jodidos siempre son los más
jodidos, y les vale.
“Perdón por lo que digo, pero a este país ya se lo llevó la chingada.
Puras mentiras nos dicen, no somos pendejos.”
Se limpia sus ojos con su suéter: “Estoy cansada de todo esto,
disculpen”.
The Representative of the Casino Royale was the Judge who decided in
favor of the Amparo (injunction) that allowed the casino to
operate...
http://www.diario.com.mx/notas.php?f=2011/08/27&id=025cba6f6a35f2df1061e6a9a31f1cfc
El representante del Casino Royale era el juez que litigaba los
juicios de amparo a favor
Excélsior 27-08-2011 23:02
Monterrey— Luego de que la empresa Atracciones y Emociones Vallarta,
S.A de C.V., señalara que se desligará la de la pertenencia del casino
Royale, de Monterrey, el alcalde Fernando Larrazábal, presentó ante
los medios de comunicación, documentos donde el representante del
casino, era el juez que litigaba los juicios de amparo a favor.
Con documentos en mano, el munícipe calificó de falso que la firma ya
no tuviera nexos a partir del 19 de septiembre del 2008 con el casino
Royale, ubicado en la avenida San Jerónimo como lo publicó en un
desplegado y que notificó a la Secretaría de Gobernación.
'El día de la empresa Atracciones Vallarta hace en donde indica, que
desde el pasado 19 de septiembre del 2008, ellos notificaron
supuestamente a gobernación, que no tenían ninguna responsabilidad con
el casino Royale, lo cual es falso'.
En la presentación, el edil comentó que todos los amparos provenían
del estado vecino de Coahuila en el año 2009, donde el juez Pedro
Arturo Cardona Calderón impartía 'justicia'.
'Dentro de los actos de varios juicios que el Municipio de Monterrey
litiga ante los jueces federales, tenemos con fecha posterior al 19 de
septiembre donde en el juicio 99/2008 ante el juez cuarto de Distrito
en el estado de Coahuila Atracciones Vallarta estaba promoviendo un
juicio defendiendo 10 casinos, uno en Torreón, uno en Guanajuato,
cuatro en Jalisco y cuatro en Nuevo León entre ellos el casino
Royale'.
Así mismo señaló que era muy grave que el que era juez cuarto de
distrito en Coahuila (Lic. Pedro Arturo Cardona Calderón) tres años
después en marzo del 2011 es el representante jurídico de Atracciones
Vallarta, para un municipio luchar contra un juez que en el 2008
aparecía amparando al casino y como representante legal a la misma
vez.
'Es muy difícil para un municipio ganar un juicio, con toda esta red
de corrupción, que se encuentra atrás de estos establecimientos' dijo.
Esta información que tiene en su poder el alcalde de Monterrey la
entregará a la PGR como un acto de corrupción para que continúe sus
investigaciones y sirvan en el caso del Casino Royale.
http://www.wggb.com/story/15344417/mexico-reels-from-deadly-arson-attack-on-civilians?clienttype=printable
Mexican army, feds raid casinos after arson attack
Posted: Aug 27, 2011 11:07 AM
Updated: Aug 28, 2011 7:07 AM
By KATHERINE CORCORAN and PORFIRIO IBARRA RAMIREZ
Associated Press
MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) - Hundreds of soldiers and federal agents are
raiding casinos in this northern city, authorities said Saturday, two
days after an arson attack on a gambling house killed 52 people and
stunned a country that had become numb to massacres and beheadings.
Security forces had so far confiscated about 1,500 slot machines at 11
casinos in Monterrey and its surroundings and arrested three people,
Mexico's tax agency said. It said the continuing operation was meant
to verify whether casinos had paid taxes or introduced slot machines
illegally.
Thursday's arson attack by gunmen was a macabre milestone in a
conflict that the government says has claimed more than 35,000 lives
since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug
cartels in late 2006. Others put the death toll near 40,000.
The torching of the Casino Royale has raised questions over Mexico's
regulatory controls for fast-spreading gambling houses.
Authorities have not been able to reach the owners of two companies
pointed out as titleholders of the casino. Jorge Domene, security
spokesman for Nuevo Leon state, said an order to appear before state
police has been issued for owners of the two companies, CYMSA Corp.
and Vallarta Attractions and Emotions.
Casino Royale's legal representative, Juan Gomez, told reporters that
the shareholders of the business were Jorge Alberto and Raul Rocha
Cantu. They will meet with police when authorities set the time, Gomez
said.
Their family members have been prohibited from leaving the city, he
said without offering details.
During the raids, which began Friday, about 700 soldiers, federal
police and Treasury Department agents seized slot machines and put
them in moving trucks.
Authorities did not say the raids were related to the arson. But one
of the casinos searched was also registered under Vallarta Attractions
and Emotions, according to the gaming unit of Mexico's Interior
Department. Information of the other locations was not immediately
available.
