newsletter The Corporate Security Newsletter of Whirlpool Mexico Issue No. 37 09/2013

On September 24th the US Department of the Treasury designated five people and six companies linked to the Guadalajara-based Los Gueros Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO). The sanctions followed the arrest of two of the leaders of the organization and it is hoped will have a direct impact on the Los Gueros ability to profit from the illegal drug trade.

Guadalajara

newsletter September 2013

Relevant Incidents

On September 3rd, police arrested 9 members of the Gulf Cartel and killed another in a house in central Saltillo, Coahuila. In addition to killing and capturing the Gulf Cartel operatives, officers rescued 2 kidnapping victims at the house. In August and September 2013, unknown person(s) contacted Spanish & English speaking travelers at Saltillo hotels via the hotel room telephone. The calls were received during the late night and late afternoon hours. As an extortion attempt, the unknown callers attempted to persuade the travelers their safety was in jeopardy by stating that members of the Los Zetas cartel - in one case - were in front of the hotel. The callers were able to identify the employees’ names and hotel room numbers. The employees terminated the calls without further incident. The investigation did not identify the caller’s source of information. As a result of the calls, hotel management is to implement a procedure to verify a guest’s willingness to accept incoming calls before calls are transferred from the hotel switchboard.

Coahuila DF & Estado de Mexico

Thousands of striking teachers camped in the El Zocalo area of Mexico city staged additional protests near the Los Pinos executive residence following President Enrique Pena Nieto's state-of-the-government address on September 2nd. Riot police erected numerous security barriers around the Los Pinos residence. Protest actions devolved into clashes with security forces, which lead to at least 13 arrests. A propane tank exploded inside a home located on Calle Iztapalapa, Nezahualcoyotl, located in eastern Mexico City, on September 21st. Police said the accident resulted in at least two people dead and 10 others injured. The impact was confined to the immediate area surrounding the blast site. Authorities announced the arrests of two Mexico City police officers on September 23rd for their possible connection to a May mass kidnapping incident in the Zona Rosa district.

The officers in question are under 30-days' house arrest and face charges of aggravated kidnapping. A magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck offshore southern Mexico, about 101 km (62 miles) west-southwest of Puerto Madero, or about 304 km (188 miles) west of Guatemala City, Guatemala, on September 26th. There were no initial reports of damage or casualties. Mexico reported protest activity by the Teacher’s Union in mid-late September. Protest activity had been centralized in Mexico City and the surrounding areas causing traffic delays on local street levels. Protestors have transferred activities to the outskirts of Mexico City affecting major highways, resulting in possible cargo delays

On September 3rd, the National Public Security System reported a total of 777 intentional homicides registered in August 2013, the lowest figure since May 2009. Homicides dropped by 10.2% between July and August 2013, and 31.3% since President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in December 2012.

Other News

Mexico storms

Security is everyone’s responsibility

MEXICO

Two bands of criminals carried out simultaneous attacks against the Attorney General's Offices in Villahermosa and Cardenas, Tabasco, on September 21st. The perpetrators allegedly threw grenades and opened fire at the offices, but there were no reported injuries or fatalities in the incidents. Health officials in Mexico have reported nearly 27,800 dengue fever cases during 2013, representing a 37-percent increase compared to the same period of 2012. Disease activity has been highest in the state of Tabasco (4,250 cases), Tamaulipas (3,500 cases), Veracruz (3,150 cases), Morelos (2,000 cases), and Chiapas (1,800 cases).

Villahermosa

Mexico storms kill at least 24 and force thousands to evacuate homes. Tropical Storm Manuel swept onto Mexico’s Pacific coast while Hurricane Ingrid swirled offshore on the other side of the country, as heavy rains and landslides caused at least 24 deaths and led authorities to evacuate thousands. Stormy conditions led some communities in affected states to cancel Independence Day celebrations. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Manuel began to weaken as soon as it made landfall near the port of Manzanillo during the afternoon, but remained a threat to produce flash floods and mudslides. It was predicted to dissipate by Monday September 16th.

In the southern coastal state of Guerrero, authorities said a landslide on the outskirts of Acapulco buried a house and killed six family members. Three people were swept to their deaths by a river, also on the edge of the resort city. A collapsing wall killed one person in the city. Elsewhere in Guerrero, six people died when their pickup truck skidded on a rain-swept highway in the mountains, and landslides killed two more people. The rains caused some rivers to overflow, damaging hundreds of homes and disrupting communications for several hours. Manuel had maximum sustained winds of about 40mph (65kph) and was moving to the northwest at 9mph (15kph) late Sunday afternoon. Its centre was about 35 miles (60 kilometers) northwest of Manzanillo. Rains from Ingrid caused landslides that killed three people in the central state of Puebla, and a woman died when a landslide buried her house in Hidalgo state. In the southern state of Oaxaca, which was affected by both storms, authorities said a child died after being swept away by a swollen river and a teenager was killed by a landslide. Ingrid also was expected to dump very heavy rains. It had maximum sustained winds of 75mph (120kph) and was centered about 125 miles (200 kilometers) east-northeast of the port city of Tampico as it moved northwest at 3mph (6kph). A hurricane warning was in effect from Cabo Rojo to La Pesca. In Tamaulipas state to the north, where Ingrid was expected to come ashore, the government said in a statement that Independence Day festivities were cancelled in the cities of Tampico, Madero and Altamira. The September 15 and 16 celebrations commemorate Mexico’s battle of independence from Spain. Officials in the Gulf state of Veracruz began evacuating coastal residents on Friday night, and civil protection authorities said more than 6,600 people had been moved to shelters or the homes of family and friends. More than 1,000 homes in Veracruz state had been affected by the storm to varying degrees, and 20 highways and 12 bridges had damage, the state’s civil protection authority said. A bridge collapsed near the northern Veracruz city of Misantla on Friday, cutting off the area from the state capital, Xalapa.

Luis Fernando Flores // Corporate Security Senior Manager – Mexico // Luis_Fernando_Flores@whirlpool.com