++ President Felipe Calderón said unity is crucial to Mexico’s prosperity… During his message to the nation in the fourth year of his administration Calderón called on all political forces in Mexico to come to agreement about the solutions the country needs. Calderón said that it was possible to create a State security policy that gathered the efforts of everyone to put a definite end to crime. Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora said that it was “a time of unity” to overcome the country’s security crisis and move forward.
++ State of Mexico Governor Enrique Peña Nieto said his administration was joining the president’s call for unity. But Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said President Calderón failed to admit that Mexico has not progressed with regard to economic or social issues.
++ Mexican Army troops and hired gunmen engaged in a shootout near two towns on the border between Nuevo León and Tamaulipas… Twenty-five people were killed, three soldiers were wounded and three hostages freed.
++ A federal state public prosecutor was set to decide on Saturday on the legal situation of arrested drug suspect “La Barbie.” He could be placed under temporary arrest, sent to a maximum security prison or handed over to U.S. authorities to face drug trafficking charges there.
++ Ecuadorean television channel Gamma TV broadcast live footage of the Ecuadorean migrant who survived the massacre in San Fernando, Tamaulipas… The survivor asked his fellow Ecuadoreans not to travel to the United States because the Los Zetas gang is on a murderous rampage.
++ Mexicana de Aviación land employees marched through Terminal 1 at the Mexico City International Airport to demand a quick solution to the crisis the airline is going through.
++ Because of the violence gripping Tamaulipas, municipal authorities in San Fernando, Miguel Alemán and Hidalgo, suspended Independence festivities, the “Independence shout” or Grito, on the night of September 15th.
++ Heavy floods and rising rivers in Tabasco forced 109,408 people from their homes. Meanwhile, in Oaxaca, schools were shut down leaving 19,000 children at home, and 40 communities were stranded as more than 60,000 people were forced from their homes because of the rains.
++ On a sad note -- sardonic, perceptive and witty writer, dramatist and columnist Germán Dehesa died at age 66 in his home in Mexico City.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
News Summary for September 2d, 2010
++ The Attorney General’s Office confirmed that there was another survivor from the massacre of 72 migrants in the town of San Fernando in Tamaulipas. The Navy discovered the bodies on August 24. In a press release the Attorney General’s Office said the other survivor aside from an Ecuadorean citizen who told authorities about the massacre, was a Honduran migrant who managed to escape from the Los Zetas drug trafficking ring. The statement confirming another survivor came hours after Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa had announced it. The Federal District Superior Court said that the bodies of 56 migrants murdered and discovered on August 24 were taken to the Mexico City Forensics Service.
++ The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office said it would interrogate Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as "La Barbie," about his relationship with José Jorge Balderas Treviño, alias “El JJ,” who shot at soccer player Salvador Cabañas.
++ Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna said it was regrettable that some critics are saying the arrest of Edgar Valdez Villarreal, “La Barbie,” was politically motivated.
++ Navy Secretary Francisco Saynez Mendoza, said Mexico was seeing terrorist actions from organized criminal groups who seek to intimidate society… However he rejected the notion that Mexico was harboring international terrorist groups seeking to destabilize the country.
++ Deputies and senators took part in the opening session of Congress in the second year of the 61st Legislature… Later, Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora submitted President Felipe Calderón’s Fourth Report on the State of the Nation.
++ Calderón said in his report that from September 1, 2009 to August 19, authorities arrested 34,515 people who were suspected of being linked to narcotics traffickers.
++ The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office said it would interrogate Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as "La Barbie," about his relationship with José Jorge Balderas Treviño, alias “El JJ,” who shot at soccer player Salvador Cabañas.
++ Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna said it was regrettable that some critics are saying the arrest of Edgar Valdez Villarreal, “La Barbie,” was politically motivated.
++ Navy Secretary Francisco Saynez Mendoza, said Mexico was seeing terrorist actions from organized criminal groups who seek to intimidate society… However he rejected the notion that Mexico was harboring international terrorist groups seeking to destabilize the country.
++ Deputies and senators took part in the opening session of Congress in the second year of the 61st Legislature… Later, Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora submitted President Felipe Calderón’s Fourth Report on the State of the Nation.
++ Calderón said in his report that from September 1, 2009 to August 19, authorities arrested 34,515 people who were suspected of being linked to narcotics traffickers.
News Summary for September 1st, 2010
Barbie was arrested… Alive…
++ The Federal Police presented alleged drug lord Edgar Valdez Villarreal, or “La Barbie,” who was arrested Monday in Salazar, Lerma. In the State of Mexico, with another six suspected accomplices, four men and two women.
++ Speaking at a news conference, the head of the police Anti-drugs Division, Ramón Pequeño, said that “La Barbie” headed a criminal organization that moved a ton of cocaine every month operating in the State of Mexico as well as Morelos, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Quintana Roo and the Federal District. Pequeño said that in Monday’s shootout near the Perisur shopping mall in southern Mexico City, federal police shot dead Aarón Jines Becerril, a hired gunman who was a bodyguard to Valdez Villarreal. Also One of Barbie´s associates was also arrested in Colombia yesterday…
++ In an interview granted to Grupo Imagen, President Felipe Calderón admitted that even though it is not what he would wish violence would in the short run continue in some parts of Mexico.
++ The United States congratulated the Mexican government on the capture of Edgar Valdez Villarreal… The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency said that Valdez Villarreal’s arrest shows that none of the “violent leaders” of the Mexican drug cartels are beyond the reach of law.
++ The government and the National Human Rights Commission created a
comprehensive strategy to prevent and fight migrant kidnappings… The plan
includes five action lines, among them dismantling people trafficking networks using intelligence available on them and stricter railroad vigilance.
++ An armed commando set fire to the Castillo del Mar bar in Cancún, Quintana Roo… Six women and two men were killed.
++ The PRD caucus in the Chamber of Deputies demanded the resignation of
Communications and Transportation Secretary Juan Molinar Horcasitas, because of the country’s failed aviation policy.
++ The Supreme Court began considering a decision from the
Inter-American Human Rights Commission finding the Mexican state to blame for the forced disappearance of Rosendo Radilla Pacheco, a political activist in the 1970s. The current government has argued that it cannot be blamed for something that happened so many years ago, since “Mexico today is not what it was then.”
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Is México safer then Canada... According to the Economist
Is México safer then Canada... According to the Economist. What do you think? Check it out. Click here.
Monday, August 30, 2010
News Summary for August 28th, 2010
In the wake of Mexicana de Aviación airline suspending flights, the Tourism Secretariat was negotiating with other airlines, both national and international, to increase the number of flights to Mexico to cover demand…Some parts of the country were practically left stranded because of the lack of flights, for example, Chetumal state capital Quintana Roo, Puerto Escondido, in Oaxaca and Minatitlán in Veracruz… Labor Secretary Javier Lozando and Communications and Transportation Secretary Juan Molinar Horcasitas were working with business groups to seek to inject new funds to start up Mexicana’s flights again.
