Soldier Killed in Kinney County
And, Mexican Cartels Learning the Art of El Droñero
Hello Friends,
Sad news this morning. Many probably already know, a Texas National Guardsman was killed in Kinney County Monday afternoon (Feb. 7).
Most news organizations at this point are waiting for information from the Texas Rangers about the death, which happened in the parking lot of the swimming pool on Fort Clark Springs.
Apologies for the photograph— Rangers kept the public out of the park— perhaps a couple hundred yards distant, at the top of the hill that leads down to the historic swimming hole. While difficult to make out, troopers and rangers can be seen, milling about on the grass adjacent to the parking lot on the left. The edge of the pool is just visible on the right.
It happened shortly before 12 Noon.
In a news release, The Texas Military Department stated that the shooting was unrelated to Operation Lone Star, though the soldier was assigned to the Operation.
"We are deeply saddened by this loss," said Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris, Adjutant General for the Texas Military Department. "We are focused on supporting the Soldier's family and are providing all available resources."
Reporting in the Army Times has additional details. Apparently soldiers were taking part in some swim training at the pool. Local Security guards at Fort Clark tell us the training had been going on for a couple of days. The Army Times says soldiers were relaxing in a parked car, inspecting a personal handgun, and that apparently one in the front seat was trying to pass it to another in the back seat when it went off, shooting the soldier in the front seat from behind.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, even as a helicopter arrived to take him to the hospital. This would suggest that a major organ or artery was hit.
The Army Times reports this is the sixth death of a National Guard member assigned to Operation Lone Star. All of the deaths have been related to personal weapons and four were suicides.
Generally speaking, soldiers are unarmed when active in an area away from danger, but current laws in Texas allowing constitutional carry are being blamed by some for Soldiers carrying and accessing personal weapons while part of Operation Lone Star.
We’re told that a review of Texas Military policy is underway to address the matter.
Meanwhile— some alarming news out of Mexico, indicating that certain Cartels are taking their violent talents to new, previously unheard of levels.
An Associated Press report reprinted at Military.com indicates that gangs in Western Mexico have begun using improvised explosive devices to attack military convoys and other targets.
It seems to be centered around the town of Tepalcatepec, in western Michoacan— an area dominated by the Jalisco cartel.
Equally alarming, is the more widespread use of armed drones. These are not the multi-million dollar hellfire-missile armed remote aircraft piloted by U.S. Military— but are usually much smaller, cheaper affairs— retail drones, loaded up with homebrewed explosives and shrapnel, they can be flown by el Droñero pilots, right up to their targets and detonated in a “suicide” run, though the articles’ headline suggests they can even drop explosive payloads. Indeed, there’s video of recent attacks by the Jalisco Cartel:
The cartel’s drones may not be be as hi-tech as the US Military’s, but in their availability and disposability, they seem more than deadly enough.
Ed Calderon, a former Mexican anti-drug cop, turned corporate trainer in anti-abduction techniques and occasional guest on the Joe Rogan podcast, has been sounding the alarm about Cartel investment in drone capabilities for several years now.
According to him, the Cartels have been trying to fund the development of bigger, stronger, cheaper drones, able to carry heavier payloads of drugs across the river, or more explosives to their targets.
It all may sound far-fetched, but consider this: The creation of explosives is no more complicated than the creation of meth, bath salts, and other lab-fashioned narcotics. Any chemist-for-hire is more than likely able to figure out a home recipe for tannerite, nitro-glycerine, or some other compound that goes boom. This all presupposes that the Cartels have trouble getting ahold of military grade c-4 and semtex, though recent attacks using such materials suggest there’s no trouble at all.
Also consider: the availability of expertise-for-hire in the middle east. There is no shortage of people who’ve been making IED’s and other gadgets to target soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. How much would it cost a cartel to make the connections required to bring a few trainers over to school personnel in carrying out asymmetrical attacks on rival cartels, mexican police, and soldiers? Even if it costs a fortune, one suspects the cartels have a fortune to spare. It would seem the only thing stopping them, is the traditional cartel reluctance to get involved with international terrorists from the Middle East. But, one wonders how long that can last— as time passes and the cartels and their activities grow more wild.
The current crop of IED’s seeing most active use in Michoacan are being described as PVC pipe bombs. The designers appear to be using a round metal base, and a metal cap to concentrate the blasts, indicating just how low-tech shaped charges really are.
In politics, we’ve been keeping our eye on the Henry Cuellar campaign— not only because it represents a possibly pivotal moment in South Texas politics, but also because of our memories of covering news in Webb County many years ago.
