Gringo Zeta?

Look who showed up in Quintana Roo…

The “lascivious details” which Rachel Maddow wouldn’t discuss come from a denunciation by an apparent ex-wife (or ex-girlfriend) Penny Keith (called an “ex pareja” in the 6 August 2010 report by  SIPSE — Servicios Informativos y Publicitarios del Sureste — and could mean either girlfriend or wife) who alleges Idema deprived her (and others) of liberty and forced them to participate in orgies.  SIPSE quotes state prosecutor Ana Elizabeth Duk Hoy as saying Idema was alleged to knowingly infect people with HIV virus.   According to the 6 August 2010  Diario de Quintana Roo, state prosecutor Francisco Alor Quezada says that the United States has not asked for any information about Idema, whose criminal history was uncovered independently by Judicial Police investigators.

While both Mexican sources (probably based on the same informants) refer to Idema as a former “Green Beret”, the Wired Magazine news item, which Maddow relied upon in her broadcast, points out that:

Idema portrayed himself as a badass Special Forces frontline operator (actually, records show he was more of a supply guy). He boasted ties with top generals in the U.S. military (remarkably, they didn’t exactly high-five Idema in public). He served as a consultant to media organizations like CBS News, and set up a small, self-styled anti-terror squad, “Task Force Saber 7.”

The Pentagon later acknowledged that it had contact with Idema, but said it rejected his offer to help capture terrorist suspects.

This is hardly the first time that un-rehabilitated international criminals have shown up in Mexico, nor the first time that foreigners’ “lascivious” activities have brought them to the attention of the authorities.  But what makes this story interesting — besides the “badass” gringo aspect — is that Idema’s criminal record in the United States was based on a conviction in 1994 for a fraud involving military clothing and equipment sales.

I wouldn’t push this too far (or even very far), but given my contention that the “Zetas” and similar groups really are more “wannabe” special forces guys than the real thing, and Idema is a lot closer to a real mercenary than any of the “Zetas” that normally show up on the Yucatán Peninsula… AND that that military style equipment showing up in criminal arsenals so far from the U.S. border (and easy sale and transport) are coming from somewhere — not to mention that  kidnapping is not exactly a “lone wolf” kind of criminal enterprise (meaning Idema had to have accomplices) … there may be more going on than just a whacked out ex-con on the loose in Mexico.