Cartels threaten to kill Texas Rangers, ICE agents BROWNSVILLE — A new law enforcement bulletin warns that members of drug cartels have been overheard plotting to kill federal agents and Texas Rangers who guard the border, officials in Washington reported Thursday. The bulletin, which was issued in March, said cartel members planned to use AK-47 assault rifles to shoot agents and Rangers from across the border. It did not name the cartels. The information was released at a hearing before a panel of the House Committee on Homeland Security. The Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Management addressed "The U.S. Homeland Security Role in the Mexican War Against the Drug Cartels." themonitor.com, March 31, 2011 Spring Break party in Mexico? Texas officials advise no Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw cited violence near the border and throughout the country. "Drug violence has not discriminated -- innocent bystanders and people who may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time are among the casualties," McCraw said in a written statement on Tuesday. "Our safety message is simple: avoid traveling to Mexico during Spring Break and stay alive." ... finance.yahoo.com, March 1, 2011 Mourners Pay Respects to US Customs Agent Killed in Mexico Mourners in Brownsville, Texas are paying their respects to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who was shot dead last week in Mexico. The mourners attended a public viewing Monday ahead of a religious service later in the evening for Jaime Zapata. He was killed and another agent wounded while driving between Mexico City and the northern city of Monterrey. ... voanews.com, February 21, 2011 Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne: Mexican cartels an 'escalating threat' to U.S. Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne told an audience of border-security experts and exhibitors Wednesday that criminal enterprises based in Mexico present "an immediate and escalating threat" to North America because of their ability to sabotage economies and destabilize the Mexican government. Border Security Expo 2011, an annual symposium and trade show in Phoenix, took on a sober urgency with the Tuesday murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico. Because of that incident, ICE Director John Morton canceled his keynote address while other expo speakers said the slaying served as a reminder of violence by crime syndicates south of the border. Matthew Allen, the ICE special agent in charge for Arizona who replaced Morton as a keynote speaker, said the murder offers a "tragic illustration" of challenges in combating Mexican cartels that "have no regard for human life and play by a different rulebook." ... azcentral.com, February 17, 2011 ICE agents' attackers likely Los Zetas crime gang The attackers of two American federal agents while traveling in Mexico yesterday are believed to be members or associates of the Mexican crime gang Los Zetas, a confidential source tells the Law Enforcement Examiner.. The two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents -- were assigned to the ICE Attaché office in Mexico City. They were shot in the line-of-duty while driving between Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico, by unknown assailants. According to Homeland Security officials, one agent - Jaime Zapata -- was critically wounded in the attack and died from his injuries. The second agent, who remains unidentified, was shot in the arm and leg and remains in stable condition. ... Examiner.com, February 16th, 2011
Special Agent Jaime Zapata, on assignment to the ICE Attache in Mexico City from his post in Laredo, Texas, died Tuesday when gunmen attacked the agents' blue Suburban vehicle as they drove through the northern state of San Luis Potosi. The second agent, who wasn't identified, was shot in the arm and leg and was in stable condition, according to statements from the Department of Homeland Security. ... myway.com, February 16th, 2011 US teens killed in Juarez crossed border for party EL PASO, Texas — A friend says two of three teens shot dead in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, had crossed the border from Texas for a party then stayed to buy a car. Sixteen-year-old Carlos Mario Gonzalez Bermudez was a sophomore at El Paso's Cathedral High School, and 15-year-old Juan Carlos Echeverri had been a freshman there last year. Both were Americans. The nationality of 17-year-old Cesar Yalin Miramontes Jimenez was unclear. All were killed Saturday at a Juarez car dealership. ... ajc.com, February 8, 2011 Killing of Missionary Rattles Texas Border PHARR, Tex. — Mexico has always had a reputation here as a place where things can go wrong in a hurry. But the fatal shooting of a Texas missionary across the border late last month has reinforced the widely held belief in this region that the country has become a lawless war zone. The missionary, Nancy Davis, who had worked in Mexico for decades, was shot in the back of the head by gunmen in a pickup truck who had pursued her and her husband for miles in Tamaulipas State. Her husband, Samuel Davis, piloted his bullet-ridden truck across the two-mile international