A Louisiana Reader Reports On The "Refugee" Crisis On The Border—Rich, Money-Laundering, Mexicans Who Pay Cash For Million Dollar Houses
05/23/2012
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An Anonymous Louisiana Reader [Email him]

 Just this month we saw a report of corrupt Mexican state officials laundering millions of dollars in south Texas stolen from Coahuila's state treasury. And, this month in south Texas, we saw massive narco money laundering in the "Virgin Mary" movie case. 

Well, there's a new one. Former Tamps. governor, businessman targeted by feds, The Monitor, May 22, 2012. (Tamps. is headlinese for the Mexican state of Tamaulipas,  which gets mentioned a lot in the local news.)

This one is actually related to ANOTHER San Antonio narco money laundering case:  Suspect on Zetas' hit list is arrested | Man allegedly was hiding from drug cartel in S.A., By Jason Buch,  February 9, 2012.

 It can be sort of confusing, but these last two cases are perhaps the biggest yet.  In these cases, the U.S. federal government alleges that the Gulf and Zeta cartels paid millions in bribes to three former state governors in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas.    The Mexican federal government is also investigating the former governors. These former governors, according to DEA filings, sent the millions obtained from the cartels to Mexican money launderers in south Texas.

As in the Coahuila state treasurer case, the former governors are all members of the Mexican PRI party, currently leading in polls for the presidential election, scheduled for July 1.

Why all these huge money laundering cases in south Texas recently?

Among Mexican nationals in the market for high-end homes in San Antonio, "seventy to 75% of them pay cash," for their purchases.  [Patterns emerge in Mexicans' purchases, By David Hendricks, MySanAntonio.com May 11, 2012]We're talking about houses in the $400,000 to $1 million dollar range. That's a lot of cash flying around.

They're the refugees from Mexico's out-of-control narco violence.    But unlike many other refugees, these guys are loaded with money.  Law enforcement officials report that these wealthy Mexicans like to settle in San Antonio and south Texas, turning these areas into "enclaves" that are "a beacon to drug cartel money launderers."[S.A. ties to drug cash detailed, By Jason Buch and Guillermo Contreras, April 16, 2012]

 So, the narcos, in cahoots with corrupt Mexican officials, create mayhem in Mexico, driving rich Mexican refugees north.  Then, from south Texas, their money launderers blend right in, throwing the cash around.

“Louisiana Reader” visits the Rio Grande area two or three times a year. See previously A Louisiana Reader Agrees With Patrick Cleburne— Drudge Is Refusing To Post Immigration Outrages  and A Louisiana Reader Says That Immigrants Must Be Doing Better Than Americans In This Economy, Because They’re Still Sending Money Home.

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