The rapid spread of one crime group in Mexico is revealing a shifting power base for the country's illicit drug trade. Prior to 2010, most Mexican crime groups that emerged from the rural region known as Tierra Caliente worked as subsidiaries of powerful Sinaloa- and Tamaulipas-based syndicates such as the Gulf cartel and the Sinaloa Federation. However, the expansion of Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), one of Mexico's most powerful crime syndicates, reflects the gradual breakdown of organized crime in Sinaloa and Tamaulipas states since 2010, which has made way for the spread of Tierra Caliente groups into other parts of Mexico.
The CJNG originates from the organization led by a Sinaloa Federation lieutenant, Ignacio "El Nacho" Coronel Villarreal, who was killed by federal troops in July 2010. After continuous infighting and years of aggressive pursuit by the military and law enforcement, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas groups began to lose control of organized crime in Tierra Caliente, leading to the expansion other independent groups.
Now the CJNG is rapidly expanding. In Baja California state, the cartel has allied with crime groups derived from the Arellano Felix Organization (also known as the Tijuana cartel or the Cartel de Arellano Felix) to seize control of the Tijuana plaza, the Tijuana-based investigative journal Zeta reported June 15. If the report is accurate, the CJNG is apparently seeking to end the dominance that Sinaloan groups have had around Tijuana since at least the 1980s. Meanwhile, in San Luis Potosi state, the group appears to be attempting to wrest control of towns from several other drug trafficking operations: the Velazquez network (also known as Los Talibanes or the Gulf cartel) and possibly Los Zetas.
As with all organized crime networks facing persistent law enforcement pressure, the CJNG is doomed to one day decentralize, a fate all the more inevitable after the Mexican government vowed to dismantle the group earlier this year. But for the time being, the cartel will remain the fastest-expanding crime group in Mexico. And as it spreads, it will cement the status and influence across Mexico of criminal groups that originated in the Tierra Caliente region.
Stratfor.com
Give thanks to God for the "gradual breakdown of organized crime in Sinaloa and Tamaulipas states since 2010". This positive development parallels the increased prayer focus that prayer organizations including the IPC have devoted to the drug cartels. Pray for the Mexican authorities to be strong and effective in dealing with the criminal organizations and for the dissolving and overthrow of the CJNG cartel, now "the fastest-expanding crime group in Mexico".
Frontiers has built a powerful 30-day prayer guide calledPrayforISIS.com. In just over a week, we have seen an incredible response from faithful prayer warriors, answering Christ's call to pray for their enemies. I believe this to be one of the most critical prayer needs of our time. Those of us who are within Christ, are not without hope. However, those who are not, do not yet know a reason for the hope we have. They need to hear the Good news of the God who reigns, and whose active and pursuing love is the hope they have been looking for. Two ways you can help. You can help by joining us in praying for ISIS through Frontiers' new prayer guide, PrayforISIS.com. It will challenge you to embrace God's heart for the Muslim world, asking Him to bring members of ISIS into the knowledge of His love and grace.
(Click here on this green strip to get to the prayer guide.)
You can also help by sharing this with others. Where two or more are gathered, God is also among them.
(Mat. 18:20) Imagine the possibilities if all God's people, were united under the banner of prayer for hearts of
ISIS to be broken!
Bob Blincoe, PhD
President
Frontiers USA
We have been praying for almost a year now for the release of Canadians (and good friends) Kevin and Julia Garratt from custody in China where they have been accused of "spying." Last February we were happy to report that Julia was out on bail. At the same time, however, her husband Kevin had been moved to a high security prison. The latest news we have is that she is still being held under house arrest. Please keep this lovely and faithful couple in your prayers.
We have also been praying for South Korean pastor, Kim Jong-wook, sentenced to hard-labor in the North. Now, two more pastors from the South, one who is also a business man, have been sentenced to life in prison at hard labor.
From others who work inside, we also hear that the level of general tension and fear is much higher than in the past. Internal security continues to tighten up, especially on families with members who have escaped to South Korea. At the same time, people are getting tired of their young leader's war games and other extravagant projects such as a new railroad that requires non-existent electricity. Another big project that is due to go public this month is the new Pyongyang airport. Kim Jong Un toured there in June, showing off but also unhappy about the design. Apparently his complaints got the architect executed. Interesting, First Lady, Ri Sol Ju's fashion statement at the grand tour--brooch instead of leaders' portrait pin--has been drawing criticism.