++++++++
The Attorney General’s Office has taken up the investigation into the massacre of 72 migrants in San Fernando, Tamaulipas… The bodies of 40 of the victims had been identified… Tamaulipas’ Attorney General confirmed the assassination of the mayor of Hidalgo, Antonio Leal García… He was ambushed as he was leaving his ranch while traveling with his four-year-old daughter who was wounded in the attack… Hidalgo is a community located 90 kilometers from Ciudad Victoria in central Tamaulipas…
++++++++
Violence was rampant in Tamaulipas… Twenty-three people were wounded in grenade attacks… An explosive device detonated at the Tampico Metropolitan police headquarters left two people wounded… The Interior Secretariat announced that together with the Tamaulipas government they had agreed to increase the presence of federal forces and the Army to beef up intelligence operations and find the culprits…
++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile, Army troops captured the suspected Zetas leader in Monterrey, Juan Francisco Zapata Gallegos, known as “El Billy” or “El Pelón”… He is accused in the shootout at the Monterrey Technological Institute that killed two students…
+++++++++++++++++++++
Authorities also arrested José Luis García Vázquez, alias “El Chilaca” who, according to the Public Security Secretariat is the suspected head of the La Familia Michoacana drug cartel in Morelia…
++++++++++
Despite heavy rains in Tabasco, nearly 3,000 people refused to leave their homes even though they were affected by rains or were at risk of flooding after water levels in two rivers were rising dangerously… They will be assisted by Navy, Pemex and Civil Protection boats and rafts… Alerts were issued for expected heavy rains in Chiapas, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero and Michoacán in the following 24 hours…
++++++++
The Mexico Archdiocese Hugo Valdermar Romero accused the Mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard of embezzlement, as he was allegedly using public funds in the slander lawsuit the mayor filed against him…
+++++++++++++
PAN Deputies rejected a PRI proposal to drop the IVA or value added tax back to 15 percent from 16 percent it is currently… Deputy PAN economic policy coordinator Luis Enrique Mercado Sánchez called the proposal “populist” and said it would endanger public finances…
++++++
PRI Senate caucus leader Manlio Fabio Beltrones demanded that President Felipe Calderón provide clear information on finances in his next report on the state of the nation… He asked for the president to rectify public policies and also his style of governing…
Friday, August 27, 2010
News Summary for August 27th, 2010
++ Car bomb explodes in front of Televisa Tamaulipas, allthough there is little details as we post this summary, it appears that no one was injured.
++ Deputy Interior Secretary Roberto Gil Zuarth said the massacre of 72 migrants in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, is an indication of the level of violence of organized crime in that region. He said that for some time now narcotics trafficking gangs force Central American and South American migrants to join them by threatening them with guns. Consular representatives from El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras and Brazil arrived at the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office in Reynosa… They are set to identify the bodies and take them back to their places of origin.
++ The Ecuadorean government planned to request of the U.S. and Mexican government additional protection for the Ecuadorean migrant who survived the massacre as well as his family… The man was transferred from the Matamoros General Hospital to a naval military base. The United States said it was interested in cooperating in the investigation into the deaths of 72 migrants killed in Mexico apparently by narcotics traffickers. U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said the murders show just how dangerous those criminal groups are as they undermine Mexico’s democracy.
++ A fragmentation grenade was detonated in a bar in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco… Sixteen people were wounded, two of them seriously… Initial reports said one of the patrons at the bar was carrying the grenade and it exploded by mistake. (Comment: Mistake!!???)
++ President Felipe Calderón signed a law bill to prevent and identify operations with resources coming from illegal sources and to finance terrorism.
++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard asked the Archbishop of Guadalajara, Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, to be brave enough to admit that he made a mistake and lied when he accused Supreme Court Justices of allowing themselves to be paid bribes to uphold a law allowing same-sex marriages.
++ Deputy Interior Secretary Roberto Gil Zuarth said the massacre of 72 migrants in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, is an indication of the level of violence of organized crime in that region. He said that for some time now narcotics trafficking gangs force Central American and South American migrants to join them by threatening them with guns. Consular representatives from El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras and Brazil arrived at the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office in Reynosa… They are set to identify the bodies and take them back to their places of origin.
++ The Ecuadorean government planned to request of the U.S. and Mexican government additional protection for the Ecuadorean migrant who survived the massacre as well as his family… The man was transferred from the Matamoros General Hospital to a naval military base. The United States said it was interested in cooperating in the investigation into the deaths of 72 migrants killed in Mexico apparently by narcotics traffickers. U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said the murders show just how dangerous those criminal groups are as they undermine Mexico’s democracy.
++ A fragmentation grenade was detonated in a bar in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco… Sixteen people were wounded, two of them seriously… Initial reports said one of the patrons at the bar was carrying the grenade and it exploded by mistake. (Comment: Mistake!!???)
++ President Felipe Calderón signed a law bill to prevent and identify operations with resources coming from illegal sources and to finance terrorism.
++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard asked the Archbishop of Guadalajara, Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, to be brave enough to admit that he made a mistake and lied when he accused Supreme Court Justices of allowing themselves to be paid bribes to uphold a law allowing same-sex marriages.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
News Summary for August 26th, 2010
++ Navy troops found in a mass grave 72 cadavers, 58 men and 14 women, in the town of San Fernando in Tamaulipas. The technical secretary of the National Security Council, Alejandro Poiré, said the 72 murdered people could have been illegal migrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador and Brazil.
He condemned the massacre and said that apparently the 72 victims were murdered by a criminal gang seeking to obtain money from them and force them to join the gang. The U.S. State Department called the killing and finding the corpses in Tamauipas “horribly tragic.”
++ Trying to win over mayors to support his project to promote 32 state police forces, who voiced objections since they would lose their autonomy, President Calderón said the true threat to municipal autonomy is not seeking a joint command strategy but the inroads criminals are making as they attempt to take over territories.
++ Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Medina announced there would be a 20-percent increase to the wages of state police officers who pass confidence tests.
++ Ciudad Juárez City Hall announced that high rates of insecurity and violence forced authorities to cancel Independence day “Grito” celebrations.
++ Flight Attendants Union leader Lizete Clavel, warned Tenedora K holding company that it is not the only group interested in becoming a Mexicana de Aviación shareholder… She said there are other private groups willing to bet on the aviation industry without trying to impose conditions on workers.
++ District Judge María Magdalena Malpica agreed to consider the slander suit filed by Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard against cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez and Mexico Archdiocese spokesman Hugo Valdemar Romero.
++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said no prelate from the Catholic Church or any other church is above the law.
++ The Federal Electoral Tribunal found that President Calderón’s nationally televised speeches on June 15 and 30 as well as on July 1, violated electoral laws because they promoted government achievements and programs.
He condemned the massacre and said that apparently the 72 victims were murdered by a criminal gang seeking to obtain money from them and force them to join the gang. The U.S. State Department called the killing and finding the corpses in Tamauipas “horribly tragic.”
++ Trying to win over mayors to support his project to promote 32 state police forces, who voiced objections since they would lose their autonomy, President Calderón said the true threat to municipal autonomy is not seeking a joint command strategy but the inroads criminals are making as they attempt to take over territories.
++ Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Medina announced there would be a 20-percent increase to the wages of state police officers who pass confidence tests.
++ Ciudad Juárez City Hall announced that high rates of insecurity and violence forced authorities to cancel Independence day “Grito” celebrations.
++ Flight Attendants Union leader Lizete Clavel, warned Tenedora K holding company that it is not the only group interested in becoming a Mexicana de Aviación shareholder… She said there are other private groups willing to bet on the aviation industry without trying to impose conditions on workers.
++ District Judge María Magdalena Malpica agreed to consider the slander suit filed by Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard against cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez and Mexico Archdiocese spokesman Hugo Valdemar Romero.
++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said no prelate from the Catholic Church or any other church is above the law.
