Los Zetas Take Over Ranches in Laredo, TX?

[Highlord Laan]

Cyprus Times

I've only heard a little bit about this. Anyone else have more information?

[Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba]

The Re-Conquista has finally begun! Flee, Southwesterners, flee for your lives!

[Sinanju]

So I looked at the article, and one of the articles it links to is talking about how this is an 'act of war' by Mexico.

I must have missed the part where Los Zetas were the Mexican army.

EDIT: Oh, oh. Even better. The article links to an actual-factual news source (the Houston Chronicle) instead of a bunch of glorified right-wing bloggers. This is what the article that the OP's source linked to has to say on the the matter:

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — Late-night gunbattles with gangs who forced citizens from their cars and used the vehicles to block streets paralyzed a border city, sound of gunfire alarmed Texans on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande.

The Nuevo Laredo city government posted messages on Facebook warning citizens to stay indoors as the battles erupted at several intersections in the city across from Laredo, Texas.

Frightened people on the U.S. side of the border called emergency dispatchers after hearing the gunfire, Laredo police spokesman Joe Baeza said Thursday. But he said there was no spillover violence.

"We were getting reports from people who live on the river's edge that they could hear gunfire and explosions from the Mexico side," Baeza said.

"We didn't have any incidents on the American side. It's hard for people to understand who don't live here," he added. "They're not Vikings, they're not going to invade us, it doesn't work that way."

Nuevo Laredo city officials said they could not immediately confirm witness reports that several gunmen were killed.

Gangs used stolen cars and buses to block several main avenues in the city across from Laredo, Texas. Several residents called local newspapers to report thefts.

"For your security, stay in your homes until the alert has passed," the city government wrote on Facebook.

When the violence subsided, the government urged citizens to come forward and reclaim their stolen vehicles.

Nuevo Laredo is among several northern cities under siege from a turf battle between the Gulf cartel and its former enforcers, the Zetas gang of hit men. Violence has surged along the northeastern border with the United States since the two gangs split earlier this year.

Gangs have frequently blocked streets in the middle of the cities to thwart soldiers coming to the aid of colleagues under fire.

In the northern state of Chihuahua, a banner appeared on a bridge threatening violence against "innocents" unless the state government fires its chief of police intelligence, Fernando Ornelas, the Diario de Juarez newspaper reported Thursday.

The banner appeared in the state capital, also called Chihuahua.

Last week, drug gangs introduced a new threat to Mexico's drug war, detonating their first successful car bomb. The attack killed a federal police officer and two others in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua's largest city.

Source: Houston Chronicle

So, yeah, complete non-story. Expect this to be all over Fox News by this afternoon anyway.

[FSTargetDrone]

This is from the site in question:

About TheCypressTimes

Hosea 14: 7-9

Those who live in his shadow will again raise grain, and they will blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you I am like a luxuriant cypress; From Me comes your fruit. Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them for the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them.

The Cypress Times: Christian. Conservative. Online. Daily News.

TheCypressTimes is a 100% interactive daily online multimedia newspaper.

The mission of The Cypress Times is to report and cover the Good News and how it relates to Community, Faith, Family, Business, Politics, News, Schools and more through compelling writing, reporting and multi-platform media.

The Cypress Times content includes: News: Local News, National News, and International News, Christian News, and International Christian News. The Cypress Times covers sports, business, real estate, cooking, and more on a daily basis.

The Cypress Times features a robust Columnists Section offering opinions on a variety of topics ranging from Politics to Faith to Current Events to every day observations. All columns are solely the opinion of the columnist and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Cypress Times, its Publisher, Editor or staff. Nor does The Cypress Times guarantee the validity or originality of content submitted by our columnists, and the responsibility of such content is solely that of the columnist/writer not The Cypress Times.

Their "source" for this is a blog, which somehow manages to sound less sensationalistic about this particular story (and I use "story" deliberately) than the breathlessly-frantic piece from The Cypress Times.

I'm going to go ahead now, clear my cache, and blacklist those sites. Then, scrub my eyes with sandpaper.

[Havok]

Yeah, I've been hearing about this.