bridge here, driving pell-mell against traffic on the wrong side of the bridge to evade the pursuers and reach an American hospital. He arrived on the United States side too late to save Ms. Davis, 59. State Department officials say that 79 American citizens were murdered in Mexico in 2009, and that at least 60 were killed last year from January to November, though an official annual figure has yet to be compiled. The numbers have been rising since 2007, when 38 American citizens were murdered in Mexico, State Department records show. ... NYTimes.com, Monday, February 6, 2011 Canadian tourist accuses Mexican police of raping her Police deny reports woman beaten, repeatedly raped, robbed A Canadian woman alleges that Mexican police gang-raped her in jail after she and her fiancé were arrested while on vacation in Mexico for New Year's Eve, CBC News has learned. Rebecca Rutland, 41, says police in the Mexican resort town of Playa del Carmen took the Ontario couple into custody in the late hours of Dec. 31 following a confrontation between officers and her fiancé. Once in jail, Rutland, a social worker doing her thesis in Thunder Bay, Ont., says two police officers took turns raping her. Rutland and her fiancé, Richard Coleman, 51, of Toronto, also allege officers robbed them of hundreds of dollars and other valuables. ... CBC News, Monday, January 17, 2011 Officials: US man found dead in northern Mexico U.S. officials confirmed Monday that an American citizen was found dead in northern Mexico. The U.S. Embassy said the body of Ronald C. Ryan was recovered in Sonora state, across from Arizona, but gave no other details. Jose Larrinaga, spokesman for Sonora state prosecutors, told reporters Sunday that Ryan's body was found the previous day partially buried near a creek on the outskirts of Santa Ana, a city 60 miles south of Nogales, Arizona. A cause of death had not been determined and the body was taken to the border city of Nogales, Mexico, for an autopsy, he said. ... sfgate.com, May 10, 2010, Travel Warning The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico about the security situation in Mexico, and to advise that the authorized departure of family members of U.S. government personnel from U.S. Consulates in the northern Mexico border cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros has been extended. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning for Mexico dated April 12, 2010 to note the extension of authorized departure and to update guidance on security conditions and crime. ... It is imperative that U.S. citizens understand the risks involved in travel to Mexico, how best to avoid dangerous situations, and who to contact if one becomes a victim of crime or violence. ... United States Department of State, May 06, 2010 Fort Bend County teen beaten to death during trip to Mexico SUGAR LAND, Texas – A Fort Bend County teen was killed over the weekend while traveling near Monterrey in Mexico. Elisabeth Mandala, 18, was a senior at Kempner High School. Her mother said she last saw her daughter seven days ago and that her daughter traveled to Mexico without permission. How she got there or why she went remains unclear. Mandala and two men were found beaten to death near the town of Mina. Their bodies were discovered Saturday morning inside a Dodge Dakota pickup that had crashed into the back of a larger truck. ... khou.com, May 4, 2010 Has the time come for another Mexican Punitive Campaign? In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered General John J. Pershing to lead an invasion into Mexico, against Pancho Villa's forces. Villa's bandits were making constant incursions into the United States and regularly robbing, raping, and killing Americans living in towns along the border. These criminals operated openly due to rampant corruption among Mexican political and military leaders. Though Pancho Villa is no longer invading U.S. towns, Mexican drug dealers, human smugglers, and violent gang members are coming across the border in droves, often with the help of Mexican authorities. ... www.examiner.com, August 5, 2009 Mexican Consulate in L.A. takes proactive role in guiding immigrants to social services Typically, a foreign consulate in the United States doles out passports, helps travelers in crisis and serves as a liaison to the home country. But the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles has become an almost de facto public agency in recent years, forming partnerships with government officials and nonprofits here to provide healthcare, offer mental health counseling, fight labor violations and hold literacy classes. www.latimes.com, July 22, 2009 Anti-crime activist and neighbor killed in Mexico An anti-crime activist and a neighbor were killed in northern Mexico on Tuesday by gunmen believed linked to a drug cartel, a local legislator said. Mexican anti-crime activists said the slaying of Benjamin LeBaron, a U.S. citizen, in Chihuahua state was the first time one of their own had been killed for denouncing crime and called it a chilling warning. … www.news.yahoo.com, July 8, 20092 Americans from Mormon sect slain in Mexico A top member of a breakaway Mormon sect was dragged from his home by