DUKE CELEBRATES TITLE
WEDNESDAY APRIL 8, 2015
FREE
BLUE DEVILS WELCOMED HOME IN NORTH CAROLINA, 1B
DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY
TO 4,000 HOMES
A HEARST PUBLICATION
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS AT BORDER
FEDERAL COURT
Eligible for grants
Elderly man indicted for pot
Rep. Cuellar announces reimbursement opportunity THE ZAPATA TIMES
MISSION, Texas – Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-Zapata, announced Tuesday that border communities affected by the humanitarian crisis that developed last year as a result of an influx of unaccompanied minors crossing the
border into the United States will be eligible for financial reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “As my district knows all too well, communities along the border are responsible for dealing with a lot of important and expensive problems like providing humani-
Courtesy photo
Rep. Henry Cuellar, alongside McAllen Mayor Jim Darling and Ana Maria Garcia of Senator Cornyn’s office, announces his reimbursement plan in McAllen, Tuesday.
71-year-old had 523 lbs of weed By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
RAY OF HOPE AWARD
Courtesy photo | LCC
Laredo Community College President Juan L. Maldonado (front, far right) is joined by Olga Ayala, president of the LMC Auxiliary (front, far left), at a ceremony held in honor of the 2015 recipients of the LCC President’s Beacon and Ray of Hope Awards. The ceremony was held March 31 at the Fort McIntosh Campus. Ayala was joined by members of the LMC Auxiliary in receiving the Beacon Award. Joining them at the award ceremony were the high school and LCC students awarded the Ray of Hope Award, which includes a $500 scholarship to attend LCC.
Two Zapatans recognized for service, receive scholarship THE ZAPATA TIMES
T
wo Zapata High School students were recently presented with the Laredo Community College president’s Ray of Hope Award for their strength of character and service to community. The students were
Alyssa Briseño and Maria G. Rodriguez. They were among 24 area high school students to receive the award. The students and the women and men of the LMC Auxiliary were acknowledged during a special ceremony on Tuesday, March 31, at the Private David B. Barkeley
Cantu Veterans Memorial Chapel at the LCC Fort McIntosh Campus. The LMC Auxiliary is the eighth recipient of the LCC President’s Beacon Award, an honor bestowed on individuals who selflessly dedicate themselves to helping LCC and wider communities.
The volunteers of LMC Auxiliary join a long list of honorees that have been selected by LCC President Juan L. Maldonado for their dedication toward helping others. Past honorees include Jorge F. Gonzalez, J.C. Martin II and James Pearl, and Steve and Linda LaMantia.
“It is a great honor for LCC to recognize the Laredo Medical Center Auxiliary with the Beacon Award. The members of this group are very deserving of this recognition. They unselfishly devote themselves to assisting those whose family
An elderly man accused of transporting more than 500 pounds of marijuana in a phony oilfield pickup was indicted last week in a Laredo federal court. Wayne Howard Masters, 71, was formally charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. Each count carries a punishment of five to 40 years in prison, states the indictment. Masters, of Progreso, is in federal custody. A criminal complaint filed March 4 alleges the man was transporting 523 pounds of marijuana valued at $418,400. The confiscation and arrest happened March 3. At 6:45 a.m., a U.S. Border Patrol agent patrolling the area of U.S. 83 and FM 2687 spotted a pickup “outfitted to look like an oilfield truck and was displaying the company Rock Water Energy Solutions,” according to court documents. Authorities noticed several other anomalies on the vehicle, including the pickup being “unusually clean” given recent showers in the area. During an immigration inspection, agents identified the man as Masters, who stated he was on his way to the Galvan Ranch in Laredo. “The Galvan Ranch is a large ranch/property that is known by law enforcement to be used by (human and drug trafficking organizations) to circumvent the (U.S.) Border Patrol checkpoint,” states the complaint. Masters allegedly agreed to an inspection by a K-9 unit. The narcotics detection dog alerted to possible contraband within the vehicle. Agents
See AWARD PAGE 10A See POT PAGE 10A
MEXICO
15 police officers killed, five wounded in Jalisco attack By MARK STEVENSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Gunmen ambushed a police convoy in the western state of Jalisco, killing 15 state police officers and wounding five as bullets riddled their vehicles in the deadliest single attack on Mexican police in recent memory. The attack happened late Monday as the convoy traveled on a rural road between the Pacific coast resort of Puerto Vallarta and
Guadalajara, the state capital, the Jalisco state prosecutors’ office said. The death toll exceeded that of what had been the largest recent since attack on law enforcement, an assault that killed 12 federal police officers in neighboring Michoacan state in 2010. Jalisco is home to a drug cartel known as Jalisco New Generation, which experts say is now among Mexico’s most powerful. Prosecutors would not confirm the gang was involved in Monday night’s attack, but it would be unlikely for a
rival gang to launch such a large attack on Jalisco’s home turf. While state Security Commissioner Alejandro Solorio did not say how the attack was carried out, he said the convoy was ambushed in a “cowardly attack.” Local media reported that a vehicle was hijacked, parked across the two-lane road and set on fire to force the convoy to stop. “The serious thing about this attack was that it was very well
See ATTACK PAGE 10A
AP photo
Federal police stand next to a bullet riddled and burned car after a criminal gang ambushed a police convoy near the town of Soyatlan, Mexico, Monday.