A Chilling Message From The Cartels: Billboards With Hanging Mannequins Warning Cops To Choose... [View all]

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Source: Daily Mail / KHOU Houston

+Two billboards along highways in El Paso, Texas were vandalized and had mannequins hanging off of them

+One reads 'silver or lead' in Spanish which is taken to mean that police and business owners can either take drug cartels' bribes or die

+Worries spreading that cartels that have ruled Mexican border towns with violence may be headed north

By Meghan Keneally

Published: 16:11 EST, 23 May 2014

Two frightening incidents of vandalism in El Paso near the Mexican border in Texas have been interpreted as warnings from drug cartels.

In both instances, a mannequin wearing a suit and tie was tied to a billboard with a noose and messages were scrawled over the placards.

Local station KHOU reports that one of the signs reads 'Plata o Plombo' which translates to 'silver or lead', a threat used commonly against police officers effectively warning that if they do not accept the cartel's bribes then they will be shot.



'This symbol has historically been used by Mexican drug cartels to threaten or intimidate Mexican citizens, business owners and government officials; however, we have never experienced this in El Paso,' local police said in a press release about the vandalism.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2637789/Threatening-cartel-billboards-warning-police-choose-silver-lead-come-complete-hanging-mannequins-appearing-Texas.html#ixzz32cQ0BQjh
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2637789/Threatening-cartel-billboards-warning-police-choose-silver-lead-come-complete-hanging-mannequins-appearing-Texas.html

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Border residents fear message on mysterious billboards

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso police are investigating two mysterious billboards that appeared just off I-10, each with a mannequin hanging from a noose. .

“It’s not an advertisement,” said Mike Mons, regional manager for Lamar Outdoor advertising.

The first vandalized billboard off I-10 had Plata o Plomo in large black letters which translates into silver or lead. It is usually a warning targeting police or government officials in Mexico. The warning: work with a cartel and take a bribe or get a bullet.

The hanging mannequin was dressed in a suit and tie.

“This symbol has historically been used by Mexican drug cartels to threaten or intimidate Mexican citizens, business owners and government officials; however, we have never experienced this in El Paso,” said police in a statement released to media.

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http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news/Border-residents-fear-message-on-mysterious-billboards--2603663