marauders and killed early Tuesday in a village founded and named for the American families that settled the remote community in the northern Mexican desert. … www.chron.com, July 7, 2009 Here in Aztlan, it's the people that make the difference If you had asked me 10 or 15 years ago about Aztlán and reconquista, I would have dismissed the notion as fanciful. But today, it must be taken seriously. While we have been busy with other things, Mexico has been promoting an invasion of the Southwestern United States. They come individually or as families. They come every possible way, but they come, by the thousands. … www.azbiz.com, July 06, 2009 Boycott of Mexico supported An apparent call for "reconquest" by a Mexican consular employee in San Diego has prompted at least one Utah anti-illegal immigration group to join in a boycott of travel to Mexico. Eli Cawley, head of the Utah Minuteman Project, says the group's board had originally opted against the boycott. It started recently in Southern California as an attempt stop Mexico's government from influencing American politics, says organizer Stewart Hurlbert ... www.deseretnews.com March 29, 2008 MP calls for Canadians to boycott Mexico over jailed woman An Independent MP from Nova Scotia says Canadians should reconsider going to Mexico as long as a Canadian woman who’s been sitting in a prison for the past two years is still in custody. Bill Casey tells the Halifax Chronicle Herald that it appears Brenda Martin is a victim who’s been treated inappropriately, especially since she hasn’t been convicted of anything. ... www.calsun.canoe.ca March 22, 2008 Boycott Mexico, N.S. MP urges Casey says tourism should be used to push for Canadian woman’s release Independent MP Bill Casey says he’ll warn his constituents to stay out of Mexico unless Canadian Brenda Martin is released from a women’s prison near Guadalajara. "I may not have all of the facts but I believe she’s been punished more than any court would ever deem appropriate," Mr. Casey said Friday. ... www.thechronicleherald.ca March 22, 2008 Mexico won't free jailed Canadian After two years in custody, Brenda Martin told she must wait a while longer for trial EDMONTON - Mexico has rejected a request from the federal government to release Brenda Martin, the Canadian woman imprisoned there without trial for more than two years. In an interview Wednesday, Martin said she was told by Jason Kenney, Canada's multiculturalism minister, that the Mexicans have insisted she go through a criminal trial and be sentenced in no less than 30 days. During the meeting at the Guadalajara women's prison, Martin said Kenney told her if she is returned to Canada, she will have to serve at least half her sentence in a Canadian prison. ... www.canada.com March 20, 2008 Martin 'surprisingly good,' MP says As two Canadian MPs work in Mexico to help a former Trenton woman imprisoned for the past two years without a trial or conviction, an Angus Reid poll says Canadians want a travel warning issued about Mexico. Half of those surveyed are "ready to boycott Mexico as a holiday destination." ... www.northumberlandtoday.com March 20, 2008 Mexico risks boycott over Brenda Martin case: poll Charles Rusnell, edmontonjournal.com Published: 2:59 pm EDMONTON - Public outrage over the treatment of a Canadian woman held without trial for more than two years in a Mexican prison could affect Canada's relationship with Mexico if her case isn't soon resolved, a new poll suggests. "If this case drags on and people get the idea that Mexico is not helping to resolve the situation, and if Canada does not do more, it could really hurt bilateral relations in the long run," said Mario Canseco, director of global studies for pollster Angus Reid. ... www.canada.com March 19, 2008 Request for freedom denied: Martin The Canadian woman imprisoned without trial in Mexico for more than two years says she's been told Mexico has flatly rejected a request from Canada to release her. In an exclusive interview Wednesday with Canwest News Service, Martin said she was told by Jason Kenney, parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, that the Mexicans have insisted she go through a criminal trial and be sentenced no fewer than 30 days after her lawyer files his defence. ... www.canada.com March 19, 2008 Jailed Canadian's case proves tourists need to boycott Mexico There is much more that Canadians can do Canadians have finally taken notice of Brenda Martin. The now-frequent television images of this gaunt, distraught woman languishing in a Mexican prison have galvanized Canadians into action. Well, sort of. Thus far, any action has been limited to calling on the feds to free Martin from her nightmare journey through what is, at best, a Third World justice system. But there is much more that Canadians can do and, if justice truly is our motivating cause, it's time to step up to the international plate. ... www.canada.com March 14, 2008 Minutemen Lead "Boycott Mexico" Campaign It started as a safety warning to college students headed south for spring break. Now anti-illegal immigration activists are telling all San Diegans to stay away from Mexico. "Boycott Mexico" is the name of a new nationwide campaign launched