Weekend Update

I feel like a duck in a stream, swimming against the current. On the surface everything seems calm and placid, but underneath the duck is paddling like hell.

Finals time is approaching, which is busy enough by itself. I've also got a couple of papers pending proof reviews, with deadlines in the next day or two. That's a mixed blessing. It's great to get an acceptance notice that the paper will be published, but the nit-picking involved in pre-publication proofing drives me crazy. I'm not a detail-oriented guy. In my previous life, that's why I had a staff. I gave them direction, they took care of the nitty-gritty. But I'll take the trade-off between the corporate world (suits, ties, and button down shirts) and the academic world (I wear Hawaiian shirts to class).

However, the real killer is that we are coming up for re-accreditation. Think of it as an audit or outside review of our program. Getting accredited is like getting the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. It's a big deal in the academic world. Unfortunately, I'm stuck on the committee writing the final accreditation report. It's currently around 150 pages long. Imagine if you can a 150+ page report written by a committee of eight people. Heck, we can't even agree on when to meet, much less on the report's contents.

But enough whining. I started this post to catch up on the drug cartel activity over the Thanksgiving holiday. And there was plenty.

The mission was supposed to be a textbook “controlled delivery” — a routine trap by law enforcement officers using a secret operative posing as a truck driver to bust drug traffickers when their narcotics are delivered to a rendezvous point.

Instead, things spun out of control. Shortly before the marijuana delivery was to be made Monday, three SUVs carrying alleged Zetas Cartel gunmen seemingly came out of nowhere and cut off the tanker truck as it rumbled through northwestern Harris County...

They sprayed the cab with bullets, killing the civilian driver, who was secretly working with the government. An undercover sheriff's deputy, who was driving nearby in another vehicle, was wounded...

For some at the scene, it seemed all too similar to what has been playing out in Mexico, where drug cartels operate with near impunity as they clash with each other and with the military and police.

Four suspects, all believed to be citizens of Mexico, were arrested and charged Monday with capital murder in connection with the shooting.

Sadly, the violence is following the drugs and money north across the border. Even more sadly, local LEOs are doing their best to fight it, as are front-line federal agents. But higher-ups are sitting out this fight, bowing to the prevailing political winds. Hopefully they'll change direction soon.

Closer to home (well, not exactly home, but my home away from home):

A federal wiretap helped police break open a case against a group that allegedly carried out hits for the Zetas drug cartel, a (Laredo) homicide detective testified Tuesday.

... (the wiretaps discussed) violent acts carried out in the U.S. on behalf of the Zetas, as well as drug and weapons smuggling.

The conversations on the wiretaps led to police breaking up a kidnapping attempt ... and helped police tie (the defendent Nicolas) Sanchez to (at least one murder) ... (the wiretap) also gleaned information that ... Sanchez was working for two high-ranking members of the Zetas in Mexico.

“He reports to ‘42,' who is Omar Treviño, and to ‘40,' who is Miguel Treviño, the No. 2 in command of the Zetas”...

'42' and '40' are well known to Laredo law enforcement. They are wanted on five murder charges ... and have been connected to a pair of slayings the Zetas contracted to the Texas Syndicate prison gang in 2007 and another shooting death in 2009...

Ho hum, just another weekend down here on the border. The local LEOs and the front-line Border Patrol agents do their best, but without higher-level support the outlook is gloomy. And my friends back east wonder why I never leave my apartment without my trusty sidekick...