Mexico ties flooding in Nogales to U.S. Border Patrol-built wall

By Brady McCombs

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Mexican officials say a concrete barrier constructed by the U.S. Border Patrol in a storm-water tunnel beneath Nogales appears to be on Mexican soil and was the main cause of serious flooding July 12 in Nogales, Sonora.

The flooding caused about $8 million in damage in Nogales, Sonora, the officials say.

The 5-foot-high wall on the floor of the tunnel in front of a gate was put in without notifying the International Boundary and Water Commission, said Sally Spener, spokeswoman for the U.S. section of the commission. The commission requests that any agency doing work on the border that could affect storm drainage send it plans.

"We do have concerns about structures that are placed on the international boundary that could affect storm-water flow," Spener said.

The U.S. side of the commission hasn't yet determined if the barrier caused the flooding, Spener said. It's important to remember the Mexican side of the tunnel was old and in poor condition, she said.

A delegation from the commission, including Commissioner Carlos Marin, was en route to Nogales on Tuesday.

While in Arizona, the delegation will be analyzing whether the structure is in Mexico, what role it played in the flood and what should be done to remedy the situation, she said.

Officials with the Mexican section of the commission say the barrier reduced the flow of storm water through the tunnel by 40 percent, said Jesús Quintanar, a representative in Nogales of the Mexican side of the commission. The barrier was put up in January by the Border Patrol without letting anyone else know, he said.

Mexico lifts criminal penalties for illegal immigrants caught within its borders

Associated Press - July 21, 2008 2:53 PM ET

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico will no longer jail illegal immigrants detained within its borders.

A measure that takes effect Tuesday eliminates jail times for illegal immigrants caught in Mexico. Most are crossing the country from Central America en route to the U.S.

Undocumented immigration will now be considered a minor offense, punishable by fines equal to US$100 to US$500. Illegal immigrants previously faced up to 10 years in prison, though most were simply deported.

Mexican legislators who backed the revision say Mexico's previous penalties complicated efforts to lobby for better treatment of Mexican immigrants in the U.S.

Activists want more to be done to protect migrants in Mexico, where many are robbed and abused on their way north.

Calderón can't avoid Juárez violence in visit

By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times

Article Launched: 07/23/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

EL PASO -- Three slayings occurred and a small group of protesters gathered Tuesday, the day Mexican President Felipe Calderón arrived for a visit in Juárez.

During his visit, Calderón praised maquiladoras and vowed to strengthen the nation's oil company and the city's security efforts.

Calderón helped inaugurate the second Electrolux assembly plant in the city, and also mentioned the recent maquiladora expansions announced by Ford and Foxconn, which may hire up to 20,000 to 30,000 border workers in the next four years.

"In 2007, Mexico captured nearly $24.7 billion dollars in direct foreign investment. Such investment, like that of Electrolux, generates employment and gives added value to our country," stated a transcript of his speech at the new Electrolux plant. "This is the largest direct foreign investment in the history of Mexico."

The president's entourage was accompanied by Chihuahua Gov. José Reyes Baeza Terrazas, Juárez Mayor José Reyes Ferriz and business leaders.

Calderón also touched on the federal government's role against organized crime, a theme on the minds of Juárez residents who have witnessed more than 600 slayings since January.

"The federal government responded to the community and Chihuahua state's plea for help with more than 4,000 soldiers and federal agents to fortify the citizenry,"

Returning migrants remaking Mexico through politics

Migrants are coming home from U.S. with dollars, ideas and little patience for the old way of doing things.

By Jeremy Schwartz
MEXICO CITY BUREAU
Sunday, June 22, 2008

LUVIANOS, Mexico — Seir Benítez left this remote town high in the Sierra Madre mountains 12 years ago in hopes of escaping a harsh life in its dusty fields.

He traded dramatic mountain views and grinding poverty for an apartment in Austin and a job in a tool factory. He spent eight years in the United States, venturing as far as Florida and Nebraska, before returning home with enough money to build a house.

Benítez, 28, also came back filled with new ideas of how Luvianos, in the state of Mexico, should be governed. He is considering a run for mayor, joining a wave of politically active migrants who many in Mexico believe have the potential to reshape the countryside.

"I want to create jobs so that other young people don't have to migrate," said Benítez, who works for Luvianos' city government and peppers his conversation with references to Austin's flea markets and Riverside Drive restaurants.

