(click on chart)Evidence links grenade attacks in U.S., Mexico
01:59 PM CST on Thursday, February 12, 2009
By Angela Kocherga / 11 News Border Bureau
EL PASO, Texas -- Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms tell the 11 News Border Bureau they have evidence linking grenades used in the attack on the U.S. Consulate, a Mexican television station and a bar in South Texas.
Officials examine a car related to a grenade attack on the offices of the television company Televisa in Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009.
Serial numbers recovered at the crime scene show the grenades came from the same stash.
“It is still under investigation. We don’t know exactly what the link is but yes, there is definitely association with the three attacks,” said Jim Needles, the assistant special agent in charge of the ATF’s office in Phoenix.
According to an unclassified report ATF sent to law enforcement agencies last week, the grenades are “linked to a major recovery of firearms and grenades in a Mexican warehouse with suspected ties to a drug cartel.”
We’re told that warehouse is in Monterrey, Mexico where two of the attacks happened.
ATF traced the explosives to a lot manufactured in South Korea. Investigators suspect the weapons cache belonged to the Zetas, enforcers for the Gulf Cartel.
The grenades tossed at the U.S. Consulate last October and at the Monterrey TV station in early January did not injury anyone.
In the TV station attack, masked gunmen opened fire and tossed a grenade at the station as it aired its nightly newscast, leaving behind a message warning the station about its coverage of drug gangs. The anchors asked viewers to call for help on the air.
The live grenade tossed on a pool table in San Juan, Texas on January 31 did not detonate because the attacker failed to pull a second safety pin. Investigators tell us three off-duty police officers were among the patrons inside the bar at the time.
“The violence is here. The violence is in the U.S. We hear about the violence in Mexico. It’s not just an issue for the Mexican authorities. It’s an issue for us here in the United States,” Needles said.
Officials examine a car related to a grenade attack on the offices of the television company Televisa in Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009.
Serial numbers recovered at the crime scene show the grenades came from the same stash.
“It is still under investigation. We don’t know exactly what the link is but yes, there is definitely association with the three attacks,” said Jim Needles, the assistant special agent in charge of the ATF’s office in Phoenix.
According to an unclassified report ATF sent to law enforcement agencies last week, the grenades are “linked to a major recovery of firearms and grenades in a Mexican warehouse with suspected ties to a drug cartel.”
We’re told that warehouse is in Monterrey, Mexico where two of the attacks happened.
ATF traced the explosives to a lot manufactured in South Korea. Investigators suspect the weapons cache belonged to the Zetas, enforcers for the Gulf Cartel.
The grenades tossed at the U.S. Consulate last October and at the Monterrey TV station in early January did not injury anyone.
In the TV station attack, masked gunmen opened fire and tossed a grenade at the station as it aired its nightly newscast, leaving behind a message warning the station about its coverage of drug gangs. The anchors asked viewers to call for help on the air.
The live grenade tossed on a pool table in San Juan, Texas on January 31 did not detonate because the attacker failed to pull a second safety pin. Investigators tell us three off-duty police officers were among the patrons inside the bar at the time.
“The violence is here. The violence is in the U.S. We hear about the violence in Mexico. It’s not just an issue for the Mexican authorities. It’s an issue for us here in the United States,” Needles said.
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