by a coalition of groups fighting illegal immigration. … www.fox6.com March 14, 2008 Federal Agents on the Border on Alert All federal law enforcement agents along the border are on high alert. Sources say the Mexican Gulf Cartel is targeting two FBI agents for execution. Action 4 News has learned about an internal fax that was sent out by the FBI's San Antonio division. It warns local agents to take precautions because Mexican drug lords could be hunting them down. The alert went out Friday warning lawmen of the Gulf Cartel's alleged intentions to kidnap two FBI agents and take them across the border to be executed. ... www.team4news.com January 28, 2005 Mexico bristles over border alert Travel warning on gang violence is called 'exaggerated' MEXICO CITY - Senior Mexican officials Thursday blasted what one called an "exaggerated" State Department alert that warned U.S. citizens of increased security dangers in Mexico's border cities. Aides to President Vicente Fox issued a statement that implied Mexico's sovereignty had been attacked by the statement, which severely criticized Mexico's police and judicial system. "The Mexican government will not accept any judgment or examination from a foreign government," it said. Fox's Cabinet ministers went on television to criticize the alert and an accompanying letter by U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza. Interior Minister Santiago Creel — considered the second most powerful figure in Fox's government and a potential presidential candidate in 2006 — said American officials had been undiplomatic in the manner in which they had released the statement and Garza's letter. Both were given to reporters in Mexico City and Washington about the same time on Wednesday. ... www.chron.com January 27, 2005 U.S. Travel Alert Irritates Mexico MEXICO CITY (AP) - A U.S. warning about violence along the border in Mexico created unexpected friction with a crucial neighbor Thursday, just as new Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other new members of President Bush's team are starting to take office. The blunt warning was issued because of an upswing of killings and kidnappings linked to battles between drug gangs in towns along the Mexican side of the border, but Mexico's top Cabinet officer, Interior Secretary Santiago Creel, insisted that the warning ``went too far.'' ''Why didn't they say anything a week ago when I was in that meeting with the secretary of homeland security?'' Creel said in a nationally televised interview, referring to a meeting with Tom Ridge on Jan. 17 in Calexico, Calif. ``He didn't express any concern to me. On the contrary,'' Ridge praised Mexico's actions, Creel added. The outburst of Mexican irritation came on the day that Rice took over and as the Bush Administration is preparing to change leadership at the Homeland Security and Justice Departments, which deal with issues of drug trafficking, immigration and security along the long Mexican border. ... www.guardian.co.uk January 27, 2005 Americans Vanish in Mexican Town Drug Cartels Competing Along Border Suspected in Increased Kidnappings NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico -- Brenda Cisneros, 23, kissed her father goodbye after dinner in Laredo, Tex., just after 11 p.m. on Sept. 17. It was her birthday, and she was headed with a friend, Yvette Martinez, for a late-night concert across the border. The two drove across the international bridge into this sprawling town, famous for dancing and drinking spots. They never returned home. Jerry Contreras, 17, left San Antonio one day last May and drove across the border into Piedras Negras to attend a baby shower. There, witnesses said, he became involved in a minor accident with a gold SUV, whose enraged driver rammed Contreras's Ford Escort, followed him to the party and threatened him. Contreras ran and hid in a grocery store, but several armed men dragged him out. He has not been seen since. Cisneros, Martinez and Contreras are now listed among the dramatically increased number of U.S. citizens who have recently been reported missing or kidnapped along the border, especially around Nuevo Laredo. Last month, U.S. consular officials here issued a warning to the thousands of Americans who cross the bridge each week, including Mexican Americans visiting relatives or shopping and tourists on short sightseeing trips. ... www.washingtonpost.com January 22, 2005 Violence cuts travel across Texas border; fiesta may quell fears HIDALGO, Texas - Day trips across the Rio Grande to Mexico used to be part of the allure for Harry and Audrey Kelley, retirees who migrate each winter from Kansas to a sunny mobile home resort here. With headlines about drug war murders and police robbing tourists, they haven't made the trip to nearby Reynosa in years. "Shoot, I wish I could be more at ease," said Audrey, 75. "But it's a little iffy right now." Violent crime has erupted in recent months across the border from several Texas towns. U.S. officials have issued travel advisories after reports of more than a dozen slayings, over 20 kidnappings, and assaults with machine guns and grenades. And that's just since August. ... www.azstarnet.com January 22, 2005 Mexican