North Korea is sending workers to Tumen, China under tight security in its ongoing desperation to obtain foreign currency. Efforts also include a new fleet of taxis in Pyongyang under a new KKG brand (Kumkang Group) that is part of a newly expanding commercial arrangement with Hong Kong business conglomerate, Queensway Group, closely linked to North Korea's infamous Office 39.
But all is not doom and gloom. It seems that North Korea has produced a miracle drug that can cure Ebola, MERS, SARS, and just about anything else that ails you. All you need is a good Kumdang-2 injection. After all, "Everyone has the right to be healthy."
Ben Torrey
Director
The Fourth River Project, Inc.
To the Leaders of Korea, America, China, Russia, Japan, the United Nations and the Entire International Community,
We Refuse to Allow the North Korean Genocide to Continue Any Longer. Over 4,000,000 Innocent North Koreans have been Murdered through Starvation by the DPRK regime since 1995, and an estimated 1,000,000 North Koreans have been Murdered as a result of Slave Labor, Rape, Torture, Brutal Beatings, Human Experimentation, Starvation, and Execution in North Korea's Political Concentration Camps. The Very Existence of these Concentration Camps makes the North Korean State Illegal, Illegitimate, and Criminal, and Demands the Immediate Intervention of the International Community.
Our Demands, based upon the foundation of International Law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are as follows:
1. The Immediate and Total Liberation of All North Korean Political Concentration Camps
2. Compensation and Reimbursement to All North Korean Victims of Slavery, Starvation, Torture, All Concentration Camp Survivors in addition to All Execution, Experimentation and Murder Victims' Families for Immeasurable Loss and Suffering
3. The Immediate Stepping Down from Power of the DPRK Leadership
4. Prosecution of Kim Jong-un and All Individuals Responsible for Commissioning or Carrying Out Acts of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
5. Through the Guidance and Oversight of a Coalition of North Korean Refugee Leaders and Human Rights Activists, in Partnership with the Republic of Korea and the International Community, WE DEMAND THE LIBERATION AND REBUILDING OF NORTH KOREA BASED UPON THE FOUNDATION OF ENSURING AND GUARANTEEING WITHOUT FAIL THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND SAFETY OF EVERY NORTH KOREAN INDIVIDUAL ACCORDING TO THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, WHICH WAS COMPOSED TO PREVENT THE ATROCITIES OF NAZI GERMANY FROM EVER OCCURRING AGAIN. WE, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, HAVE ALL FAILED TO KEEP OUR PROMISE AND UPHOLD INTERNATIONAL LAW, AND MOST MISERABLY IN THE CASE OF NORTH KOREA.
Worldwide Coalition to Stop Genocide in North Korea (Non-partisan)
The following petition commemorates the 65th anniversary of the Korean War's outbreak. Please consider sharing it with all of your networks and encouraging those you know to sign. This website has more information and helpful videos on the situation in North Korea that will stir your heart and motivate your prayer and action.
https://www.change.org/p/liberate-north-korea
Let's pray for this demand and its points above to impact the leaders of nations and to become an outcry they can no longer ignore.
Please read the attached article from The New York Times about the present situation in Afghanistan and pray accordingly. There is a lot of fighting going on in many parts of the country. Last year more than 3000 Afghan Police men and soldiers died, these are more casualties than the entire NATO troops suffered since they came to Afghanistan about 13 years ago.
In addition to that, the government has not been able to choose the new defense minister, since the government came to power last September, and this during a time of war. President Ghani's nominations were repeatedly rejected by the parliament.
Please pray for agreement to be quickly reached on the choice of a good defense minister and for the Afghan government and army to wisely, unitedly and effectively deal with the growing Taliban threat to the capital of Kabul and the nation.
Afghan Forces Battle Taliban as Lawmakers Reject Defense Minister
The New York Times
By MUJIB MASHALJ
JULY 4, 2015
KABUL, Afghanistan
Afghan security forces battling the Taliban about 30 miles west of Kabul have sustained heavy casualties, officials said Saturday, as senior members of the government criticized the response to the assault as slow and ineffective.
Details of the fighting in Wardak Province, which began Thursday, were murky, but statements by various officials said that 16 to 30 members of the Afghan Local Police, a militia controlled by the Interior Ministry, were killed, along with at least two civilians. Some of the dead were decapitated, officials said.
Mr. Ghani, in a statement, said "the desecration" of the bodies was a "war crime."
The ugly turn in the war comes as Afghanistan's struggling coalition government remains without a minister of defense 10 months after taking office. President Ashraf Ghani's third nomination for the post was rejected by Parliament on Saturday.