This article in the Texas Tribune came out about a week ago— more or less summarizing much of the current state of events in the race, almost spelling out that it seems something may be fishy about the timing of the charges and FBI investigation levied against the Congressman, suggesting problematic ties between him and oil interests in the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan.
Many progressives have been breathlessly circulating the news that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is on her way to Texas to campaign on behalf of Cuellar’s opponent— immigration attorney and former Cuellar intern Jessica Cisneros who narrowly lost to Cuellar last time by 4 points.
You won’t see many suggesting it, but we personally believe it is possible that the presence of AOC may be the kiss of death for Cisneros. Many in Webb County, San Antonio, and the rest of South Texas are actually quite conservative and have been voting for Democrats almost out of habit all these years. Just witness recent trends that have seen the valley spinning rightward, most notably Starr County. An unrepentant radical like AOC may well force many of these unconscious Democrat voters in South Texas to wake up and consider how much of a disconnect there is between their beliefs and those of the left wing of the party.
Look no further than the Texas Observer of all places, for a fairly frank summary of the crossroads for voters in this race, and others in deep South Texas. One thing that jumped out at us, was a particularly vibrant quote from S. Texas Political Consultant Chuck Rocha: “You reporters, you ideologues, you people who don’t run campaigns, you think it’s about the candidate’s message; the candidate’s message don’t matter a fuck if you’re not spending money to go tell voters.”
We should point out, Rocha originally hails from Tyler, TX.
In any event, writers at Newsweek are apparently aware of these concerns— publishing a bizarre take, suggesting that Cuellar’s more moderate appeal actually drives voters towards conservatism, and Cisneros will pull them leftward. Conventional wisdom would suggest the opposite, or that it’s at least a double-edged sword, but who knows. Check the article out for yourself— we’ve read it twice, and still aren’t sure how the assertion can be made with a straight face.
Many in Cuellar’s camp have been quoted as saying they’ve been expecting Cisneros’ challenge, and are ready for her this time around. And that she won’t even come close. A lot of that came before news of the FBI investigation into the Congressman’s possibly corrupt ties to Azerbaijan.
But, as time drags on, with no apparent progress in the investigation, and no word of any actual charges against the Congressman’s staffers, let alone himself, it seems possible, perhaps even likely that many voters will rally ‘round their longtime hometown favorite.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Cuellar has been an institution in South Texas, perhaps only eclipsed by State Senator Judith Zaffirini who has held office for longer. Voters in Laredo/Webb County are frequently repulsed by the Federal Government, responding to what is sometimes perceived as harassment and unfair attention by various agencies including Homeland Security and the FBI. Cuellar’s being targeted in such a manner, right before an election may actually galvanize voters to “stick it” to the Feds.
Through it all, Cuellar seems to have deployed a “back to basics” fundamentals style of campaign— documenting himself going door to door in many of the district’s working class neighborhoods, campaigning for votes as if it’s his first time running for dog catcher.
All of this would suggest that the road to Washington in District 28 will wind up running through the Central Texas communities up north that will also have a say. Communities like San Marcos in Hays County, and parts of San Antonio. But if Laredo/Webb County is the blue bastion anchoring the district, and the remainder of it is somewhat more purple, does anyone truly expect those votes to go for an AOC anointed candidate in enough numbers to make a difference?
It’s interesting to note the Cuellar campaign’s past relationship with Democrat political strategist Colin Strother. Some years ago, Strother was a somewhat controversial figure— regarded as something of a sharp-elbowed sort, willing to do things others might not— a younger Democrat version of Roger Stone, maybe. More recently, it seems, some of those rough edges have smoothed— the elbows brought in, perhaps, representing Austin Democrat Dawnna Dukes, and Kinky Friedman in the past. But recent reporting by “The Intercept” suggests Strother may’ve broken the law, in setting up a “dark money” group in San Antonio, fueling campaign ads against Cisneros.
Again, no charges have been filed against Cuellar, or Strother, who appears to have departed the Cuellar payroll sometime late last year.
That’s all we have for now folks. Keep calm and carry on. Something tells us, this is going to be a fast moving week, all things considered. Temperatures are supposed to warm a bit by Saturday— if you have small children, it might not be a bad time for a small fire in an open grill or firepit and roasting a few hot dogs or sausages on skewers. Nothing too exciting for grown adults— but simple ingredients make lasting memories for youngsters.
We’ll see you again soon.
Thanks again, Matt, for another well written, informative article.
It's been brought to our attention that we neglected to post our usual notice re: Kinney County Employment. Unintentional! As always, any opinions or errors expressed in this newsletter are solely our own, and not an expression of Kinney County policy.