government to reprint Migrant Guide The Secretariat of Foreign Relations (SRE) will reprint the " Mexican Migrant Guide," (English translation) in spite of prompting from the U.S. government and claims by U.S. legislators and NGOs who classify it as a document that could promote illegal immigration. While a date for the reprinting of a still undetermined number of the booklets has yet to be set, the guidebook can be found on the Internet page of the Foreign Ministry where it is listed as a recommended link to visit. The first edition of the Mexican Migrant Guide was handed out free, plus it was included as an insert in two popular Mexican publications. ... www.mexidata.info January 22, 2005 Illegal Aliens Have No Access to US Public Services! Commonly, illegal aliens arrive in the US expecting (even demanding) free health care services for their families. Their excuse, "we should get this, because we do the work Americans don't want." They've apparently been indoctrinated that being here illegally is of no consequence at all. Perhaps that indoctrination comes from the Mexican government's "comic book guide for illegal aliens" in the US. Hospital staff doctors usually render treatment, knowing they'll be paid by periodic "special federal reimbursement" bills by federal legislators like Senator Jon Kyl (R, AZ). Pregnant Illegal alien women who reach a US hospital not only give birth at no cost, but now have a US citizen family member, entitled to the menu of public welfare benefits. The tragedy of parents with a seriously ill child needing life-saving treatment not available in their home country receives universal sympathy. The responsibility of caring for citizens nonetheless rests with the native country, notwithstanding corrupt local governments. Illegal aliens in the US should not expect, nor should they receive free health care, education, housing or other tax-funded benefits paid by law-abiding Americans taxpayers. ... www.magic-city-news.com Jan 22, 2005 Mexico’s Undeclared War on America If a foreign country was sending more than a million of its people to illegally enter the United States every year surely that would be grounds for war. Mexico is doing that. It is no stretch of imagination to say that Mexico in engaged in an undeclared war on the United States of America. US Border Patrol Agents, according to a January 10 article in The Washington Times, "apprehended 1.15 million illegal aliens last year trying to sneak into the United States between the nation’s land ports of entry, more than 3,100 a day—a 24 percent increase over the year before." Among them, 23,000 people with criminal records were identified and arrested. They included 84 murder suspects, 37 suspected kidnappers, 151 who were wanted on charges of sexual assault, 313 robbery suspects, and 2,630 others implicated in drug-related charges. "There were 8,577 drug seizures that confiscated 1.4 million pounds of illegal narcotics with an estimated street value of $1.62 billion," according to the Times article by Jerry Seper. In all, the US Customs and Border Protection agency’s inspectors and officers processed 428 million passengers and pedestrians, including 262 million aliens, "denying entry to more than 643,000 aliens under US law." They were in addition to those trying to steal across the border illegally. ... MichNews.com Jan 21, 2005 National Boycott Planned Over Illegals Invading Us The issue of illegals smuggling themselves across the border continues to heat up as Americans grow increasingly frustrated over Washington, DCs refusal to lock down the borders, round up illegals and deport them.(search) One group has decided that in order to hit where it hurts the most, not only to employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, but to Congress and President Bush, it is promoting a month long boycott. Stand Up For America wants all Americans who are fed up with excuses from Washington to begin a month long national consumer boycott beginning February 1, 2005, "Consumers across America are urged to only purchase necessities and withhold disposable income by making no "unnecessary" purchases such as for automobiles, TVs, stereos, jewelry, clothing, video games, CDs, appliances, etc. The "initial boycott" will be for the month of February, with likely 30-day extensions until REAL illegal immigration and border enforcement begin." According to Stand Up For America, the federal government must seal the border with Mexico by any means, arrest and prosecute employers who hire illegal aliens, arrest and immediately deport illegal aliens and authorize all U.S. state and local law enforcement officers to arrest and deport all illegal aliens immediately. ... NewsWithViews.com January 19, 2005 ‘I thought we were all going to die’ Barely one month after Yuma resident Martin Rodriguez and his brother Reynaldo were shot while visiting their mother in Mexico over the Christmas holiday, the three Mexican policemen accused of attacking them are free on bail. The news came as no surprise to Rodriguez, who shared his ordeal with The Sun even though he was advised by a Mexican human rights group to maintain a low profile out of concern those connected to the accused policemen might seek