The fighting was taking place in the province's Jalrez district, which lies on a strategically important highway connecting Kabul, the capital, to the central province of Bamian. The highway was closed Saturday, said Masood Shneezai, deputy chief of Wardak's provincial council.
A spokesman for Wardak's governor said 30 members of the Taliban had been killed and 18 wounded.
Mr. Shneezai said the Taliban had overrun about 11 security checkpoints since the battle began. He accused the province's police chief, Gen. Khalil Andarabi, of negligence and expressed concern that the insurgents could threaten Kabul if Jalrez fell. "There is only one mountain separating Jalrez from Paghman," Mr. Shneezai said, referring to a district on the outskirts of the capital.
Security officials said hundreds of supporting forces, who reached the area on Friday and Saturday, had taken back at least seven of the checkpoints and secured the government buildings in central Jalrez.
"The Afghan Local Police members fought the insurgents until their last breath, and when the ammunition finished they were killed by the Taliban," said one local security official on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. More than 400 Taliban fighters were involved in the onslaught, the official said. Two police vehicles were blown up and two others were taken by the insurgents.
Some senior officials in Kabul, including Vice President Sarwar Danish, criticized the security forces' response to the assault, underscoring the dysfunctional nature of Afghanistan's power-sharing government as it struggles to push back an intense Taliban offensive across the country.
Mr. Danish, who called the Taliban assault a "brutal and unacceptable tragedy," accused officials in Wardak of "negligence and delay" and criticized what he said was a "lack of responsibility and coordination."
Hajji Mohammad Mohaqeq, the deputy chief executive of the coalition government, said that 22 security personnel had been killed and "their bodies chopped up to pieces and burned after their martyrdom" while units of an Afghan police force headquartered nearby provided no support...
Bishop Peter Sekhonyane was a builder called to be an evangelist, who then was drawn into the prayer movement of South Africa. For the last 11 years, he and his team of 45 co-workers have established 12,300 prayer watches, many of them 24/7, in the black township churches of his country and southern Africa. They have seen approximately 1.5 million come to Christ this way with families healed, businesses established, corruption and crime eliminated in many areas. He also now has 28,000 Children in Prayer involved in this rapidly growing movement. His commitment to helping the poor is also significant. His own church feeds 1100 children and their families every week with vegetable hampers until they run out.
In this interview with John Robb, the bishop describes this amazing movement of prayer that is transforming his nation and the lessons he has been learning through it all. He also shares his vision for the future including the continent of Africa. You will be challenged and stirred by his experience with the Lord in prayer!
Make your petition deep, O heart of mine, your God can do much more than you ask. Launch out on the Divine, Draw from his love-filled store. Trust Him with everything. Begin today, and find the joy that comes when Jesus has His way.
We must continue to pray and "wait for the Lord" (Isaiah 8:17), until we hear the sound of His mighty rain. There is no reason why we should not ask for great things. Without a doubt, we will receive them if we ask in faith, having the courage to wait with patient perseverance for Him and meanwhile doing those things that are within our power to do.
Can't the same great wonders be done today that were done many years ago? Where is the God of Elijah? He is waiting for today's Elijah call on him.
The greatest Old or New Testament saints who ever lived were on a level that is quite within our reach. The same spiritual force that was available to them, and the energy that enabled them to become our spiritual heroes, are also available to us. If we exhibit the same faith, hope, and love they exhibited, we will achieve miracles as great as theirs. A simple prayer from our mouths will be powerful enough to call down from heaven God's gracious dew or the melting fire of his Spirit, just as the words from Elijah's mouth called down literal rain and fire. All that is required is to speak the words with the same complete assurance of faith with which he spoke.
Dr. Goulburn, Dean of Norwich
(An excerpt from Streams in the Desert, June 5)
Saturday, December 1, marks the end of an era as Mexico's President Felipe Calderon steps down and President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto steps in.
While there are always those who stand in disagreement, Calderon leaves making a positive mark in Mexico's history. "I leave having accomplished my duty and responsibility to serve Mexico," he said. "I have worked to leave a stronger, healthier country, with a better justice system and a solid economy."
In his farewell address, the president thanked the country's public officials, military and police for "defending Mexican families." Calderon noted that his government had passed universal health care and kept Mexico's economy stable in the face of the global financial crisis. And in earlier speeches, Calderon has noted that 25 of the country's 37 most wanted drug traffickers were killed or captured during his tenure.
