Mexico’s problems now our own
When two Arizona Border Patrol agents were shot by suspected drug smugglers in June, the attack was widely believed to have been perpetrated by deserters from the Mexican military.
U.S. officials say highly trained former military servicemen calling themselves the Zetas have become deadly players in cross-border drug-trafficking, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.
The Zetas are suspected in connection with numerous kidnappings and murders in both countries – including at least three deaths in Dallas and, in Mexico, the killing of former Nuevo Laredo police chief Alejandro Dominguez, who was shot to death just hours after assuming office earlier this year.
“Paramilitary groups such as the Zetas … and others who work for Mexican drug cartels as enforcers are a serious threat to public safety on both sides of the entire U.S.-Mexico border,” said FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker during congressional testimony last month. “Their willingness to shoot and kill law enforcement officers on both sides of the border makes these paramilitary groups among the most dangerous criminal enterprises in North America.”
More: dailybulletin.com
U.S. sends agents to patrol Mexico border
The U.S. is dispatching federal agents to Texas to combat violent crime along the Mexican border, a source of tension between the two countries in recent months.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the issue would be the focus of his meeting in San Antonio on Thursday with his Mexican counterpart, Daniel Cabeza de Vaca.
The Violent Crime Impact Team will go to the border city of Laredo, Gonzales told reporters Wednesday at the Justice Department. Such teams previously have been sent to about 20 U.S. cities that are struggling with violent crime problems despite a
Official: Mexico spending on oil exploration rising, but problems in infrastructure remain
Mexico's state-run oil monopoly will spend more than $13 billion, on oil exploration, extraction and production this year -- but its outdated infrastructure system remains a serious liability, a presidential spokesman said Friday.
Ruben Aguilar said state-run oil company Petroleos Mexicanos' 2005 budget for recovering and readying new oil for the market represents more than double the amount spent on those activities five years ago.
In 2004, Pemex's daily production was nearly 3.4 million barrels of crude oil, the highest in Mexican history, Aguilar said. Carlos Morales, head
Getting to Mexico
All countries in Latin America officially require travellers who enter their territory to have an onward or return ticket. In 2000-2001 this regulation was rarely enforced by any country, but it can create problems. (It does not apply to travellers with their own vehicles.) In lieu of an onward ticket out of the country you are entering, any ticket out of another Latin American country may suffice, or proof that you have sufficient funds to buy a ticket (a credit card will do).
Welker to travel to Mexico line
A contingent of Colorado lawmakers plans a fact-finding tour in Arizona next week for a firsthand look at the impact of illegal immigration.
“The cost of illegal immigration to Coloradans is enormous,” said Rep. Jim Welker, a Loveland Republican who’s one of at least three Colorado GOP House members making the trip.
“We cannot stand by and watch the pocketbooks of Colorado taxpayers and law-abiding immigrants drain while they carry the increasing burden of supporting illegal aliens,” Welker said in a Wednesday statement.
“The pressure on our schools, our prisons, our health care system and other taxpayer-funded services
A Mexican immigrant has been given asylum after a U.S. court ruled the man would suffer persecution for being gay if deported back home.
The ruling by a federal appeals court panel in San Francisco overturned immigration court rulings, the BBC reports.
The panel said the 45-year-old would also have problems finding AIDS treatment.
Jose Boer-Sedano came to the United States in 1990 on a six-month visa and now works as a waiter in San Francisco.
He lived here seven years until immigration authorities began deportation proceedings.
Boer-Sedano told the court that he has been virtually kicked out of his family for being gay.
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In an Open Letter to all Mexican political parties, Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan challenged the leaders to make human rights the cornerstone of Mexican life and a fundamental central pillar of their electoral manifesto.
“Mexico is at a cross roads. The democratic transition is about to move to a new phase in the 2006 elections, but respect for human rights – which is central to the democratic aspirations of all Mexicans - is largely absent from the political agenda, or only present in empty words. Political leaders must move from rhetoric to concrete action if Mexico is to
Mexico: 51% of poll respondents think Hugo Chavez is to blame for the rift
Many adults in Mexico believe the Venezuelan President is responsible for the recent spat between the two countries, according to a poll by Milenio ... 51% of respondents think Hugo Chavez is to blame for the rift.
Conversely, 22% of respondents say Mexican president Vicente Fox is responsible.
The problems began earlier this month during the Summit of the Americas in Argentina. Chavez expressed displeasure with the proposed region-wide free trade agreement backed by the United States. Chavez favors the exclusively South American free trade zone, known as Mercosur,
Dean Slams Bush's Policies on Mexico
Howard Dean traveled south of the border to meet with Mexico's presidential contenders Monday, and lashed out at the Bush administration's policies on Mexico.
Dean, the Democratic National Committee chairman, claimed President Bush "turned his back on Mexico'' after it refused to support the Iraq war.
The former Vermont governor told The Associated Press in an interview that "a strong Mexico and a strong Mexican economy fixes a lot of the problems between the two countries, particularly immigration and narcotics.''
"We ought to have a partnership with Mexico'' Dean said. "President Bush has lost ground
MEXICO CITY, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Mexico's stock exchange said on Thursday it will not replace steel maker Hylsamex when it delists and cuts the company from the IPC index next week, further narrowing the market's already reduced breadth.
Acquisitions by big foreign players in Mexico in recent years have led to a string of delistings of blue-chip firms like cement maker Apasco, Bancomer bank and other financial groups, cutting into trading volume on the country's bourse.
Hylsamex, which Argentine firm Techint is buying for $2.25 billion, will be delisted from the market as of Monday, leaving only 34 stocks in the
US to work with Mexicos future president
The United States said on Monday that it will work with the winner in Mexicos presidential race and expressed confidence that a winner will be announced soon.
The Mexican government has announced that they will declare a winner, we think on Wednesday, and at that point, the president will congratulate the winner, White House spokesman Tony Snow said at a briefing.
We are going to work with the government of Mexico. Its an ally and neighbor, and obviously, weve got a great number of shared interests,