Drug czar: Face problem internationally

By Eric Swedlund

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Southern Arizona faces the "double problem" of drug abuse within its own communities and the devastating effects of the violent international drug trade as it slices through the region, the U.S. "drug czar" said Friday.

John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, met privately with law-enforcement officials before joining U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Tucson Police Chief Richard Miranda and community leaders in a forum to discuss legislation aimed at combating illegal drugs. At the core of the proposed Merida Initiative is a $1.4 billion multiyear commitment to provide equipment, training and technical assistance to authorities in Mexico and Central America.

"You pay the price for the demand for drugs everywhere north of here in the United States," Walters told the group, gathered at the Tucson Police Department's Downtown headquarters.

"When you challenge powerful criminal organizations, their result is to turn to violence. They're willing to do anything. You are not going to bargain with them. They have to be stopped and apprehended," he said.

Walters said the aid south of the border is crucial to reducing the violence associated with drug trafficking. He said Mexican President Felipe Calderón has shown a willingness to work with the United States.

"These killers, these people willing to do anything, can't be stopped by me or President Bush or Representative Giffords or any of you," Walters said. "They have to be stopped by President Calderón. Ultimately, Mexico has to solve Mexico's problem."

Mexican lawmakers end takeover of Congress

By Julie Watson
ASSOCIATED PRESS
12:43 p.m. April 25, 2008

MEXICO CITY – Leftist lawmakers ended a 16-day blockade of Mexico's Congress on Friday after agreeing on a national debate they hope will lead to defeat of the president's energy reform bill.

The legislators have been camped out around the clock in both houses of Congress since Mexican leader Felipe Calderón presented a bill that would let the government's debt-strapped state oil company seek foreign help to boost sagging production.

Protesting legislators announced they had were ending their takeover of the congressional podiums and staging a rousing send-off for themselves, raising their fists and singing the national anthem before leaving the Senate chamber.

“We triumphed! We triumphed!” said Sen. Carlos Navarrete, senate leader of the leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party, or PRD.

The leftists had demanded a 120-day national debate on the bill that they claim will lead to a sell-off of parts of the state-run monopoly, damaging national sovereignty. They finally settled for a proposal by other parties to hold it from May 13 to July 22.

Legislators did not give details of how the debate would be carried out.

Mexican official fired after report of missing BlackBerrys at U.S. summit

By Mark Stevenson
ASSOCIATED PRESS
9:24 a.m. April 25, 2008

MEXICO CITY – A press aide at the president's office has been dismissed following allegations that he took BlackBerrys belonging to U.S. officials at a summit in New Orleans, an official said Friday.

Rafael Quintero Curiel acknowledged picking up the telephone and e-mail devices at the New Orleans summit involving the leaders of Mexico, the United States and Canada this week, but said he thought they had been left behind and planned to return them.

The phones were recovered, according to White House Press Secretary Dana Marie Perino, who said she did not know if they contained sensitive information.

A Mexican government spokeswoman said Quintero Curiel had been dismissed from his year-old job coordinating logistics for reporters covering President Felipe Calderón's international trips. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she is not authorized to talk to the media about the case.

Feud between Baja prosecutor, army general goes public

By Sandra Dibble

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

7:44 p.m. April 23, 2008

TIJUANA – A simmering feud between Baja California's top prosecutor and an outspoken army general boiled over Wednesday as the general went public with allegations of police corruption in the state.

In an open letter published in the state's major daily newspapers, Gen. Sergio Aponte Polito named about three dozen municipal, state and federal police officials.

The general said they have been protecting immigrant smugglers, bank robbers, and worked as escorts for drug traffickers. He said agents with the state's anti-kidnapping unit in Tijuana had themselves conducted kidnappings, then negotiated the ransom.

The general said top Tijuana police officials with the previous mayoral administration – he did not name them – are constantly approaching the current police chief, a military lieutenant colonel on leave, offering to act as go-betweens with organized crime.

In bloody detail, Mexico illustrates risks for migrants

by Chris Hawley and Sergio Solache - Apr. 19, 2008 12:00 AM

Republic Mexico City Bureau

MEXICO CITY - One migrant gets his legs sliced off by a train's wheels. Another is shot by bandits on the Arizona border. Others are beaten and robbed by crooked Mexican police.

In a new effort to dissuade would-be border crossers, Mexico's top human-rights agency has published two comic books packed with tales about the horrors that migrants face. The tone is very different than previous government publications, which focused more on travel and safety tips.

