http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/mexico-news/ en-us Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:14:26 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416605/posts SAN JUAN — A 16-year-old Mexican girl was forced into household labor, deprived of food and shelter and raped six times by the man who smuggled her into this country, according to authorities. Benito Vargas, 17, is accused of raping the Jalisco native on several occasions while his mother ignored the girl’s cries for help, San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said. The girl, who was smuggled into the United States on claims she would have a better life here, was also beaten on several occasions, was rarely fed and was forced to sleep on a couch outside while she... The Monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416605/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:14:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415370/posts Beheadings and amputations. Iraqi-style brutality, bribery, extortion, kidnapping, and murder. More than 7,200 dead—almost double last year’s tally—in shoot-outs between federales and often better-armed drug cartels. This is modern Mexico, whose president, Felipe Calderón, has been struggling since 2006 to wrest his country from the grip of four powerful cartels and their estimated 100,000 foot soldiers. But chillingly, there are signs that one of the worst features of Mexico’s war on drugs—law enforcement officials on the take from drug lords—is becoming an American problem as well. Most press accounts focus on the drug-related violence that has migrated north into the... City Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415370/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:45:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415163/posts In January 2009, retired Gen. Mauro Tello Quiñones took command of a police unit charged with combating drug-related violence in the popular Mexican tourist destination of Cancún. The assignment lasted just one week. In early February, Tello and two aides were kidnapped and killed. Before murdering Tello, the assailants broke his arms and legs and tortured him for hours. The incident provoked shock across Mexico, with the governor of Quintana Roo state calling it "truly horrible." Even by the standards of the violent drug war that has consumed Mexico of late, this crime stood out for its brazenness and brutality.... World Politics Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415163/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 02:05:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414939/posts ...some argue the U.S. should legalize marijuana, let cocaine pass through the Caribbean and take the profit motive out of the drug trade In the 40 years since U.S. President Richard Nixon declared a "war on drugs," the supply and use of drugs has not changed in any fundamental way. The only difference: a taxpayer bill of more than $1 trillion. A senior Mexican official who has spent more than two decades helping fight the government's war on drugs summed up recently what he's learned from his long career: "This war is not winnable." [] Growing numbers of Mexican and... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414939/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:59:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414083/posts VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico (AP) -- Family members of a fallen marine hailed as a drug-war hero were slain by a gang allied with a top drug lord in retaliation for the cartel leader's death, a state official said Wednesday. Four people who are believed to be informants and aides for the Zeta gang were detained in the deaths of the mother, two siblings and aunt of Melquisedet Angulo, Tabasco state Attorney General Rafael Gonzalez said. Angulo was the only marine who died in a Dec. 16 raid that killed drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva. The Zetas, former military elite-turned-hit men, have... AP via SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414083/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:07:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413657/posts MEXICO CITY — It had been an elaborate farewell to one of Mexico's fallen heroes. Ensign Melquisedet Angulo, a special forces sailor killed last week during the government's most successful raid on a top drug lord in years, received a stirring public tribute in which the secretary of the navy presented his mother with the flag that covered her son's casket. Then, the next day, only hours after the grieving family had finished burying him in his hometown, gunmen burst into the family's house and sprayed the rooms with gunfire, killing his mother and three other relatives, officials said Tuesday. Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413657/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:19:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413096/posts QUINTIN ARAUZ, Mexico - Suspected drug gang hitmen shot dead the grieving mother, brother and sister of an elite Mexican marine who died after a raid that killed a top drug lord, police said on Tuesday. In what appeared to be a revenge attack for last week's navy operation, gunmen burst into the family's house in the town of Quintin Arauz in the southern Mexican state of Tabasco just before midnight on Monday and fired assault rifles. "They broke the door down with a sledgehammer and sprayed them with bullets in the living room and bedrooms," said local deputy police... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413096/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:36:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413046/posts Paisanos run for cover as bullets fly between Mexican soldiers and another group of men. It happened about a mile from Bridge Number Two Sunday night. In the shooting one unidentified man was killed, another two were seriously injured. Mexican media is reporting that those shot were paisanos but the vehicle they were riding in clearly had Mexican plates with tinted windows and bulletproof siding. Many locals in Nuevo Laredo have been upset by the military's presence. They say the soldiers’ pursuit of drug traffickers has hurt business and tourism. KGNS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413046/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:40:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412503/posts Mexico City Lawmakers Approve Gay Marriage City on way to becoming first in Latin America to legalize such unions MEXICO CITY - Mexico City lawmakers have become the first in Latin America to legalize gay marriage. City legislators passed the bill 39-20 on Monday with five lawmakers absent. Leftist Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard is widely expected to sign the decision into law. APReport http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412503/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:52:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412480/posts Mexican cops train for tourist police force Three cities plan to launch effort in the spring By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERSaturday, December 19, 2009 at 1:18 a.m. Earnie Grafton / Union-TribuneSan Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders congratulated a Mexican police officer at a ceremony yesterday for officers from law enforcement agencies in Tijuana, Ensenada and Rosarito Beach who participated in a training session offered by the San Diego Police Department. Earnie Grafton / Union-TribuneMexican police officers lined up for photos after a ceremony yesterday marking their completion of a training course in San Diego. The officers received instruction in a... Sign On San Diego http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412480/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:12:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412403/posts On Wednesday, police in Slidell, LA, arrested an illegal alien for slashing the throat of his 84-year-old neighbor with a razor blade. The attack left an 8-inch gash in the woman’s throat, her assailant stole about $65 in cash. The octogenarian victim survived the attack and later identified the man who did odd jobs for her, Ricardo Tenorio-Palma, 20, as the man who tried to kill her. Slidell Police Capt. Kevin Swann said: "It wasn't like he demanded money; he stabbed her first. He slashed her first, before he robbed her. He intended to kill her,” Police allege that on... The Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412403/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:28:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411427/posts Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThursday, December 17, 2009 Guyanese National Charged with Smuggling Indian Nationals to the United States A Guyanese national has been indicted on charges of conspiracy and alien smuggling in connection with her role in the smuggling or attempted smuggling of four Indian nationals to the United States. Annita Devi Gerald, aka Annita Rampersad, 52, was charged in a nine-count indictment returned yesterday by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas. Gerald was arrested by ICE special agents in Houston on Nov. 17, 2009, and has been held without... US DOJ.gov - Justice.gov - Press Release http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411427/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:11:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411267/posts The border between El Paso, Texas - population: 600,000 and Juarez, Mexico - population: 1.5 million - is the most dangerous border in America. This border is situated on the southwestern tip /edge of the United States and Mexico. On one side of the border is the second-safest city of its size in the United States - after Honolulu - with only 18 murders in 2008. On the other side of the border is a lawless city ruled by drug lords where the death toll for the last 18 months is more than 2,500 and counting. "I don't think the... Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411267/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:22:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410016/posts MEXICO CITY — Mexico's National Human Rights Commission says more than 5,000 Mexican migrants have died in deserts, rivers and mountains trying to reach the U.S. since 1994. The commission says governments must do more to protect migrants from robbers, smugglers and others who seek to exploit them. Houston Chronicle/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410016/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:02:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409999/posts MEXICO CITY -- Mexican prosecutors are requesting that Texas-based norteno singer Ramon Ayala be held pending investigation after he was detained at a drug cartel's Christmas party. Attorney General Arturo Chavez announced Thursday that a judge is considering the request and that any possible charges would be determined by the investigation. Ayala, a Mexican accordionist who lives in Hidalgo, Texas, has been detained in federal police headquarters in Mexico City since the Dec. 11 military raid at a mansion outside the mountain town of Tepoztlan where three gunmen were killed and 11 others suspected members of the Beltran Leyva cartel... MySA.com/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409999/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:38:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409576/posts An immigration reform organization says the Obama administration has done virtually nothing to stem the tide of illegal immigration since taking office in January. As President Barack Obama approaches the one-year mark of his presidency, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has released a comprehensive report evaluating what the administration has actually done in its claim to have "restored credibility to immigration enforcement." FAIR spokesman Ira Mehlman says if anything, there is less credibility now when it comes to immigration reform. "Not only haven't they done anything, but in fact they have undermined the capacity of this country to... OneNewsNow http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409576/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:41:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409556/posts <p>Two hundred sailors raided an upscale apartment complex and killed one of Mexico's top kingpins in a two-hour gunbattle Wednesday, one of the biggest victories yet in President Felipe Calderon's drug war.</p> <p>Arturo Beltran Leyva, the “boss of bosses,” and three members of his cartel were slain in the shootout in Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City, according to a navy statement. A fifth cartel member committed suicide during the shootout.