Mexican drug gangs/cartels are not going to start taking over American cities. Maybe a building here and there to process product, but c'mon people*, the drug cartels count on America to have loose borders, unorganized response and apathy in the citizenry.
What is the one thing that we have constantly shown over the years that will get our asses in gear? That's right... attacks on our soil.

The drug cartels aren't Osama Bin Laden. They are a bunch of Saddam Husseins and they know this. We know exactly where they are, or they are easy enough to find. They don't want us mobilizing against them.

These stories of invasion are fucking silly.

*people in general, not anyone in this thread.

[FSTargetDrone]

My favorite part from the front page:

But is the story True or False? And why we’re sticking with it until the end.

Yesterday, The Cypress Times published an article from DiggersRealm.com, with permission of the author, which stated that two ranches in Laredo, Texas had been seized by armed members of the Los Zetas Mexican drug cartel.

The story quickly went viral and was picked up by, literally, thousands of websites and bloggers. However, throngs of doubters and nay-sayers among readers and internet users soon appeared to call the story “wrong,” “fake,” a “lie” and worse. You can read some of the more tame comments received on the article published by The Cypress Times HERE.

If you are asking your readers anything at all remotely approaching the above, well, what else can be said?

[PeZook]

Take note of the implicit accusation the government isn't doing anything about armed thugs taking over ranches in Texas. It's like the retards really, really want to believe Obama's administration is deliberately letting Mexicans take over the US or something.

Think how ridiculous this sounds. Some blogger knows about it, yet swarms of law enforcement and/or the military didn't descend upon those ranches yet? Come on!

[General Zod]

You'd think if ranches really were being taken over the major news outlets would be all over the story like flies on shit.

[Highlord Laan]

You'd think if ranches really were being taken over the major news outlets would be all over the story like flies on shit.

I was thinking the same thing, but since my horribly right-wing brother won't shut the hell up about it, I posted the link in hopes of getting more information with the aid of people with stronger google-fu than me. It's all about as I expected, not that that'll matter when I try to talk to the Glenn Beck loving moron.

[Mr Bean]

You'd think if ranches really were being taken over the major news outlets would be all over the story like flies on shit.

I was thinking the same thing, but since my horribly right-wing brother won't shut the hell up about it, I posted the link in hopes of getting more information with the aid of people with stronger google-fu than me. It's all about as I expected, not that that'll matter when I try to talk to the Glenn Beck loving moron.

Ask your brother how exactly the evil Obama administration managed to rein in the notorious extremist... I mean incredibly patriotic Texas state government which being Texas has large amount of national guards and a Governor with the legal right to call them out when he wishes?

Forget the administration where the hell is the Texas Air National Guard? Or just the normal Texas national guard? Hell Texas has troops deployed along the border why would they not respond being loyal Texans and all?

[FSTargetDrone]

I was thinking the same thing, but since my horribly right-wing brother won't shut the hell up about it, I posted the link in hopes of getting more information with the aid of people with stronger google-fu than me. It's all about as I expected, not that that'll matter when I try to talk to the Glenn Beck loving moron.

Amusingly, there was a large advertisement/article/puff piece about a Beck book at the top of the website's front page last night.

[HarrionGreyjoy]

Ask your brother how exactly the evil Obama administration managed to rein in the notorious extremist... I mean incredibly patriotic Texas state government which being Texas has large amount of national guards and a Governor with the legal right to call them out when he wishes?

Forget the administration where the hell is the Texas Air National Guard? Or just the normal Texas national guard? Hell Texas has troops deployed along the border why would they not respond being loyal Texans and all?

Don't forget the State Guard! An entity which, as a Texan, I find both hilarious and oddly appropriate.

For those non-Texans in the audience, the Texas State Guard is essentially fifteen thousand National Guardsmen, only with absolutely no actual responsibility to the federal government. The President has to ask nicely to make use of them, though as far as I can recall he's never been refused and there's actually a State Guard presence in Iraq. Or was.

(And to answer your obviously facetious question, just because, a lot of them are out fighting against the vile incursions of British-deployed flammable carbon-based liquid along the coast.)

[Kanastrous]

It's almost worth it for the mental image of Mexicans swarming across the border in fur jerkins and horned helmets, though.