++ The Federal Electoral Tribunal found that President Calderón’s nationally televised speeches on June 15 and 30 as well as on July 1, violated electoral laws because they promoted government achievements and programs.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
News Summary for August 25th, 2010
++ Surprised?? The Nuevo León Attorney General’s Office said that the seven police agents and transit officers from the town of Santiago who took part in the abduction and murder of mayor Edelmiro Cavazos are linked to the Los Zetas hired gunmen’s group.
++ Will Mexicana ever fly again..? The Labor Secretariat said the offer made by Tenedora K to negotiate with Mexicana airline attendants was “unacceptable.” … Tenedora K wanted to fire all flight attendants, disregarding their collective contract, and only rehire 25 percent of attendants under a different contract. Tenedora K chief administrator Alejandro Rodríguez Mirelles said the impact of labor costs on the financial and competitive situation of Mexicana de Aviación was graver than what was thought.
++ Health Secretary José Ángel Córdova Villalobos said he was in favor of amending the Social Security law to offer health rights to all Mexicans, including same-sex married couples. Mexican Social Security Institute Director Daniel Karam reported on his Twitter account that he had submitted to Congress a proposal to amend the law so as to be able to provide health protection to same sex married couples.
++ Tropical depression number 24 caused damages in 30 towns in the state of Veracruz, affecting more than 4,000 homes that were drenched when seven rivers flooded their banks. Meanwhile in Oaxaca, 500 families were forced out of their homes when the Los Perros river flooded over in Juchitán, Oaxaca… Rains dumped by tropical storm Frank made the river rise to its maximum level and flood over.
++ Will Mexicana ever fly again..? The Labor Secretariat said the offer made by Tenedora K to negotiate with Mexicana airline attendants was “unacceptable.” … Tenedora K wanted to fire all flight attendants, disregarding their collective contract, and only rehire 25 percent of attendants under a different contract. Tenedora K chief administrator Alejandro Rodríguez Mirelles said the impact of labor costs on the financial and competitive situation of Mexicana de Aviación was graver than what was thought.
++ Health Secretary José Ángel Córdova Villalobos said he was in favor of amending the Social Security law to offer health rights to all Mexicans, including same-sex married couples. Mexican Social Security Institute Director Daniel Karam reported on his Twitter account that he had submitted to Congress a proposal to amend the law so as to be able to provide health protection to same sex married couples.
++ Tropical depression number 24 caused damages in 30 towns in the state of Veracruz, affecting more than 4,000 homes that were drenched when seven rivers flooded their banks. Meanwhile in Oaxaca, 500 families were forced out of their homes when the Los Perros river flooded over in Juchitán, Oaxaca… Rains dumped by tropical storm Frank made the river rise to its maximum level and flood over.
Monday, August 23, 2010
News Summary for August 23rd, 2010
The Interior Secretariat announced that President Felipe Calderón is set to deliver his fourth state of the nation report on September 1st in writing, as stipulated in the Constitution… The president is set to send in a report but won’t appear before Congress, the secretariat said. But…PRI Senate caucus leader Manlio Fabio Beltrones said that the country’s situation would require the president to exchange ideas with the Legislative branch in connection to the Fourth State of the Nation report… He said Congress would be the correct arena for such a dialogue…
And there’s been two presidential aspirations announced within the PRD… Speaking before recently elected governors, mayors, federal and local deputies, PRD national leader Jesús Ortega put forth his strategy to seek the presidency in 2012… He presented a “Decalogue for Good Government” that would aim to eliminate corruption through transparency and accountability… Meanwhile, a group of PRD members announced they were creating a new current within the party, Democratic Force, that seeks to democratize the party and also promote Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard for the presidency…
----
And major news for the airline industry – over the weekend Tenedora K, SA de CV, a Mexican company, bought 95 percent of Nuevo Grupo Aeronáutico shares, that make up Mexicana de Aviación and its affiliates, Click and Link... The remaining five percent of shares are still held by the Aviation Pilots Union.
----
More than 27 million students at the pre-school, primary and secondary school level were set to return to school as the new school year begins…
Education Secretary Alonso Lujambio insisted there would be no backtracking on the issue of removing junk food from basic level education schools… He said that starting in 2011 soft drinks and high-fat content or high sugar content foods would no longer be sold in schools.
And there’s been two presidential aspirations announced within the PRD… Speaking before recently elected governors, mayors, federal and local deputies, PRD national leader Jesús Ortega put forth his strategy to seek the presidency in 2012… He presented a “Decalogue for Good Government” that would aim to eliminate corruption through transparency and accountability… Meanwhile, a group of PRD members announced they were creating a new current within the party, Democratic Force, that seeks to democratize the party and also promote Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard for the presidency…
----
And major news for the airline industry – over the weekend Tenedora K, SA de CV, a Mexican company, bought 95 percent of Nuevo Grupo Aeronáutico shares, that make up Mexicana de Aviación and its affiliates, Click and Link... The remaining five percent of shares are still held by the Aviation Pilots Union.
----
More than 27 million students at the pre-school, primary and secondary school level were set to return to school as the new school year begins…
Education Secretary Alonso Lujambio insisted there would be no backtracking on the issue of removing junk food from basic level education schools… He said that starting in 2011 soft drinks and high-fat content or high sugar content foods would no longer be sold in schools.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
News Summary for August 18th, 2010
Reactions to the constitutionality of same sex couples adopting children…
++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard announced he would file a slander suit against Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez… The suit would be presented before the Mexico City Superior Tribunal accusing the cardinal of staining his reputation. Sandoval Iñiguez claimed that the mayor of Mexico City bribed Supreme Court Justices so that they would find in favor of the constitutionality of same sex couples adoptions. The PRD demanded that the Interior Secretariat and the Federal Electoral Institute comply with their responsibilities and issue warning statements to members of the Catholic Church who in recent days have violated the
Constitution. The Mexican Bishops Conference backed Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñíguez… The conference said that Catholic priests expressed their opinions publicly and that it was regrettable that in doing so that there should be others who would claim intolerance.
More on Mexicana…It is going down fast…
++ The National Confederation of Chambers of Commerce, the Concanaco, warned that Mexicana could end up in foreign hands… This warning came in the wake of rumors that companies like Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse were interested in stepping in to capitalize the airline. Senators and deputies agreed to call in Communications and Transportation Secretary Juan Molinar Horcasitas, to provide a detailed report on the state of the air travel industry in general and in particular Mexicana de Aviación airline.
++ The Finance Secretariat confirmed that deputy finance secretary Alejandro Werner resigned from his position that would be taken by José Antonio Meade, formerly deputy income secretary at the Ministry of Finance. He, in turn, is to be replaced by José Antonio González Anaya…
++ Criminal judge Héctor Jiménez López, sentenced seven of the defendants in the case of the kidnapping and assassination of Yolanda María Ceballos Coppel to 455 years behind bars… The murder occurred on July 3, 2009.
++ The Nuevo León Public Security Secretariat announced an anti-blockade
operation in which Monterrey and San Nicolás police will participate.
++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard announced he would file a slander suit against Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez… The suit would be presented before the Mexico City Superior Tribunal accusing the cardinal of staining his reputation. Sandoval Iñiguez claimed that the mayor of Mexico City bribed Supreme Court Justices so that they would find in favor of the constitutionality of same sex couples adoptions. The PRD demanded that the Interior Secretariat and the Federal Electoral Institute comply with their responsibilities and issue warning statements to members of the Catholic Church who in recent days have violated the
Constitution. The Mexican Bishops Conference backed Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñíguez… The conference said that Catholic priests expressed their opinions publicly and that it was regrettable that in doing so that there should be others who would claim intolerance.