Federal police deployed 1,500 offiers and sent Black Hawk helicopters
to the state to step up security in this industrial metropolis of more
than 4 million people. The Mexican army said it was sending in 1,500
soldiers.
Mayor Fernando Larrazabal said the Casino Royale and other 12 casinos
violated municipal laws and were allowed to remain open after
obtaining federal court injunctions.
The casino had been attacked twice before, including an incident in
May when gunmen strafed it from the outside. Last month, gunmen killed
20 people at a bar in Monterrey.
Cartels often extort casinos and other businesses, threatening to
attack them or burn them to the ground if they refuse to pay. But
Gomez, the owners' representative, said the Casino Royale had not
received extortion threats.
Speaking at a news conference, he also said the casino had the
appropriate permits and met safety standards.
Authorities have not blamed a specific drug-trafficking organization
for the casino attack. But the city has been ensnared in a turf battle
between the Gulf cartel and its offshoot, the Zetas, and is on track
for record levels of killings this year.
A surveillance tape showed the Casino Royale building engulfed in
flames in little more than two minutes after eight or nine men arrived
in four cars carrying canisters into the building.
Authorities said they were still investigating whether the casino's
emergency exits were blocked. But many bodies were found in offices
and the bathrooms, indicating the victims were expecting a shootout.
'They sought places to protect themselves from firearms,' said Jorge
Camacho Rincon, the state civil protection director. 'They went
running to closed areas.'
Most died of smoke inhalation and were found clutching cellphones, a
law enforcement official who wasn't authorized to be quoted by name
told The Associated Press.
Gomez said the casino company would announce its plans for
compensating employees and relatives for the disaster. But he said it
was not the company's responsibility to compensate customers who
survived or families of the dead.
'The casino will contribute in what it can, but it is not the
company's responsibility because it did not cause this incident. The
causes were beyond our control' Gomez said.
Saturday was the second day of mourning declared by Calderon, who
labeled the attack the worst against civilians in the nation's recent
history.
'We are facing true terrorists who have gone beyond all limits,'
Calderon said.
Mexicans have endured plenty of horrific crimes during their country's
five-year offensive against cartels.
But the casino attack had a major impact because many of the victims
were from the middle class, and not cartel foot soldiers or migrants
who have become the usual targets, said Jorge Chabat, an expert in
safety and drug trafficking at the Center for Research and Teaching in
Economics.
'We're talking about an attack on a civilian population of a certain
income,' he said. 'Because who was there was from the middle class,
the upper middle class of an important city in Mexico.'
Calderon is offering a $2.4 million reward for information leading to
the capture of the casino's attackers, the same amount offered for the
arrest of top drug lords. Authorities had sketches of three of the men
based on interviews with 16 survivors of the fire.
The U.S. consulate in Monterrey issued an emergency message for
Americans following the attack and warned consular employees and their
families to avoid casinos, adult clubs and similar places 'that have
been targets for violence.'
___
Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon in Mexico City contributed
to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
BORDERLAND BEAT HAS A VERSION OF THIS IN ENGLISH:
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2011/08/another-voice-speaks-out.html
http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/index.php/cultura/39712
Fuentes pide ayuda a policía mundial contra el 'narco'
Cultura - Sábado, 27 de Agosto de 2011 (11:17 hrs)
Recibe el premio Formentor de las Letras 2011
Foto: Archivo)
El Financiero en línea
Palma de Mallorca, 27 de agosto.- El escritor Carlos Fuentes ante el
problema del 'narco' en México, aseguró que 'Se debe despenalizar la
droga y pedir ayuda a la policía israelí, francesa o alemana por sus
buenos efectivos para enfrentarse al crimen'.
Conocido por su compromiso social y político, realizó estas
declaraciones antes de recibir el premio Formentor de las Letras
2011, con motivo del 50 aniversario de la creación de ese galardón y
en reconocimiento al conjunto de su obra literaria.
Fuentes, también reconoció estar realmente impactado por uno de los
peores atentados cometidos por el 'narco', en el Casino Royale, de la
ciudad de Monterrey, al provocar la muerte de 53 personas.
El creador de La muerte de Artemio Cruz, al final, determinó que
'Mientras no se den pasos para legalizar la droga y se llegue a
acuerdos con los Estados Unidos -que es el mercado de las drogas-, y
no se tomen acciones internas efectivas de la policía, la pandilla de
la droga derrotará al Ejército de México y a la sociedad que está
inerme'. (Redacción del Financiero en línea/JOT)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/27/world/americas/27mexico.html
After Fatal Casino Attack, Mexican Officials Focus on Organized
Crime’s Link
Ronaldo Schemidt/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
A firefighter searched for victims on Friday, the day after an arson
attack on the Casino Royale in Monterrey, Mexico.
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
Published: August 26, 2011
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MEXICO CITY — An arson attack on a casino in northern Mexico on
Thursday that left 52 people dead has thrown a spotlight on the growth
of gambling houses throughout the country and their role in organized
crime.