Historically in Mexico, the outgoing president leaves the country for a period of time to allow the incumbent time to settle in. Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government announced Wednesday that the outgoing Mexican president will spend the next year as a global public leaders fellow at the school. "President Calderon is a vivid example of a dynamic and committed public servant, who took on major challenges in Mexico," David T. Ellwood, the school's dean, said in a statement.
In President Calderon's parting words one can see the love and passion he has for his country: "As a citizen, I will continue serving the country passionately until the end of my days, always grateful for the privilege I have been given to be Mexican. Many thanks and see you soon, Mexico."
Pray:
• Heavenly Father, we praise You for Mexico's many victories over the cartels and the narco terrorism plague during President Calderon's term in office. We thank You for protecting President Calderon and his family and ask that You continue to bring him safety and good success in the next season of his life.
• Father God, we thank You for the good relationship that President Calderon experienced not only with the United States of America but also with BridgeBuilders. We are blessed to have had stood alongside a man of God who understands the power of prayer.
• We pray for President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico. Dear Lord. Give him courage to stand strong against organized crime. May He finish the work President Calderon started in ending crime, violence and drug trafficking in Mexico. Surround Mexico's new president and his family with Your protection.
• Give immeasurable wisdom to President Enrique Pena Nieto. May he lead Mexico with integrity, continuing to make her a nation of righteousness and justice.
The Summons, October 3-7, 2012
Join us for a Solemn Assembly in Washington D.C.
With each generation seeming to drift away from the God of our Fathers, now more than ever, it seems that we are truly at the precipice of a societal migration away from our Judeo-Christian foundation. With this in mind, the National Day of Prayer (NDP) Task Force has called a Solemn Assembly in Washington D.C. for such a time as this. The urgency of the moment, and the prompting of God, has paved the way for The Summons (October 3-7, 2012) to be a moment in time for God's people to stand in the gap on behalf of all Americans - perhaps as Moses did for Israel (Exodus 32, Psalm 106). Based on Psalm 50:1-6, this special prayer gathering will focus on all institutions of government within Washington D.C. and include outdoor, corporate worship near the steps of the Capitol building, as well as the base of the Washington Monument. Groups will meet with various congressional leaders, travel to the Pentagon, the Supreme Court, and many other key locations to PRAY. This is not an assignment for the faint of heart. You will need walking shoes and clothing suitable for being on location and 'hitting the streets', regardless of weather. We invite you to join with us, and several hundred other like-minded believers, for this unique time of prayer and worship in our nation's capital.
Visit www.Summons2012.com to learn more, and register today!
OBAMACARE BEING DECIDED BY THE SUPREME COURT
Pray that God's wisdom will be given to all those who are working through this most important issue that America has had to come to grips with for many years. Pray that the Lord will block any advancement of wrong principles within the Obamacare case and especially those that would promote abortion in any way.
The Supreme Court has just heard five-and-a-half hours of oral arguments on constitutional challenges to Obama's national health care law, and the court is expected to render its decision by the end of June. It is one of the most closely watched cases in American history, and each possible outcome carries different political ramifications.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD $5.7 MILLION FRAUD
For the sake of the unborn pray that all fraudulent activities of any organization that promotes the aborting of the unborn be exposed and brought to justice. Give thanks to the Lord that there are those who are bringing such activities to the light so that they can be dealt with by authorities responsible for illegal activities. Pray that those who have been found guilty will repent and become advocates for life.
PRAYER CAUCUSES BEING ESTABLISHED
An unprecedented nationwide network of elected leaders and citizens, are committing to realigning America with the Judeo-Christian principles of liberty!
Accomplishments:
• Formation of the strategic American Prayer Caucus Network (http://cpcfoundation.com/cpcf/statecaucuses.php), the largest and most influential network of Christian government leaders in the nation, networking members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus with hundreds of like-minded members of state and local Legislative Prayer Caucuses in action-oriented forums.
• 10 State Prayer Caucuses now formed (Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Colorado, Oklahoma, Maine, Kentucky, Florida, Michigan and Missouri) with 9 States in process.
• Citizens joined hundreds of legislators, governors, lieutenant governors and attorneys general at multiple Call To Prayer events, which were hosted and facilitated by elected leaders proclaiming their commitment to pray and protect your right to believe in God.
We cannot and must not forget that "blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Though some will reject our Lord and His rightful place in our hearts and in our nation, we must not! (Contributor: Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation; http://cpcfoundation.com/)