revenge. "This is the way Mexico is, this is the way they do things down there," Rodriguez said, his right arm in a sling, a portion of his right elbow missing and patched together with wires and pins by Mexican doctors. Rodriguez said he went two days without medical care as he related to Mexican authorities the shooting incident that also left his brother wounded by gunfire. ... sun.yumasun.com Jan 16, 2005 A Renewed Mexican-American War In 1821, at the invitation of Mexico, Stephen Austin established the first American settlement in Texas (Tejas). The land was cheap, about ten cents an acre, compared to $1.25 in other frontier areas. Americans flowed in but they continued to speak English and avoided any assimilation into the Mexican culture. A mere fifteen years later in April 1836, following the fall of the Alamo a month earlier, a Texas army at the Battle of San Jacinto defeated the Mexican army, thus ending a brief war. On October 22, Gen. Sam Houston was sworn in as the first president of the Republic of Texas. A decade later, after having lost Texas, the US negotiated a treaty that secured most of the Southwest as well. That´s how we ended up with Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Flash forward to 2004. Today in America, 58% of America´s Hispanic population are Mexican, surpassing African-Americans as the largest minority. Latinos make up 30% of California´s population and now account for more than half of all the births in the Golden State. Do the math. There are 37 million Hispanic Americans. As far as the Mexican government is concerned, their Mexican-Americans are Mexican-Mexicans. Like the Americans that poured into Texas and refused to assimilate, the same holds true for a large portion of the Mexican-American population, both legal and illegal. ... MichNews.com, Jan 13, 2005 Will 1.5 Million Guys Run for the Border? If you live south of the border and you’ve “made the difficult decision to seek new job opportunities outside your country,” the Mexican government is clearing the path for you. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry has printed 1.5 million copies of a pocket-sized comic book replete with pointers for safe passage north. It’s distributing the booklets throughout Mexico as a free supplement to comic books that are popular with adults. The Mexican government says the booklet, “Guide for the Mexican Migrant,” is merely the latest installment in an annual campaign to warn citizens of the dangers of crossing the U.S.-Mexican border. In truth, however, the government has taken it much farther this year. Not only does the booklet point out the dangers, it also shows how to beat them — and how to take advantage of U.S. laws upon capture. ... www.the-signal.com, Janury, 12, 2005 Iowa's meth problem among worst in nation More than a decade ago, Iowa became one of the first states in the Midwest targeted by Mexican drug cartels involved in the methamphetamine trade. Five years later, meth use had reached epidemic levels. But as hundreds of addicts learned how to make a cheaper, purer form of the drug, law enforcement officials across the state began to complain that the meth crisis had grown out of control. In 1999, Gov. Tom Vilsack declared meth Iowa's No. 1 crime problem. Back then, meth users accounted for just over 8 percent of Iowa's drug treatment population. Iowa authorities discovered 353 drug labs and dump sites that year. ... www.desmoinesregister.com January 9, 2005 County Official Urges Mexico To Give Up Fugitive Mexican National Wanted For Shooting Sheriff's Deputy LOS ANGELES -- County Supervisor Mike Antonovich is again urging the president of Mexico to extradite a Mexican national wanted for the murder of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy. During a traffic stop on April 29, 2002, in Irwindale, Deputy David March of the Santa Clarita Valley was allegedly shot to death by Armando Garcia, who fled to Mexico. March stopped a black Nissan Maxima and entered the car's license plate into his Mobil Data Terminal. Shortly after, he was shot several times at close range. In a letter to Mexican President Vicente Fox, Antonovich referred to the recent extradition of Victor Garcia, a suspect in the 2001 murder of a Costa Mesa teenager, and asked that Armando Garcia be extradited as well. The Mexican government has refused repeated requests for Armando Garcia's extradition. As a policy, Mexico doesn't extradite suspects facing either the death penalty or life in prison. ... www.nbc4.tv December 30, 2004 3 Mexican cops held in wounding of Yuma brothers The Associated Press MEXICO CITY - Three city police officers were arrested on suspicion of shooting two Arizona tourists during a robbery attempt, federal police said yesterday The attack occurred in a city whose police chief was recently fired after being videotaped in the company of a suspected drug gang figure. The photographer who shot the tape was later killed. The Federal Public Security Department said four black-clad men who made fumbling attempts to cover their faces attacked a family from Yuma as the family was stopped by the roadside in the town of Escuinapa for a rest about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. ... www.tucsoncitizen.com