Related
Arson Fire Kills 52 in a Casino in Mexico (August 26, 2011)
U.S. Widens Role in Mexican Fight (August 26, 2011)
Times Topic: Mexico
In what President Felipe Calderón called an act of “true terrorists,”
armed men in four vehicles — a Mini Cooper leading sport utility
vehicles and a pickup truck — calmly drove up to the Casino Royale in
Monterrey at midafternoon, dashed inside, ordered people to get out
and set it ablaze with a flammable liquid.
The flash fire engulfed the gaming hall, trapping patrons scrambling
for the few exits and hiding in bathrooms. The toll was among the
highest for a single attack since a government crackdown on organized
crime began in 2006 and infighting among gangs unleashed an explosion
of violence that has left more than 35,000 dead.
Although no motive has been determined, it bore the hallmarks of an
organized crime assault, and government officials and security
analysts said the brutality suggested the work of the Zetas, one of
the largest and most feared gangs in the area.
On Friday, Mr. Calderón and, in a statement, President Obama cast the
disaster as related to the drug war. Mr. Calderón, in a departure from
past mass killings, labeled the attack terrorism.
“It is evident we are not facing common criminals, we are facing true
terrorists who have surpassed not only the limits of the law but basic
common sense and respect for life,” Mr. Calderón said, his voice
tinged with anger.
He went on to scold the Mexican Congress for not enacting security
reforms he has proposed, and the United States, which he called an
ally, but one whose drug consumption and gun sales have exacerbated
the problem in Mexico.
“We are neighbors, we are allies, we are friends, but you, too, share
responsibility,” he said.
Mr. Obama released a brief statement condemning “the barbaric and
reprehensible attack,” adding, “We share with Mexico responsibility
for meeting this challenge, and we are committed to continuing our
unprecedented cooperation in confronting these criminal
organizations.”
Mexico does not have Las Vegas-style gambling, or more accurately,
such gaming houses are technically prohibited by law.
But sports betting, bingo and electronic games are permitted, and many
entertainment businesses fashion themselves as casinos, lit garishly
outside and dimly inside, while illegal betting parlors operate in the
shadows, according to security analysts.
A lot of money flows through such casinos, making tempting targets for
organized crime groups, which extort them or launder money through
them, the analysts said.
The national magazine Proceso reported in June that both legal and
illegal gambling businesses had grown to nearly 800 this year, from
just over 100 in 2000. In Nuevo Leon State, where Monterrey is, the
number of businesses climbed to 57 this year from 5 a decade ago.
Raúl Benitez-Manaut, a researcher at the National Autonomous
University in Mexico City who studies criminal groups, said such
gambling halls were typically small, sometimes informal places but had
become a magnet for extortionists and money launderers.
George Grayson, a professor at the College of William & Mary in
Williamsburg, Va., who has written extensively about organized crime
in Mexico, said payments to the gangs could run up to $10,000 a week.
One theory investigators were exploring, Mr. Benitez-Manaut said, was
that the Casino Royale’s “owners were paying one group and another
group wanted a ‘tax.’ ”
Stratfor, a security consultant company based in Austin, Tex., that
studies the cartels, issued a report that said there had been a rash
of robberies and violence at casinos in Nuevo Leon in the past few
months.
Four, including the Casino Royale, were robbed on May 25 by heavily
armed gunmen. In January, gunmen opened fire in the Casino Royale
apparently in an effort to eliminate two rivals gambling there.
Its report suggested the robberies and attacks pointed to an effort by
the gangs to undermine rivals’ finances and enrich their own. The
Zetas are waging a bloody battle against the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels
for control of northeast Mexico, turning Monterrey, a once peaceful
business hub, into a battleground with spectacular crimes like mass
shootings with the bodies of victims hung from overpasses.
“The tit-for-tat operations in which Gulf and Zetas elements target
each other’s vital support networks appear to have been elevated to a
higher level with bigger stakes,” the Stratfor report said.
The casinos operate under a tangle of local and federal permits,
including those issued by the federal Interior Ministry, but local
authorities complain regulation is lax, courts have overruled their
efforts to close them and they are left with the burden of dealing
with the crime that comes with them.
One of the country’s most prominent gaming tycoons, Jorge Hank Rhon, a
former mayor of Tijuana, was arrested on weapons charges in June and
held briefly before the charges were dropped.
José Francisco Blake Mora, the interior minister, said at a news
conference on Friday that it appeared that the Casino Royale, which
was owned by Vallarta Attractions and Amusements in association with
the Cysma Corporation, had a permit, but that the government would
crack down on betting halls operating outside of the law. The ministry
said investigators had not been able to locate the owners.
“The Interior Ministry will be very attentive so that these types of
establishments that have authorization to operate strictly according
to the law, Mr. Mora said, “and for those that don’t, of course, we
will take the pertinent measures that we have to be able to close them
down.”
A version of this article appeared in print on August 27, 2011, on
page A5 of the New York edition with the headline: After Fatal Casino
Attack, Mexican Officials Focus On Organized Crime’s Link.