More on Mexicana…It is going down fast…
++ The National Confederation of Chambers of Commerce, the Concanaco, warned that Mexicana could end up in foreign hands… This warning came in the wake of rumors that companies like Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse were interested in stepping in to capitalize the airline. Senators and deputies agreed to call in Communications and Transportation Secretary Juan Molinar Horcasitas, to provide a detailed report on the state of the air travel industry in general and in particular Mexicana de Aviación airline.
++ The Finance Secretariat confirmed that deputy finance secretary Alejandro Werner resigned from his position that would be taken by José Antonio Meade, formerly deputy income secretary at the Ministry of Finance. He, in turn, is to be replaced by José Antonio González Anaya…
++ Criminal judge Héctor Jiménez López, sentenced seven of the defendants in the case of the kidnapping and assassination of Yolanda María Ceballos Coppel to 455 years behind bars… The murder occurred on July 3, 2009.
++ The Nuevo León Public Security Secretariat announced an anti-blockade
operation in which Monterrey and San Nicolás police will participate.
News Summary for August 17th, 2010
In a 9-2 vote the Mexican Supreme Court upheld a Mexico City law that allows same-sex married couples to jointly adopt children. In defending their ruling, the court majority said that the superior interest of the child is protected when he or she is provided with love, education, financial resources and attention… Therefore, they said, it has been proven that homosexuals are just as capable of being parents as heterosexuals.
++ Justice Sergio Vals Hernández also submitted a ruling unanimously voted by the court to condemn comments by Guadalajara Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez who accused the Federal District government of bribing judges to endorse the same-sex marriage law… Vals Hernández said that corruption accusations against 11 justices could not go unpunished.
++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said that it was regrettable that a
high-level figure within the Catholic Church should make accusations against the nation’s top court just because its ruling went against the church’s beliefs.
++ The Mexico City Archdiocese lashed out at the Supreme Court saying that the “frivolity” of the Supreme Court justices that backed same-sex marriages was outrageous. The Archdiocese said that the Court treated children like pets, because anyone that wants one can adopt a child as if they were cats or dogs.
++ Nuevo León Attorney General Alejandro Garza confirmed that the mayor of Santiago, Edelmiro Cavazos, went missing on Sunday… He ruled out a kidnapping, for the time being.
++ Mexicana de Aviación, owned by Gastón Azcárraga, is facing imminent
bankruptcy… In addition to 18 billion pesos in liabilities, the airline owes the government more than two billion pesos.
++ Former PAN leader Manuel Espino announced that he intended to seek the
presidency in 2012 and said he might look into outside candidacies if he is expelled from the party.
++ Justice Sergio Vals Hernández also submitted a ruling unanimously voted by the court to condemn comments by Guadalajara Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez who accused the Federal District government of bribing judges to endorse the same-sex marriage law… Vals Hernández said that corruption accusations against 11 justices could not go unpunished.
++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said that it was regrettable that a
high-level figure within the Catholic Church should make accusations against the nation’s top court just because its ruling went against the church’s beliefs.
++ The Mexico City Archdiocese lashed out at the Supreme Court saying that the “frivolity” of the Supreme Court justices that backed same-sex marriages was outrageous. The Archdiocese said that the Court treated children like pets, because anyone that wants one can adopt a child as if they were cats or dogs.
++ Nuevo León Attorney General Alejandro Garza confirmed that the mayor of Santiago, Edelmiro Cavazos, went missing on Sunday… He ruled out a kidnapping, for the time being.
++ Mexicana de Aviación, owned by Gastón Azcárraga, is facing imminent
bankruptcy… In addition to 18 billion pesos in liabilities, the airline owes the government more than two billion pesos.
++ Former PAN leader Manuel Espino announced that he intended to seek the
presidency in 2012 and said he might look into outside candidacies if he is expelled from the party.
Monday, August 16, 2010
I am back! Summary of News for August 16th, 2010
PRI senate caucus leader Manlio Fabio Beltrones called on President Felipe Calderón to engage in “open and fruitful” dialogue going beyond just criticisms back and forth … Beltrones said the aim is to find a new security strategy…
+++++
Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora said that the meetings held as part of the Dialogue for Security sessions would allow for new agreements to be reached not only in security but also in other topics crucial to Mexico…
+++++++
PRI deputies leader Francisco Rojas lashed out at the government’s security and economic strategy saying that the government is sacrificing investment and employment because it is following a strategy of “financial discipline.” Senate political affairs board head Gustavo Madero said the country is being held hostage by groups that are backward thinking…
++++++++
One month before the nation’s Independence Bicentennial the remains of 14 heroes were taken to the National Palace where they were put on display…
At the ceremony President Felipe Calderón said dialogue and unity among Mexicans is crucial to build the Mexico that Independence fighters strove for… Also taking part in the event, Chief Supreme Court Justice Guillermo Ortiz Mayagoitia said that the war against crime must be within the rule of law at all times…
+++++++
A grenade exploded outside the Televisa Monterrey studio leaving no one hurt… On Saturday, a similar blast occurred outside Televisa in Matamoros…
++++++
Six people were killed in different parts of the state of Guerrero… Meanwhile, in Oaxaca, authorities found eight corpses inside a van…
++++++++++++++++
This could be a crucial week for Mexicana de Aviación airline… Last Wednesday was the deadline for the company to pay around 900 million pesos it owes in fuel… Airlines like Aviacsa were grounded when they failed to pay their fuel debts…
++++++++
Federal District Public Works secretary Fernando Aboiti announced that work on the final sections of the second level freeways over the Periférico would begin in late September or early October.
++++++++++++
Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez accused Supreme Court justices and the mayor of Mexico City of following orders from international organizations with regard to same sex marriages… Iñiguez so far as saying that they were being paid money to approve same-sex marriages…
++++++++++++
Saturday, August 07, 2010
New Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos...
Blogging live during the swearing-in ceremony... President Juan Manuel Santos reconizes Alvaro Uribe, but sends a message that things will be different now that he is in office. Santos sends a war message to the guerrilla and a peace message to Venezuela and Ecuador..go to www.anamariasalazar.com for more analisis...
Blogging from Colombia...
I will blogging from Colombia today, following the swearing-in ceremony for the new President Juan Manuel Santos... Join me today at www.anamariasalazar.com
News Summary for August 7th, 2010
++ Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna said that organized crime is
paying municipal police throughout Mexico more than 1.2 billion pesos a year…
He said that three out of every five police agents receive 4,000 pesos a month
in salary and 20.4 percent, or about a fifth, only earn 1,000 pesos a month.
These low salaries explain why so many police agents are on organized crime’s
payroll, he said.
++ President Felipe Calderón said society’s enemies are criminals… In a speech
before media owners and executives he proposed that media organizations should
discuss among themselves how to establish ethical codes and protocols on the way
security information should be handled.
++ Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora said the federal government would
continue to battle ruthless criminals whose intention is to terrorize and
antagonize citizens and authorities.
++ Fourteen prisoners were killed in a prison riot in the Matamoros
penitentiary… Authorities said rival gangs seeking control of the prison fought
using their fists and knives and other sharp instruments.
++ Criminal groups ordered road blockades using cargo trucks in San Nicolás and
Apodaca, Nuevo León… The blockades kept main avenues closed for an hour until
Mexican army troops freed up the roadways by removing the trucks…
++ Journalists, reporters and other concerned citizens were planning a “silent”
march to protest over journalists being kidnapped, killed and disappeared… The
first Demonstration Against Attacks on Journalists in Mexico would set off from
the Angel of Independence Monument and head to the Interior Secretariat.
