(Posted by Uriel Rivera)
In Ciudad Juarez this month, Mexican President Felipe Calderon insisted that appearances notwithstanding, drug violence had begun to recede thanks to the yearlong presence of 10,000 Mexican troops in the border city.
Yet according to his own government's figures, there have been 536 executions in Juarez since Jan. 1, which is 100 more than during the same period last year.
And the violence is not localized to a few border towns like Juarez. Over a holiday weekend in Acapulco this month, 34 people were assassinated in drug-related incidents; nearly 20 suffered the same fate in the drug-producing state of Sinaloa; and perhaps most poignant, two graduate students from Mexico's premier private university, Monterrey Tech, lost their lives March 19, victims of crossfire as the Mexican military pursued drug cartel members at the entrance to the campus.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-castaneda25-2010mar25,0,5018841.story
Friday, March 26, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Cartels use intimidation campaign to stifle news coverage in Mexico
12:00 AM CST on Monday, March 8, 2010
Cartels use intimidation campaign to stifle news coverage in Mexico
12:00 AM CST on Monday, March 8, 2010
REYNOSA, Mexico – In the days since a long-simmering dispute erupted into open warfare between the Gulf drug cartel and its former enforcers, the Zetas, censorship of news developments has reached unprecedented dimensions along much of Mexico's border with Texas. A virtual news blackout has been imposed, several sources said, enforced by threats, abductions and attacks against journalists.
In the past 14 days, at least eight Mexican journalists have been abducted in the Reynosa area, which is across the border from McAllen. One died after a severe beating, according to reports that could not be independently verified. Two were released by their captors. The rest are missing.
Even by the vicious standards of Mexico's drug cartels, which have made Mexico one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, the intimidation campaign is more far-reaching – and more effective – than other attempts to squelch media coverage of cartel activities, industry and law enforcement sources say. It is virtually impossible to safely report or verify, or even ask questions.
[Posted By Michael Felix]
© 2010, The Dallas Morning News, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Clinton Presses Region to Recognize Honduras
MEXICO CITY — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended a five-day tour of Latin America Friday with a lightning trip to Guatemala, where she promised Central American presidents more help to fightdrug trafficking and repeated her call for more countries to recognize the new government of Honduras.
The new Honduran president, Porfirio Lobo, attended the meeting in Guatemala City, an appearance that signaled a step toward normalizing relations with neighbors El Salvador and Guatemala.
[Posted by Brenda Diaz]
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/world/americas/06clinton.html?ref=americas
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Mexican authorities find tunnel at federal facility
TIJUANA — Images from a video surveillance camera led Mexican authorities to a suspected smuggling tunnel under construction in Tijuana inside a guarded federal customs facility at the Otay Mesa border crossing, authorities said yesterday.
Posted by Alex Sobieski
Study: County’s immigrant Latinos have highest self-employment rate
Combined regional census and federal economic data show that in San Diego County, Latino immigrants have a higher rate of self-employment than that of nonimmigrant Latinos and even native-born U.S. citizens, according to a new report.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/27/study-countys-immigrant-latinos-have-highest-self/
Posted by Alex Sobieski
Vehicle checks at border paying off Authorities seize cash, guns bound for Mexico
SOUTH COUNTY — Last spring, U.S. officials announced a $400 million effort to tighten border security, this time with an emphasis on southbound inspections of vehicles headed into Mexico to check for contraband cash and firearms.
Posted by Alex Sobieski
Drug smugglers’ creativity grows
Hidden among truckloads of peppers, bananas, toilet paper and medical supplies entering from Mexico, customs officers have been finding another type of import.
NELVIN C. CEPEDA / UNION-TRIBUNE
Driver Juan Madero looked on at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry last week as an agriculture specialist inspected a box of cilantro.
PHOTO BY NELVIN C. CEPEDA - UNION-TRIBUNE
At the Otay Mesa cargo port, U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspector Eiichiro Ninmiya checked loads of goods last week with his partner, Cora.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/15/drug-smugglers-creativity-grows/
Posted by Alex Sobieski
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