One of the two Migrantes comics is aimed at Mexicans, while the other focuses on Central Americans traveling through Mexico on their way to the United States. The National Human Rights Commission began distributing 20,000 of them this month at migrant shelters and bus terminals.

"We could have made the stories a little softer, but the (commission) asked us to be very realistic," said Domingo Perea, editorial director of Comics and Visual Arts, the company hired to produce the comic books. "That was the intention, to discourage people from migrating."

Takeover of Mexican Congress enters second week, causes country international embarrassment

By E. Eduardo Castillo

ASSOCIATED PRESS

2:42 p.m. April 17, 2008

MEXICO CITY – A weeklong blockade of Congress by leftist lawmakers not only is stalling urgent energy reforms – it's also getting downright embarrassing, Mexico's foreign minister said Thursday.

The administration of President Felipe Calderón showed signs of dwindling patience after congressional leaders were forced to withdraw an invitation for Indian President Pratibha Patil to address a session of Congress.

“Without doubt, it makes us look bad as a country,” Foreign Relations Secretary Patricia Espinosa said.

Lawmakers opposed to the oil reform chained shut the doors of the Congress building, and their supporters blocked senators from entering an alternative hall where they have been meeting since their headquarters were taken over by opponents last week.

Mexico protests snag government's oil reform plans

By Catherine Bremer

REUTERS

10:07 a.m. April 15, 2008

MEXICO CITY – Mexican leftists have stormed Congress and taken to the streets in a campaign that could force President Felipe Calderón to dilute his plans to allow foreign companies a bigger role in the oil industry.

Calderón had hoped to rush through a law this month to boost private investment in the oil sector to help Mexico seek new crude reserves in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

He has the backing of some opposition members in the divided Congress but a backlash of left-wing protests has now delayed a vote until after this month.

Even Calderón's conservative National Action Party, or PAN, admits the bill, which makes it easier for state oil firm Pemex to ally with private firms in the search for oil, will not be voted on before Congress breaks for the summer April 30.

Leftist lawmakers from the Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, have seized the podiums of both houses of Congress and are even sleeping there to prevent a quick debate and vote on the bill.

_____

Mexican lawmakers shift sessions to alternate location as protests block chambers

By Mark Stevenson

ASSOCIATED PRESS

1:12 p.m. April 15, 2008

MEXICO CITY – Both houses of Mexico's Congress had to find new homes on Tuesday, avoiding a clash with left-leaning legislators who blockaded their chambers to hold off the president's energy reform bill.

Senate leader Santiago Creel said it was the first time in recent history that the body had been forced to hold sessions away from its ornate chambers. The last time the lower house abandoned its halls was in 1989, because of a fire.

Lawmakers from the leftist Democratic Revolution Party seized the podiums of both houses on Thursday and set up a round-the-clock protest of President Felipe Calderón's proposal to ease limits on private involvement in oil exploration and production.

The protesters say that will lead to selling off part of Mexico's state oil company and they demand a national debate on the bill before it is considered by Congress.

The Senate held a brief, largely symbolic session in a cramped auditorium just down the street from the Senate building. Creel said the move preserved the dignity of the Senate and “averted the risk of violence in the congressional chambers.”

Mexico oil reform stalls as leftist lawmakers barricade Congress

By E. Eduardo Castillo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
4:13 p.m. April 14, 2008

MEXICO CITY – Leftist lawmakers erected makeshift barricades Monday around the podium in Mexico's lower house of Congress, where they have been camped out for more than five days to protest the president's oil reform proposal.

They piled heavy chairs around the speaker's platform, while their colleagues in the Senate began fasting to demand that Congress schedule a 4-month national debate on the energy bill backed by President Felipe Calderón. They have not said what such a debate would entail.

Seeking to end the takeover, senators with Calderón's National Action Party, or PAN, and the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, offered later Monday to compromise and debate the issue for 50 days.

“The uninterrupted 50-day term is broad enough for everyone to be heard,” said PRI Sen. Manlio Fabio Beltrones. The Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, which is leading the protests, did not immediately respond.

The coordinator for the PAN in the Senate, Santiago Creel, said it was unlikely Congress would be able to approve the bill by April 30, when the legislative session ends.

Oil production in Mexico, one of the top suppliers to the United States, is declining, and reform advocates say state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, needs outside resources to explore for reserves. The bill would allow Pemex to partner with private companies for exploration and refining.

Opponents claim the bill would lead toward selling off parts of Pemex and threaten national sovereignty.