++ Villagers in San Pablo Oztotepec, in Milpa Alta, tired to lynch two suspects
who were caught robbing… Both were freed after city authorities spoke with their
captors who demanded the two be punished.
++ The Flight Attendants Union agreed to propose changes in their labor
conditions that would mean 240 million pesos in savings annually for
crisis-struck Mexicana de Aviación airline.
paying municipal police throughout Mexico more than 1.2 billion pesos a year…
He said that three out of every five police agents receive 4,000 pesos a month
in salary and 20.4 percent, or about a fifth, only earn 1,000 pesos a month.
These low salaries explain why so many police agents are on organized crime’s
payroll, he said.
++ President Felipe Calderón said society’s enemies are criminals… In a speech
before media owners and executives he proposed that media organizations should
discuss among themselves how to establish ethical codes and protocols on the way
security information should be handled.
++ Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora said the federal government would
continue to battle ruthless criminals whose intention is to terrorize and
antagonize citizens and authorities.
++ Fourteen prisoners were killed in a prison riot in the Matamoros
penitentiary… Authorities said rival gangs seeking control of the prison fought
using their fists and knives and other sharp instruments.
++ Criminal groups ordered road blockades using cargo trucks in San Nicolás and
Apodaca, Nuevo León… The blockades kept main avenues closed for an hour until
Mexican army troops freed up the roadways by removing the trucks…
++ Journalists, reporters and other concerned citizens were planning a “silent”
march to protest over journalists being kidnapped, killed and disappeared… The
first Demonstration Against Attacks on Journalists in Mexico would set off from
the Angel of Independence Monument and head to the Interior Secretariat.
++ Villagers in San Pablo Oztotepec, in Milpa Alta, tired to lynch two suspects
who were caught robbing… Both were freed after city authorities spoke with their
captors who demanded the two be punished.
++ The Flight Attendants Union agreed to propose changes in their labor
conditions that would mean 240 million pesos in savings annually for
crisis-struck Mexicana de Aviación airline.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
News Summary for August 4th, 2010
++ On the second day of the Dialogues for Security President Felipe Calderón
warned that violence will continue in Mexico for quite a while as a result of
the turf wars among criminal organizations. He said that regulating drugs is a core debate that must occur in a democracy
like Mexico.
++ The director of the CISEN, Guillermo Valdés, said that during this administration 28,000 people have been killed in the battle against organized crime.
++ PRD national leader Jesús Ortega called on the federal government not to be
afraid to discuss drug legalization as part of a strategy to reduce violence in
Mexico.
++ Jalisco Governor Emilio González Márquez said he supported a federal
investigation into whether local police forces had been offering protection to
Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel.
++ Mexicana de Aviación filed a commercial request to refinance its debt with a
Mexico City tribunal… This move came after pilots and cabin crew staff refused a
drastic cut to their wages and benefits as well as the buying conditions for the
airline.
++ The Federal District Tourism Secretariat and the National Touristic
Confederation said the Mexicana de Aviación crisis should lead to a revision of
the country’s airline sector.
++ Seven of 11 Supreme Court ministers could vote in favor of declaring that the
reforms to the Civil Code in the Federal District that allowed same sex
marriages were unconstitutional.
++ The remains of Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel and his nephew Mario Coronel were
buried in the Jardines del Humaya, cemetery in Culiacán, Sinaloa... Military
staff cordoned off the area both outside and inside the cemetery.
warned that violence will continue in Mexico for quite a while as a result of
the turf wars among criminal organizations. He said that regulating drugs is a core debate that must occur in a democracy
like Mexico.
++ The director of the CISEN, Guillermo Valdés, said that during this administration 28,000 people have been killed in the battle against organized crime.
++ PRD national leader Jesús Ortega called on the federal government not to be
afraid to discuss drug legalization as part of a strategy to reduce violence in
Mexico.
++ Jalisco Governor Emilio González Márquez said he supported a federal
investigation into whether local police forces had been offering protection to
Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel.
++ Mexicana de Aviación filed a commercial request to refinance its debt with a
Mexico City tribunal… This move came after pilots and cabin crew staff refused a
drastic cut to their wages and benefits as well as the buying conditions for the
airline.
++ The Federal District Tourism Secretariat and the National Touristic
Confederation said the Mexicana de Aviación crisis should lead to a revision of
the country’s airline sector.
++ Seven of 11 Supreme Court ministers could vote in favor of declaring that the
reforms to the Civil Code in the Federal District that allowed same sex
marriages were unconstitutional.
++ The remains of Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel and his nephew Mario Coronel were
buried in the Jardines del Humaya, cemetery in Culiacán, Sinaloa... Military
staff cordoned off the area both outside and inside the cemetery.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
News Summary for August 2d, 2010
In the wake of the death of drug trafficker Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel, PRI, PRD
and Labor Party deputies warned that if efforts are not made to avoid that the
Sinaloa drug cartel regroup there could be a wave of violence…
++++++
Federal District Public Security Secretary Manuel Mondragón said the police in
Mexico City are on alert in the wake of Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel’s death.
+++++++
Authorities ordered the 40-day temporary detainment of the former director of
the Gómez Palacios, Durango prison, Margarita Rojas Rodríguez and three of her
aides… These officials are accused of allowing a group of prisoners to exit the
penitentiary at nighttime to attack rival gangs and those actions left 35 people
killed in three massacres in Torreón…
+++++++++++++++++
Authorities confirmed that four reporters who were kidnapped this week when they
were covering the situation in the Gómez Palacios prison were freed… Public
Security Secretary Genaro García Luna said that kidnapping reporters is a new
strategy on the part of Joaquín “EL Chapo” Guzmán…
++++++++
Unknown attackers probably linked to organized crime killed four people in
Cuernavaca… The assailants gunned down three people after a chase that took
place in the airport area of Cuernavaca… Later, authorities found another corpse
wrapped in a blanket…
+++++++
And in the Villa Nueva district of Chihuahua unknown attackers gunned down six
men and seriously wounded another…
+++++++
The army seized a weapons cache that also contained military uniforms in Pareo,
in Tancítaro, Michoacán… The army first engaged in a shootout with suspects… No
victims or people wounded were reported…
+++++++++
Mexicana pilots and crew members carried out a march in the Mexico City airport
Terminal 1…. They called on President Felipe Calderón to intervene in the
conflict… They said decisions being taken by management are endangering flight
security…
+++++++++++++
The United States began the deployment of 1,200 National Guard troops on the
border with Mexico with the aim of strengthening security…
+++++++++
U.S. President Barack Obama called on U.S. officials to avoid demagoguery in the
immigration issue… He said that a solution would have to be found on a national
level and not in each state…
++++++++
Mexico now has two more spots declared UNESCO world heritage sites… They are the
inland Camino Real passage on the border with the United States and the Yagul
and Mitla prehistoric caves in central Oaxaca…
and Labor Party deputies warned that if efforts are not made to avoid that the
Sinaloa drug cartel regroup there could be a wave of violence…
++++++
Federal District Public Security Secretary Manuel Mondragón said the police in
Mexico City are on alert in the wake of Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel’s death.