December 23, 2004 Immigration infiltrates our business On any given day, the Mexican-U.S. border looks like Baghdad. For example, in 2000, a Juarez cartel of Mexico's drug gangs placed a bounty of $200,000 on the heads of each U.S. lawman. In March 2002, four heavily armed Mexican army soldiers showed up on American soil, close to San Diego. They were armed with three submachine guns and an M-16 rifle. They illegally entered the country near Tecate, Mexico. There have been other witnessed and documented "armed incursions" into U.S. territory by heavily armed Mexican army units. In March 2000, two Mexican army vehicles that carried over a dozen soldiers armed with automatic assault rifles, pistols and submachine guns drove into the U.S. near Santa Teresa, NM. They shot at Border Patrol agents. ... www.worldnetdaily.com December 14, 2004 Riverside Sheriff's group urges boycott of Mexican products RIVERSIDE, Calif. The Riverside, County, California, Sheriffs' Association has joined law enforcement agencies in urging a boycott of Mexican products, services and vacations. The boycott is an effort to pressure Mexico into extraditing fugitives wanted for murder in the United States. The association president says residents in Mexico don't want the suspected killers in their neighborhoods. The boycott movement began after the April 2002 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy [David March] while he was on patrol in the town of Irwindale. The suspect fled to Mexico. Mexico refuses to extradite suspects facing the death penalty or life in prison without parole. www.kold.com December 2004 Americans are disappearing in Nuevo Laredo NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico —— While noting most visitors here never get hurt, the U.S. Consulate is warning of an unusual spike in kidnappings or disappearances of Americans since mid-August. The 21 known victims include young men with no jobs but nice cars, leading some local officials to believe it's a matter of who they rubbed shoulders with in this city, which long has breathed the criminal exhaust from the machinery of the illegal drug trade. But U.S. consular and law enforcement officials say innocent people also are being caught up in the surge of abductions. "In addition to the sheer number of the kidnappings and disappearances, one of the reasons that propelled us to do the caution right now is that we had received information from various protected sources that (the) kidnappings that are going on now in Nuevo Laredo are for money as well as for narcotics, vengeance and that kind of thing," U.S. Consul Michael Yoder said. .... www.mysanantonio.com December 16, 2004 Woman's ordeal in Mexican prison over More than a year and a half after being arrested in Ensenada for possessing prescription medicines without a prescription, Dawn Marie Wilson is free. In between was a nightmarish maze of crooked lawyers, misleading documents and false confessions, and a Mexican bureaucracy almost as impenetrable as the fetid Ensenada prison where Wilson spent 18 months. What finally sprang her was the doggedness of her fiance, Terry Kennedy, the persistence of a Congressman, Rep. Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista, and a bit of creative diplomacy by U.S. consular officials. "What a hell she went through," said Filner in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. "It was like being in a Kafka novel; everything you do that you think is reasonable and rational just ends up making things worse. The laws are enforced very selectively. .... www.signonsandiego.com December 12, 2004 74 American Kids Found in Mexico Schools MEXICO CITY -- Mexican authorities took custody of 74 American youths who were attending two irregularly operated boarding schools and returned them to the United States on Thursday. The youths, who were found to be in Mexico without proper travel or residency documents, were handed over to U.S. consular officials and then taken to Los Angeles, the Interior Department, which oversees migratory issues, said in a press statement. .... http://www.newsday.com December 10, 2004 Drug cartel targets agents A band of Mexican army deserters that smuggles illicit drugs into the United States across the southern Texas border has offered bounties of up to $50,000 for the assassination of U.S. Border Patrol agents and state and local police officers, U.S. law-enforcement authorities said. The gang, known as the "Zetas" or the "Z's," is suspected in nearly 90 deaths of rival gang members in the past two years as part of a violent drug war to control trafficking across the Mexico-Texas border. Members use their military training and stolen equipment, including high-powered weapons, to fight competing organizations. Law-enforcement authorities said the gang is targeting border agents and police and Mexican military and law-enforcement personnel. .... www.washingtontimes.com November 25, 2004 U.S. should demand Mexico’s murderers be sent back to U.S. On the morning of April 29, 2002, Deputy David March, 33, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office, left his wife and daughter for work, not knowing he would never return home. March was