Central American migrants met with hurdles in Mexico

The Associated Press

ARRIAGA, Mexico - For thousands of illegal immigrants from Central America, the long journey to the U.S. starts here, on the groaning back of a freight train they call The Beast.

These days many don't get far.

Central Americans without documents face increased security within Mexico, including checks on the train for stowaways. It's also harder for them to head north once they cross into Mexico because of hurricane damage to the train tracks.

The result: The number of non-Mexican illegal immigrants stopped by the U.S. Border Patrol has dropped almost 60 percent from 2005.

About 68,000 non-Mexican immigrants - mostly Central Americans - were detained last year, compared to 165,000 in 2005.

Non-Mexicans make up about 10 percent of all immigrants caught by Border Patrol agents.

Mexico itself is also seeing fewer illegal immigrants; 120,000 were arrested last year, a 50 percent drop from 2005.

Leftists take over both chambers of Mexican Congress

By Jessica Bernstein-Wax

ASSOCIATED PRESS

1:08 p.m. April 10, 2008

MEXICO CITY – Leftist lawmakers took over both chambers of Mexico's Congress on Thursday to protest President Felipe Calderón's energy reform bill.

Lawmakers of the Democratic Revolution Party stormed the podiums and forced a recess in both the Senate and lower house of Congress at about 1 p.m. (2 p.m. EDT, 1800 GMT). Some donned oil worker hard hats and shouted, “The country is not for sale!”

The takeover interrupted Senate debate on a routine measure allowing Calderón to travel to the United States for an April 21-22 summit of North American leaders in New Orleans.

The leftist lawmakers say Calderón's energy reforms would open Mexico's national oil company to private investment and would threaten the country's sovereignty.

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Mexico lawmakers vow to keep up protest in Congress until oil reform debated

By Jessica Bernstein-Wax

ASSOCIATED PRESS

12:21 p.m. April 11, 2008

MEXICO CITY – Leftist lawmakers who seized both chambers of Mexico's Congress said Friday they will not move until winning a national debate on an oil reform bill backed by President Felipe Calderón.

Legislators from the Democratic Revolution Party and two minor parties stormed the podiums of both the Senate and the lower house of Congress on Thursday to protest the bill, which they say would open the door to selling off parts of the state-run industry.

A small group of lawmakers spent the night there in blankets and sleeping bags and took turns guarding the podiums, which were draped in signs accusing Calderón of trying to privatize the industry. Mexico's oil reserves were nationalized in 1938.

“We're going to stay here as long as we need to,” Democratic Revolution Rep. Alejandro Sanchez said in a telephone interview Friday. He added that party members were bringing sandwiches and drinks to prepare for what could be a long encampment.

Mexicans Spurn McCain’s Pandering

Memo From Mexico, By Allan Wall

Mexicans Spurn McCain’s Pandering—Prefer Hillary (But They’ll Settle For Obama)

Who do Mexicans want as the next U.S. president?

All three major candidates (John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama) have appalling records on immigration (see here) which must make Mexico’s elite happy. All three have pandered to Hispanics—by, among other things, appearing in the Spanish-language Univision debates. And any of the three can be expected to push for an amnesty.

Nevertheless, of the three, John McCain has pandered more, and longer, and has proven again and again his contempt for US immigration laws. McCain defended the illegal alien marches of 2006. He opposed English Only laws and efforts to assimilate immigrants generally. He also seems fonder of Hispanic culture than traditional American culture: in one speech, he said the U.S. is better off not having a common culture, while in another, to Hispanic congressmen, he said that the Hispanic blood and culture was a "noble cause" that enriched the country. McCains’s Hispanic outreach director, Juan Hernandez, a longtime amnesty agitator, is actually a U.S.-Mexican citizen and a former Mexican cabinet minister!

So by any objective standard, McCain has pandered more to Mexico and Hispanics than either Hillary or Obama.

Then McCain must be very popular in Mexico, right?

Maybe he should be—but he’s not.

A recent poll reported March 21 by El Universal, Mexico’s paper of record, asked which of the three candidates—John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama—would be better for Mexico.

The results: Hillary Clinton got 41% of the Mexican vote. Obama was in second place, with 27% of the vote.

And John McCain? He got a whopping 8% of the vote!