+++++++
Authorities ordered the 40-day temporary detainment of the former director of
the Gómez Palacios, Durango prison, Margarita Rojas Rodríguez and three of her
aides… These officials are accused of allowing a group of prisoners to exit the
penitentiary at nighttime to attack rival gangs and those actions left 35 people
killed in three massacres in Torreón…
+++++++++++++++++
Authorities confirmed that four reporters who were kidnapped this week when they
were covering the situation in the Gómez Palacios prison were freed… Public
Security Secretary Genaro García Luna said that kidnapping reporters is a new
strategy on the part of Joaquín “EL Chapo” Guzmán…
++++++++
Unknown attackers probably linked to organized crime killed four people in
Cuernavaca… The assailants gunned down three people after a chase that took
place in the airport area of Cuernavaca… Later, authorities found another corpse
wrapped in a blanket…
+++++++
And in the Villa Nueva district of Chihuahua unknown attackers gunned down six
men and seriously wounded another…
+++++++
The army seized a weapons cache that also contained military uniforms in Pareo,
in Tancítaro, Michoacán… The army first engaged in a shootout with suspects… No
victims or people wounded were reported…
+++++++++
Mexicana pilots and crew members carried out a march in the Mexico City airport
Terminal 1…. They called on President Felipe Calderón to intervene in the
conflict… They said decisions being taken by management are endangering flight
security…
+++++++++++++
The United States began the deployment of 1,200 National Guard troops on the
border with Mexico with the aim of strengthening security…
+++++++++
U.S. President Barack Obama called on U.S. officials to avoid demagoguery in the
immigration issue… He said that a solution would have to be found on a national
level and not in each state…
++++++++
Mexico now has two more spots declared UNESCO world heritage sites… They are the
inland Camino Real passage on the border with the United States and the Yagul
and Mitla prehistoric caves in central Oaxaca…
Saturday, July 31, 2010
News Summary for July 30th, 2010
++ Following the death of drug trafficker Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel, in an operation in Zapopan, Jalisco, Navy secretary, Francisco Saynez Mendoza, denied that the federal government has failed in the battle against organized crime. He said the death of one of the Sinaloa drug cartel leaders was an example that it is an all-out equal battle against all the drug cartels.
++ Army troops were on guard in the Jalisco Forensic Services department to avoid that fellow drug traffickers steal the body of Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel … Attorney General’s Office expert conducted anthropomorphic tests, took fingerprints and photographs of the corpse to legally certify the death…
++ U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual congratulated the Army and the administration of President Felipe Calderón for the Jalisco operation that killed Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel, a Sinaloa drug cartel leader and thus putting an end to a major threat to society.
++ Meanwhile, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency called Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel’s death a “devastating blow” to the Sinaloa drug cartel.
++ Interior Secretary Francisco Blake demanded the immediate release of three journalists kidnapped in Gómez Palacio, Durango last Monday… Blake said the Mexican state would not allow threats to any member of society.
++ PAN party members in Durango said their party’s elected deputy Alfonso Peña was kidnapped last Monday together with his bodyguards.
++ The Chihuahua government offered the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez all the support necessary to guarantee security in the installations after the office announced on Thursday that it would close down its offices indefinitely for security reasons.
++ The U.S. General Consulate in Nuevo León imposed a curfew on its staff after the wave of violence that hit the area… The consulate restricted personnel movements between midnight and six a.m.
++ Unknown gunmen murdered Anastasio Juárez Hernández, a leader of the Triqui Region Social Welfare Union was murdered Thursday night in San Juan Copala, Oaxaca.
++ The Permanent Congressional Committee asked that the Attorney General’s Office and the Public Security Secretariat try the suspects who carried out and ordered the attacks by armed groups in San Juan Copala, Oaxaca.
++ Army troops were on guard in the Jalisco Forensic Services department to avoid that fellow drug traffickers steal the body of Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel … Attorney General’s Office expert conducted anthropomorphic tests, took fingerprints and photographs of the corpse to legally certify the death…
++ U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual congratulated the Army and the administration of President Felipe Calderón for the Jalisco operation that killed Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel, a Sinaloa drug cartel leader and thus putting an end to a major threat to society.
++ Meanwhile, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency called Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel’s death a “devastating blow” to the Sinaloa drug cartel.
++ Interior Secretary Francisco Blake demanded the immediate release of three journalists kidnapped in Gómez Palacio, Durango last Monday… Blake said the Mexican state would not allow threats to any member of society.
++ PAN party members in Durango said their party’s elected deputy Alfonso Peña was kidnapped last Monday together with his bodyguards.
++ The Chihuahua government offered the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez all the support necessary to guarantee security in the installations after the office announced on Thursday that it would close down its offices indefinitely for security reasons.
++ The U.S. General Consulate in Nuevo León imposed a curfew on its staff after the wave of violence that hit the area… The consulate restricted personnel movements between midnight and six a.m.
++ Unknown gunmen murdered Anastasio Juárez Hernández, a leader of the Triqui Region Social Welfare Union was murdered Thursday night in San Juan Copala, Oaxaca.
++ The Permanent Congressional Committee asked that the Attorney General’s Office and the Public Security Secretariat try the suspects who carried out and ordered the attacks by armed groups in San Juan Copala, Oaxaca.
Friday, July 30, 2010
US Consulate in Juarez closes till further notice...
The U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez has closed to review its security posture. The facility will be closed all day on Friday, July 30, and remain closed until the security review is completed. Click here for more info.
News Summary for July 30th, 2010...
++ The National Defense Secretariat confirmed that suspected drug trafficker Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, one of the Sinaloa drug cartel leaders was killed during an army bust in a housing unit in Zapopan, Jalisco.
Mexican authorities had offered up to 2.3 million dollars as reward money for information leading to his arrest.
++ The Arizona government filed an appeal with a federal court in San Francisco, California, challenging the injunction granted Wednesday that blocked the most controversial parts of the SB 1070 law that just went into effect.
++ The Foreign Affairs Secretariat said it was logical that Arizona governor Jan Brewer would file an appeal challenging the injunction that blocked the most controversial provisions of the SB 1070 law.
++ The army arrested 62 police officers in Tijuana, Baja California, on
suspicion of links to organized crime.
++ Fearing there could be another car-bomb explosion in Ciudad Juárez after authorities received a threat from drug traffickers, all police corporations are on maximum alert there, said Chihuahua Governor José Reyes Baeza.
++ The Federal District government said that murders of four people killed in a pizza parlor in Coyoacán borough would not go unpunished and the murderers would be arrested.
++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said an agreement exists with Andrés Manuel López Obrador to define the candidate for president for the Mexican left through a survey.
++ State of Mexico Governor Enrique Peña Nieto said that as long as the law is respected anyone can say what they want… He was referring to Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s aspirations to run again for president.
++ Authorities said they began handing out 86 million pesos in coupons to buy household items to people who lost their belongings after hurricane Alex hit in
Nuevo León.
Mexican authorities had offered up to 2.3 million dollars as reward money for information leading to his arrest.
++ The Arizona government filed an appeal with a federal court in San Francisco, California, challenging the injunction granted Wednesday that blocked the most controversial parts of the SB 1070 law that just went into effect.
++ The Foreign Affairs Secretariat said it was logical that Arizona governor Jan Brewer would file an appeal challenging the injunction that blocked the most controversial provisions of the SB 1070 law.
++ The army arrested 62 police officers in Tijuana, Baja California, on
suspicion of links to organized crime.
++ Fearing there could be another car-bomb explosion in Ciudad Juárez after authorities received a threat from drug traffickers, all police corporations are on maximum alert there, said Chihuahua Governor José Reyes Baeza.
++ The Federal District government said that murders of four people killed in a pizza parlor in Coyoacán borough would not go unpunished and the murderers would be arrested.
