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MEXICO
Violence claims pregnant woman’s life
TEXAS BUSINESS
More problems Audit: Claims not supported for job fund By PAUL J. WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — A pet program of Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry that has given a half-billion
dollars in taxpayer funds to companies including Toyota and Facebook failed to support claims about job-creation and competition from other states, according to a state audit released
Gunfights wound two other people
Thursday. The critical report, which also found that some companies never submitted applications before re-
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PERRY
PAGE 13A
NATURAL RESOURCES
THE ZAPATA TIMES
Violence which swept across Northern Mexico on Thursday claimed the life of a pregnant woman and left two other people wounded, the Tamaulipas attorney general’s office announced. A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office announced gunmen attacked federal and state law enforcement officers in downtown Reynosa, Tamaulipas, across from Hidalgo, at about 7 p.m. Officers chased the gunmen across the city, leaving several streets blocked. During one gunfight, Brenda Marlen Hernandez Razo, a pregnant women whose age was not available Friday, was wounded by gunfire. She was taken to a Social Security hospital, where she died. Two other people, who authorities have not yet identified, were wounded during gunfights. They were reportedly in stable condition. Also on Thursday, in Matamoros, a pick-up truck with loaded with gas tanks another loaded with pipe caught fire on the ReynosaMatamoros highway, at the new railroad bypass road. The fire was reported at 5:10 p.m. and was brought under control by fire fighters about 1 1/2 hours later. Authorities reported no injuries in the blaze. (Translated by Mark Webber of the Times staff.)
OIL MONEY DRAWS CRIME
Photo by Eduardo Verdugo | AP
A soldier points out the border area, shared by the states of Texas and Tamaulipas, under gang influence on a map at a military base in Ciudad Mier, Tamaulipas state, Mexico, on Sept. 5. As Mexico prepares to develop rich shale fields along the Gulf Coast the country will be challenged to tame the brutal drug cartels that rule the region.
Mexican cartels steal billions from Mexico’s oil industry By MARK STEVENSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
CIUDAD MIER, Mexico — Mexico overcame 75 years of nationalist pride to reform its flagging, state-owned oil industry. But as it prepares to develop rich shale fields along the Gulf Coast, and attract foreign investors, another challenge awaits: taming the brutal drug cartels that rule the region and are stealing
billions of dollars’ worth of oil from pipelines. Figures released by Petroleos Mexicanos last week show the gangs are becoming more prolific and sophisticated. So far this year, thieves across Mexico have drilled 2,481 illegal taps into state-owned pipelines, up more than one-third from the same period of 2013. Pemex estimates it’s lost some 7.5 million barrels worth $1.15 billion. Pemex director Emilio Lozoya called the
trend “worrisome.” More than a fifth of the illegal taps occurred in Tamaulipas, the Gulf state neighboring Texas that is a cornerstone for Mexico’s future oil plans. It has Mexico’s largest fields of recoverable shale gas, the natural gas extracted by fracturing rock layers, or fracking. Mexico, overall, is believed to have the
See OIL MONEY PAGE 13A
OPERATION STONEGARDEN
Sheriff’s office helps with Chevy Tahoe By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
EL CENIZO — El Cenizo Police Department announced Thursday it received a 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe Police Interceptor through a partnership with the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office via Operation Stonegarden. The unit is equipped with a camera system that records what the officer sees in front and in the rear, where the detainee is, said Erik Villarreal,
chief of police in El Cenizo. An integrated laptop will allow officers to write their reports inside the unit while they’re out on the field. Having the laptop saves officers’ time, Villarreal said. If an officer wants to follow up on another report, all documentation will be stored in the computer. Villarreal said the department also made upgrades to the 2014 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor obtained
Photo by Cesar G. Rodriguez | Laredo Morning Times
El Cenizo Police Department announced Thursday it received a 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe Police Interceptor through a partnership with the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office via Operation Stonegarden.
in February through Operation Stonegarden via a partnership with Zapata authorities. El Cenizo PD added a camera system, a push bumper and a laptop to the Explorer. Both vehicles will help police there deter illegal activity, such as narcotics and human smuggling. In early August, El Cenizo PD recorded its biggest drug bust in its history. An officer pulled over a 2000 GMC Sierra driven by Erasmo Jua-
rez, 35, in the 3300 block of Espejo Molina Road. Inside the vehicle, police discovered 238 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $300,000, a police report states. Juarez was charged with felony possession of marijuana. “We do feel honored by the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office. They do believe in us that we can actually get the job done,” Villarreal said. “(The mar-
See TAHOE PAGE 13A