tracking a stolen car when he spotted the vehicle and pulled it over. As he approached the car, Armando Garcia, 25, a Mexican national and U.S. illegal immigrant, shot March several times, killing him. Garcia fled for the border. Since March’s murder, extradition measures were filed with Mexico to return Garcia to the United States to stand trial. Mexico refused to extradite Garcia on the basis that he would face capital punishment. Mexico, like many countries, will not extradite fugitives facing the death penalty. The U.S. offered life in prison without parole or 90 years in prison for Garcia as a sentence if convicted. Mexico rejected the offer. The maximum sentence in Mexico is 60 years in prison. Prior to March’s murder, Garcia had been deported twice for felonies, including attempted murder. March’s widow continues to lobby for the return of Garcia with minimal support from Washington. Unfortunately, another law enforcement officer’s murder has also gone unpunished for 15 years. Officer Ken Collings, of Phoenix, was off duty when he was killed during a bank robbery. The first man was convicted in the killing. Rudy Romero, the other man wanted in the murder, took refuge in Mexico. He is currently in a Mexican jail on another charge. Arizona has made several attempts to have Romero extradited to the U.S., with the proposed sentence of 25 years to life. Mexico refuses. Last year there were 800 open extradition cases for fugitives from Mexico and more than 60 alleged killers in Mexico from Los Angeles County alone. The murders of these two heroes and several others will go unpunished until the U.S. puts more pressure on our neighbors to the south to hand over murderers who Mexico continues to shield. The U.S. continues to placate nearly every demand made by Mexico. Our government pours billions of dollars into Mexico and looks the other way as millions of their citizens enter the U.S. illegally. Congress should start by placing the military on our borders. George Bush should call his good friend, Mexican President Vincente Fox, and demand the immediate return of the two cop-killers. www.westerncourier.com December 10, 2004 The enemy my enemy is my friend! Mexico seeks greater ties with Iran mullahs Mexico is ready for expanding ties with Iran on all areas, notably in economy and trade, the deputy of Mexico's foreign ministry for economic affairs, Irma Avriana said on Friday. Speaking to the grand seminar on Irano-Mexican economic relations, Avriana said Iran was an important power in the Middle East and" we believe expanding ties with Iran will be in the intersts of every country including Mexcio". Also addressing the audience, the head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Alinaghi Khamoushi said Iran enjoyed an economic growth rate of 6.5, adding his chamber tried to strenghten trade bewteen the two countries. www.iranian.ws November 19, 2004 A new website Escaping Justice! Countless fugitives have found safe haven in Mexico because the laws of Mexico protect them from prosecution here in the United States where the crimes were committed. The victims include a 12-year-old child playing baseball; a young wife who continues to live in fear every day; a loving husband and father of six; 15 and 17-year-old cousins walking to school; and a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff. In this website you will learn about these brutal crimes, hear firsthand from the victims and their families, find out what is being done to bring them to justice and learn what you can do. http://www.escapingjustice.com/default.htm Citizens Rights For Mexican Immigrants? U.S. officials are considering issuing rights to the estimated six million undocumented Mexican immigrants living in the United States today. It's no secret that illegal border crossing is most prevalent in border cities. What you may not know is that there is a push to make sure immigrants who made it across, and are now living in the United States illegally have the same rights as all U.S. citizens. Mexican President Vicente Fox demands President Bush to legalize the estimated six million undocumented Mexican immigrants, and give them more rights while they're living in the United States. .... www.kfoxtv.com November 10, 2004 An appeal to law of economics Deputies press boycott of Mexican goods Incensed and frustrated by an accused cop-killer who authorities say cannot be extradited to California, the unions that represent sheriff's deputies in Riverside and Los Angeles counties say they'll boycott Mexican goods and services. Deputies in the two counties have vowed not to buy goods made in Mexico, which would affect a huge variety of consumer products. Officers have also said they will not visit resorts south of the border until the man they say murdered Deputy David March in April 2002 is sent back to California. The Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs has asked its 25,000 members to boycott "all products, imports and services that economically benefit Mexico." On Oct. 18, the 5,000-member Riverside Sheriffs' Association announced it was joining the boycott. .... www.pe.com November 5, 2004 Boycott Mexico © 2006 | No PC BS Web Hosting | External links may expire |