++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said an agreement exists with Andrés Manuel López Obrador to define the candidate for president for the Mexican left through a survey.
++ State of Mexico Governor Enrique Peña Nieto said that as long as the law is respected anyone can say what they want… He was referring to Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s aspirations to run again for president.
++ Authorities said they began handing out 86 million pesos in coupons to buy household items to people who lost their belongings after hurricane Alex hit in
Nuevo León.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
News Summary for July 29th, 2010
++ District judge Susan Bolton in Phoenix, Arizona, granted an injunction and ordered the temporary suspension of certain key aspects of the anti-immigration law SB 1070. The judge allowed other less controversial aspects of the law to go into effect.
++ One of the clauses that was blocked was the provision that authorized police officers to determine whether a person is an illegal immigrant, to arrest people without warrants when there is reason to believe they could be in the United States illegally, as well as the clause that made lacking possession of immigration documents a state crime.
++ Arizona Governor Jan Brewer called the judge’s ruling “a little bump in the road” and vowed to appeal it… She said it was the start of a long legal process, as, she claimed, either side was going to appeal in any case.
++ The U.S. State department hailed the injunction calling it a correct decision on the part of federal judge Susan Bolton, since these kinds of laws would seriously upset the federal government’s work.
++ The Mexican government through Foreign Affairs Secretary Patricia Espinosa, hailed the Arizona District Court’s decision blocking certain key parts of the SB 1070 immigration law just hours before it was set to go into effect and said it was a step in the right direction.
++ The Congressional Permanent Committee also welcomed Arizona district judge Susan Bolton’s ruling and approved a statement rejecting the start of the Arizona anti-immigration law.
++ The leader of the Mexican Electricians Union warned that his followers would take over the Mexico City International Airport if there is no progress in negotiations with the Interior Secretariat.
++ President Felipe Calderón signed a decree creating the Financial Stability Council that would allow the Bank of Mexico and the Finance Secretariat to act jointly to take measures when risks are detected in the international financial system.
++ Bank of Mexico Governor Agustín Carstens said that although there are signs of recovery in the Mexican economy, uncertainty prevails regarding the second half of the year because of the European crisis and because the U.S. economy is showing signs of a slow-down.
Have you been harassed in Arizona? I have...
I travel frequently to Arizona. I was born there and I have family that lives in Tucson. In the last couple of years I have been stopped twice by the police when driving a Mexican car, my mother, also an American citizen has been stopped for driving her car (Mexican Car-she lives in Hermosillo), and a couple of days ago a family friend and her daughter, both American citizens, were also stopped by a cop who demanded that they prove that they were related! In all instances the car papers were in order. Get ready, yes, you will be harassed in Arizona, regardless if you are legal or not! Recommended NYT reading, click here.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
News Summary for July 27th, 2010
++ Unknown attackers killed Alberto Porras Duarte, nephew of the Chihuahua governor-elect, César Duarte Jáquez, outside his office in Parral… This was the second relative the governor-elect loses in a violent killing since his election on July 4… In the first, which occurred on July 15, the victim was Duarte Jáquez’s nephew Mario Humberto Medina Vela, in what appeared to be a kidnap attempt.
++ PAN National Executive Committee spokesman Max Cortázar demanded that Durango Governor Ismael Hernández order investigations into the links between his administration and organized crime.
He also asked the governor to explain why he chose the Gómez Palacio prison director, Margarita Rojas Rodríguez, as woman of the year in Durango, since she is now accused of allowing inmates out of the prison at nighttime to commit murder, and is under temporary detainment.
++ The Durango Attorney General’s Office said it found eight severed human heads on highways leading to capital city Durango.
++ The Attorney General’s Office said the car-bomb that exploded on July 16 in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua had a radio wave mechanism to set it off.
++ The leader of the Mexican Electricians Union, Martín Esparza, acknowledged willingness on the part of the Interior Secretariat to reach agreements that would lead to a solution to problems facing dismissed workers after power utility Luz y Fuerza del Centro was liquidated.
He also announced actions in defense of other workers… He said the SME would begin a convoy with the mining union and other organizations in Cananea, Sonora, where authorities broke up a longstanding miners’ strike.
++ PAN national leader César Nava guaranteed PAN followers in the state of Mexico that they would not be left on the sidelines of a possible alliance with the PRD to launch a candidate together in the race for state governor.
++ INEGI reported that last May economic activity in Mexico grew by 8.85
percent, the highest rate measured through the Global Economic Activity Index since these kinds of measurements began.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
News Summary for July 26th, 2010
Attorney General’s Office spokesman Ricard Nájera identified the culprits of the massacre of 17 people in Torreón, Coahuila, last week, as suspected inmates from the Cereso prison number 2 in Gómez Palacio, in Durango. Apparently, prison authorities allowed the prisoners to leave the prison at nighttime and use official vehicles and weapons to carry out vendettas. Najera, who was flanked by Interior Secretary Francisco Blake, said the killers used four AR-15 calibre .223 automatic rifles in the massacre… The weapons belonged to custodians at the at Durango prison. Officials ordered the temporary 20-day arrest of prison director Margarita Rojas Rodríguez, security and guards chief at the prison; Roberto Enríquez Aguayo, deputy prison director; Francisco Carlos Alberto Uranga Orona, and head of security José Guadalupe Rivas Ordaz. Interior Secretary Francisco Blake called on municipal and state authorities to revise the decay in institutions such as the Gómez Palacio prison that are falling prey to the drug traffickers…
----
Authorities found 51 bodies, 45 men and six women, in nine clandestine graves in Juárez, Nuevo León. Governor Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz said the killings were the result of the drug cartel turf war, which could be the nation’s largest clandestine grave uncovered.
----
Authorities in Chihuahua arrested Luis Carlos Vázquez Barragán known as "El 20," accused of being a financial operator for "La Línea", the armed wing of the Juárez drug cartel… Vázquez Barragán is accused of organizing La Línea financial operations and paying criminal groups who moved drug shipments…
----
Authorities were able to regain control over the El Amate prison in Cintalpa, Chiapas after a riot broke out… The riot lasted 72 hours… At least 40 police and an unspecified number of prisoners were wounded in the riot…
----
President Felipe Calderón took part at the Climate Change summit in Uganda over the weekend… Calderón said that taking care of the environment is directly linked to keeping the world at peace and called on all countries to combat causes that create climate change…
----
The Education Secretariat said that seven out of 10 teachers who took the test to get a teaching post failed the test. And finally the Interior Secretariat and the Mexican Electricians Union announced they would set up a high level negotiating table after an agreement that led the SME workers to put an end to the hunger strike several of them had been staging.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
News Summary for July 21st, 2010
President Felipe Calderón met privately with parents of victims of the ABC day care center in Hermosillo, Sonora… He pledged his support and that of the federal government. After the meeting Interior Secretary José Francisco Blake said he preferred not to voice an opinion about the case until investigations into the fire more than a year ago that killed 49 infants and young children, are completed.
++++++++++++
An armed group in Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas, threw a grenade at a sports compound, wounding five people… Hackers broke into the Nuevo Laredo government webpage and filled it with insults aimed at all three levels of government.
++++++++++++
In the wake of the massacre in Torreón, Coahuila, in which gunmen killed 17 people at a party, the federal government is set to send 200 federal police agents to La Laguna… Federal police commissioner in Coahuila Facundo Rosas said they would join local police in the fight against organized crime.