</p> AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409556/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:13:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408257/posts The Municipal authoritiees are expecting more than 100 thosuand vehicles of "paisanos" to start crossing through this land port into Mexico. LAREDO, Tx.- Local authorities are expecting over 100 thousand paisanos to arrive next weekend to this land port. "We are ready to receive them, we have established a plan together with the Mexican Consulate General in Laredo, with the Police Department, the Sherriff's Office, the Bridge System and the Customs Port of Laredo, as well as with the Texas Department of Transportation and Nuevo Laredo authorities, in order to assist the paisanos," Salinas mentioned. The first part of the... Laredo Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408257/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:49:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407768/posts The government announced that it will begin implementing a new series of social programs in Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua state) that will help the police and army battle narcotics cartels. If it sounds a bit like a classic Counter-insurgency (COIN) “political and social warfare” (where social and economic programs integrate with security operations), well, it is. One of the programs will be directed at impoverished Juarez teenagers. The narcotics gangs throw around money and have bought support in several neighborhoods. Some of the kids eventually “move up” and join the gang. The government intends to attack this “recruitment” process. There will... The Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407768/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:41:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407489/posts Standard & Poor's downgraded Mexico's sovereign rating by one notch Monday, saying it expects the country to face fiscal challenges ahead, while it lowered prospects of government measures to improve economic growth. The downgrade to BBB from BBB+, the latest in a recent string of sovereign downgrades and warnings around the world, leaves Mexico a notch above the minimum investment grade. S&P changed Mexico's outlook to stable from negative. The downgrade was widely expected after Fitch Ratings cut Mexico in November, also to BBB from BBB+. online.wsj.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407489/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:18:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407426/posts Drug traffickers employing high-tech drills, miles of rubber hose and a fleet of stolen tanker trucks have siphoned more than $1 billion worth of oil from Mexico's pipelines over the past two years, in a vast and audacious conspiracy that is bleeding the national treasury, according to U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials and the state-run oil company. WashingtonPost http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407426/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:46:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405524/posts MCALLEN - The U.S Consul General at Matamoros visited McAllen today. U.S. Consul Michael Barkin says Mexico is a safe place visit, but security is also the number one concern for Americans traveling there. Barkin was honored today at a reception at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. He has been on the job as U.S. Consul General in Matamoros since September. CHANNEL 5 NEWS asked him, given the ongoing shoot-outs and violence in Mexico, is it safe to visit? We wanted to know what people who call his office are most concerned about. Barkin says, "People are concerned about the... KRGV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405524/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:37:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405013/posts U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has secured $4.85 million in funding to be used by border sheriffs to stop drug and human trafficking. The money is coming from the fiscal year 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill. It will help border sheriffs pay for overtime, hire additional deputies, and purchase equipment. This project supports Operation Linebacker, an initiative of the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition. "Our law enforcement personnel along the border are regularly under assault, and drug and human traffickers continue to threaten the safety of our communities," Hutchison said in a news release. "Sheriffs patrolling the border need additional reinforcements to... KVIA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405013/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:49:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404937/posts HAVANA — Suspected drug smugglers used spikes to deflate the tires of a U.S. Border Patrol unit during a pursuit Tuesday night — at least the second incident in which area authorities have discovered the devices in a week. Border Patrol would not confirm whether the spikes deflated the tires of an agency vehicle Tuesday night, but court documents reveal agents also found the homemade devices after an agent fired gunshots during a confrontation last week. Meanwhile, authorities are concerned the spikes could cause further incidents on Rio Grande Valley roadways. The spikes, or caltrops, consist of several metal points... The Monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404937/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:45:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404277/posts Honduras' interim government says it has authorized ousted President Manuel Zelaya to leave the country and go to Mexico. Foreign Ministry spokesman Milton Mateo says the safe-conduct pass was signed and would be delivered to the Brazilian Embassy, where Zelaya has been holed up since sneaking back into the country Sept. 21. Mateo said Wednesday night that the Mexican government has sent an airplane to pick up Zelaya and his family. Another official of the interim government's Foreign Ministry said Mexico requested that Zelaya be given safe conduct to leave. A Mexican government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404277/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:26:57 GMT