Battle brews over future of Mexican oil

by Chris Hawley - Apr. 8, 2008 12:00 AM

Republic Mexico City Bureau

MEXICO CITY - The cartoon in a recent newspaper said it all: A sinking ship labeled "Mexico" hangs underwater, tied to a floating oil barrel, as a hand holding scissors prepares to cut the cord.

Mexico is in an uproar over President Felipe Calderón's effort to reform the state oil monopoly, whose sales have long kept the government budget afloat as well as supplying a big chunk of the United States' energy needs.

Protesters are threatening to seize oil refineries, block highways and shut down airports. The Popular Revolutionary Army, a guerrilla group known for bomb attacks, has vowed to cripple the company if the government opens it to foreign investment. About 28,000 activists have joined "brigades" to carry out civil disobedience.

Any disruption of oil exports could be a big blow to Americans already reeling from high fuel prices. Mexico is the United States' third-biggest supplier of oil after Canada and Saudi Arabia.

The opposition is also the most serious challenge yet to Calderón, who had been on a roll since taking office in December 2006. He has coaxed opposition lawmakers into supporting overhauls of Mexico's tax code, legal system and government retirement plan. But energy reform is an even bigger powder keg.

Deportation snag hits for drug cartel suspect

UNION-TRIBUNE

6:39 a.m. March 14, 2008

Mexican authorities said yesterday that the deportation of a U.S. citizen alleged to be a top member of the Tijuana-based Arellano Félix drug cartel was in limbo after the man said he also has Mexican citizenship.

Under Mexican law, Mexican citizens cannot be deported to another country.

Gustavo Rivera Martínez, 46, was captured Tuesday night in Baja California Sur. He was indicted on U.S. drug charges in 2002 in San Diego.

Foreign governments that wish to try a Mexican citizen must submit an extradition request, and the process can take months or even years.

Mexican Cabinet secretary investigated

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico's federal attorney general's office on Tuesday announced an investigation into allegations of corruption against Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino, a confidant of the president who holds the government's second highest profile job.

Mourino faces allegations of using his political clout while previously serving as a federal congressman and top energy official to benefit a family business.

The announcement came after a prominent opposition politician produced a series of contracts dated from 2000 to 2004 between state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, and the Mourino family business, Transportes Especializados Ivancar SA.

"Various public officials have accused Juan Camilo Mourino Terrazo of allegedly benefiting private companies through his role as a public servant," the attorney general's office said in a statement. Mourino "has requested that the charges be clarified because he feels they lack substance."

Border States Feel Strain…In Mexico!

Memo From Mexico, By Allan Wall

In January, a delegation came to Arizona from the Mexican state of Sonora, Arizona’s neighbor to the south, to complain about Arizona’s recently-enacted law that cracks down on illegal immigration.

There’s nothing new about Mexican officials meddling in U.S. immigration policy. They’ve become quite accustomed to it. Needless to say, foreign officials shouldn’t deter Arizona’s lawmakers from doing what needs to be done.

But there’s another angle to this story, which illustrates the special predicament of Mexican Border States, and the role those states might play in the future.

Mexico has six states that border the U.S. From east to west, they are: Tamaulipas , Nuevo Leon , Coahuila , Chihuahua, Sonora , and Baja California.

These six states are among Mexico’s more prosperous states. They are not major sources of emigrants to the U.S.

According to a 2007 Mexican government report prepared for the Mexican House of Representatives, the 5 principal “emigrant-expelling states” are in Central Mexico. They are: Michoacan (President Calderon’s home state, said to have more of its people dwelling in the U.S. than in the home state), Jalisco, Guanajuato (Vicente Fox’s home state) , the state of Mexico and Veracruz.

Mexico leftist seizes oil reform to drive comeback

By Catherine Bremer

REUTERS

6:43 a.m. March 4, 2008

MEXICO CITY – A firebrand Mexican leftist whose 2006 presidential bid sent jitters through Wall Street is back, leading protests against energy reforms after a year in the political wilderness.

Andres Manuel López Obrador jammed Mexico City with protest camps for weeks after the July 2006 election, claiming his defeat was rigged, but he then fell from the radar screen as President Felipe Calderón took power, pushing through laws and battling drug cartels.

Now the anti-capitalist has seized on opposition to Calderón's oil reform plans to launch a comeback that could decide whether he survives to get another shot at the presidency in 2012 or fades away for good.

López Obrador has an army of followers among the poor. Thousands came out late last month to cheer on his first big rally against talks in Congress on letting more private capital into Mexico's oil sector, under state control since 1938.