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ZAPATA COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
FEDERAL COURT
Fishing to win
2 women sentenced on drug charges
Tourney set for Saturday
By PHILIP BALLI By JUDITH RAYO
THE ZAPATA TIMES
ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata County Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the Bass Champs Fishing tournament this weekend. Organized by Bass Champs, the event will take place at Zapata County public boat ramp in Falcon Lake. The event is set to run Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. “We encourage locals to participate and attend the event as a spectator. It is very nice and it’s always good to have a good crowd at Falcon Lake,” said Paco Mendoza, Zapata County Chamber of Commerce executive director.
See FISHING PAGE 6A
File photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times
Anglers take a moment for the National Anthem in Zapata on Friday morning as they prepare to check in for the second day of the FLW-Stern Series Fishing Tournament at Falcon Lake in 2009.
NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATIONS WEEK
911 OPERATORS RECOGNIZED By MALENA CHARUR THE ZAPATA TIMES
Photo by Victor Strife | The Zapata Times
Damaris R. Chapa, center, is joined by Mayor Raul Salinas and Webb County Sherrif’s Office Chief Federico Garza as she is presented with the 2014 911 Telecommunicator of the Year award on Thursday morning during the 911 Telecommunicators Appreciation Luncheon at the Embassy Suites.
As part of National Public Safety Telecommunications Week, the 911 Regional Administration for South Texas, which includes Zapata, recently held an appreciation event to recognize the operators who respond to emergency calls during times of crisis. Horacio De Leon Jr., City of Laredo assistant city manager, said the event provided an opportunity to recognize the work by the groups that make up the southern region. “I’m going to quote the former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger when he said, ‘The first duty of government and its highest obligation is public safety.’ “He said it because if there is no security there is no quality of life. We must recognize the honest and ethical work done by first responders.” The South Texas region is made up of 911 departments
See 911 PAGE 6A
Two women arrested near Zapata in May were sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Laredo for their involvement in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana on behalf of a drug trafficking organization based in Rio Grande City and Roma. San Juana Flores, 33, and Vanessa Barrera, 26, were arrested May 21 and charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms of marijuana. As part of their plea agreements, Flores will serve five years in prison and Barrera will serve two years. Barrera confessed to U.S. District Court Judge George P. Kazen before her sentencing that she wasn’t very involved in the operation, saying she did it mostly for the money. Barrera was to be paid $1,500 to act as a “jumper,” responsible for delivering the vehicle that was to be loaded with pot, the criminal complaint states. Flores allegedly took on more responsibilities. On May 19, U.S. Border Patrol agents noticed four vehicles driving in tandem east on Highway 16 from Zapata. One vehicle was a gray GMC/Chevrolet pickup, the second was a gray jeep Cherokee and a third was a silver Chevrolet Malibu. As agents drove up behind the rear vehicle, the Malibu, the jeep swerved off the road and its occupants fled into the brush. The jeep was loaded with 109.89 kilograms of marijuana, the complaint states. Agents pulled over the Malibu and identified the occupants as Flores and Barrera. The two were detained and taken to the Border Patrol Zapata station for processing. In a short interview with Drug Enforcement Administration special agents, Barrera initially began answering questions and then asked to speak to a lawyer, the complaint states. In an interview with Flores, she told them she was responsible for communication between the load vehicle, the jeep and the scout vehicles, identifying law enforcement threats and the various routes the drug trafficking organization would use to deliver the marijuana to Houston, according to the complaint. Flores was to be paid $2,000 for her services. She also stated that she and Barrera were hired by the same drug trafficking organization and that this was the second time the two worked together on a marijuana run to Houston. (Philip Balli may be reached at 7282528 or pballi@lmtonline.com)
US IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT
Removal of illegal immigrants could be limited Individuals who meet certain criteria could be safe from deportations under a possible policy change By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally but don’t have serious criminal records could be shielded from deportation under a policy change being weighed by senior American officials. The change, if adopted following a review ordered by President Barack Obama, could limit removals of people who have little or no criminal record but have committed repeat immigration violations such as re-entering the country il-
legally after having been deported, or failing to comply with a deportation order. The possible move, confirmed by two people with knowledge of the review, would fall short of the sweeping changes sought by activists. They want Obama to expand a two-year-old program that grants work permits to certain immigrants brought here illegally as children to include other groups, such as the parents of any children born in the U.S. John Sandweg, who until February served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, said he had promoted the policy change for immigrants without serious criminal records before his departure and said it was being weighed by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. An immigration advocate who has discussed the review with the administration also confirmed the change was under consideration. The advocate spoke on condition of anonymity because the proceedings are confidential. “Any report of specific considerations at this time would be premature,” Clark Stevens, a spokesman for the Homeland Security
Department, said Monday. Stevens said Johnson “has undergone a very rigorous and inclusive process to best inform the review,” including seeking input from people within DHS as well as lawmakers of both parties and other stakeholders. The approach outlined by Sandweg and the immigration advocate would change the existing priority categories that now include immigrants who have re-entered the country after having been deported previously, and those who are fugitives from immigration proceedings. Such people would be
taken off the priority list. The remaining priority categories focus on recent border-crossers and immigrants who pose a danger to national security or public safety or who have been convicted of crimes. Some of those categories might also be refined or changed, and others could be added. “The time had come to focus ICE’s efforts exclusively on public safety and national security,” Sandweg said in explaining why he pushed for the change. He esti-
See DEPORTATION PAGE 6A