++++++++++++++
More than 100 army troops conducted surprise searches in homes in Ciudad Juárez, especially in the Hidalgo and Ex Hipódromo neighborhoods in a two-kilometer radius around the spot where a car-bomb was detonated last week.
+++++++++++++
Speaking in Washington, Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Ángel Mancera said drug traffickers have made less inroads in Mexico City because of the security systems implemented.
++++++++++++
While on his tour of Sonora, President Felipe Calderón insisted that all powers and levels of government must work together to strengthen the fight against organized crime, which, the president said, is not only his fight.
+++++++++++++
PRI senator Rogelio Rueda said that Attorney General Arturo Chávez Chávez must admit that when organized crime attacks civilians it’s narco-terrorism.
++++++++++++++
IFE chief councilor Leonardo Valdés offered IFE facilities and staff to help hold a meeting between political and social actors to discuss insecurity.
++++++++++++
Civil Protection in Tabasco issued an alert in five municipalities in view of heavy rains expected in the state because of cold front number 16.
++++++++
Heavy rains in Veracruz caused a landslide in Boca del Río that was seven to 10 meters deep and threatened 150 homes and 3,000 people.
++++++++++++++
The Coahuila government was ready to on Friday complete the task of handing out aid to people who lost their homes in the wake of hurricane Alex.
++++++++++++
An armed group in Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas, threw a grenade at a sports compound, wounding five people… Hackers broke into the Nuevo Laredo government webpage and filled it with insults aimed at all three levels of government.
++++++++++++
In the wake of the massacre in Torreón, Coahuila, in which gunmen killed 17 people at a party, the federal government is set to send 200 federal police agents to La Laguna… Federal police commissioner in Coahuila Facundo Rosas said they would join local police in the fight against organized crime.
++++++++++++++
More than 100 army troops conducted surprise searches in homes in Ciudad Juárez, especially in the Hidalgo and Ex Hipódromo neighborhoods in a two-kilometer radius around the spot where a car-bomb was detonated last week.
+++++++++++++
Speaking in Washington, Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Ángel Mancera said drug traffickers have made less inroads in Mexico City because of the security systems implemented.
++++++++++++
While on his tour of Sonora, President Felipe Calderón insisted that all powers and levels of government must work together to strengthen the fight against organized crime, which, the president said, is not only his fight.
+++++++++++++
PRI senator Rogelio Rueda said that Attorney General Arturo Chávez Chávez must admit that when organized crime attacks civilians it’s narco-terrorism.
++++++++++++++
IFE chief councilor Leonardo Valdés offered IFE facilities and staff to help hold a meeting between political and social actors to discuss insecurity.
++++++++++++
Civil Protection in Tabasco issued an alert in five municipalities in view of heavy rains expected in the state because of cold front number 16.
++++++++
Heavy rains in Veracruz caused a landslide in Boca del Río that was seven to 10 meters deep and threatened 150 homes and 3,000 people.
++++++++++++++
The Coahuila government was ready to on Friday complete the task of handing out aid to people who lost their homes in the wake of hurricane Alex.
Monday, July 19, 2010
News Summary for July 20th, 2010
The U.S. government announced the deployment of 1,200 National Guard troops on the border with Mexico starting on August 1… The aim is to help Mexico fight arms, money and people trafficking that have fueled violence… Officials said that 524 National Guard soldiers are set to be deployed in Arizona, 250 in Texas, 224 in California and 72 in New Mexico… The soldiers will carry arms but can only use them in self-defense and they will not be involved in immigration arrests…
+++++++++++++++++
The news came following the attack at the Italia Inn estate in Torreón, Coahuila in which unknown assailants gunned down 17 people and wounded 18 others who were at a party… The Interior Secretariat offered the Torreón government federal police to increase police presence after the massacre…
+++++++++++++
Criminal groups ordered road blockades in nine different points on avenues in southern Monterrey, Nuevo León, so that police would not be able to reach spots where hired gunmen were engaged in shootouts among each other… There were no people injured and no arrests…
++++++++++++
Meanwhile, gunmen ambushed municipal police on the border between Michoacán and Jalisco killing one policeman and wounding four others.
+++++++++++++
The battle to control the Acapulco-Morelos drug corridor between the South Pacific cartel and the gang led by Édgar Valdez Villarreal, known as “La Barbie,” or Barbie Doll, became more accentuated over the weekend as the rivals fought each other, killing two men dead, setting two houses on fire and carrying out bombing attacks…
++++++++++++++
PRI and PRD senators have suggested different ways to change the strategy to fight narco-violence… The emphasis would be on intelligence work, sending agents to infiltrate the drug organizations and corrupt police forces.
++++++++++++++
The new president of the Mexico United Against Crime civil association Eduardo Gallo, said that the federal government must acknowledge that recent attacks in Chihuahua, Tamaulipas and Coahuila are terrorist attacks to be better able to address the problem…
++++++++++++++
Senate speaker Carlos Navarrete called on parliamentary leaders to give him their support to revoke the Arizona anti-immigration law… Speaking at the Third World Conference of Parliamentary Leaders Navarrete said the SB1070 law in Arizona is racist…
++++++++++++++++
President Felipe Calderón pledged to repair all schools damaged by hurricane Alex and that they would be ready by the start of the new school year…
++++++++++++
The National Water Commission said that the flooding emergency provoked when water commission and other authorities ordering water to be released from reservoirs in Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo León would continue in Tamaulipas for another three weeks.
+++++++++++
Former presidential spokesman Felipe Calderón Maximiliano Cortázar Lara was appointed as new communications chief at the PAN.
+++++++++++++++++
The news came following the attack at the Italia Inn estate in Torreón, Coahuila in which unknown assailants gunned down 17 people and wounded 18 others who were at a party… The Interior Secretariat offered the Torreón government federal police to increase police presence after the massacre…
+++++++++++++
Criminal groups ordered road blockades in nine different points on avenues in southern Monterrey, Nuevo León, so that police would not be able to reach spots where hired gunmen were engaged in shootouts among each other… There were no people injured and no arrests…
++++++++++++
Meanwhile, gunmen ambushed municipal police on the border between Michoacán and Jalisco killing one policeman and wounding four others.
+++++++++++++
The battle to control the Acapulco-Morelos drug corridor between the South Pacific cartel and the gang led by Édgar Valdez Villarreal, known as “La Barbie,” or Barbie Doll, became more accentuated over the weekend as the rivals fought each other, killing two men dead, setting two houses on fire and carrying out bombing attacks…
++++++++++++++
PRI and PRD senators have suggested different ways to change the strategy to fight narco-violence… The emphasis would be on intelligence work, sending agents to infiltrate the drug organizations and corrupt police forces.
++++++++++++++
The new president of the Mexico United Against Crime civil association Eduardo Gallo, said that the federal government must acknowledge that recent attacks in Chihuahua, Tamaulipas and Coahuila are terrorist attacks to be better able to address the problem…
++++++++++++++
Senate speaker Carlos Navarrete called on parliamentary leaders to give him their support to revoke the Arizona anti-immigration law… Speaking at the Third World Conference of Parliamentary Leaders Navarrete said the SB1070 law in Arizona is racist…
++++++++++++++++
President Felipe Calderón pledged to repair all schools damaged by hurricane Alex and that they would be ready by the start of the new school year…
++++++++++++
The National Water Commission said that the flooding emergency provoked when water commission and other authorities ordering water to be released from reservoirs in Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo León would continue in Tamaulipas for another three weeks.
+++++++++++
Former presidential spokesman Felipe Calderón Maximiliano Cortázar Lara was appointed as new communications chief at the PAN.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)