MEXICO CITY, Aug 18 (Reuters) - He married Mexico’s richest woman, is an old pal of U.S. President George W. Bush and now Washington’s envoy south of the Rio Grande is stirring up controversy in a dispute over crime and immigration on the U.S.-Mexican border.
U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza upset Mexico this week by boasting he had shut a consular office in a border city to “punish” the country for failing to halt a drug war there.
It was the latest in a series of run-ins with Mexico’s government that have earned Garza a reputation as a bully who, despite his Hispanic roots, largely disregards Mexican sensibilities about its powerful northern neighbor.
A senior Mexican Foreign Ministry official rebuked Garza’s comments as “frankly, unfortunate,” but the State Department in Washington defended him on Thursday.
“Secretary (Condoleezza) Rice thinks that Ambassador Garza is a fine ambassador and the right person for the job,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a briefing.
He said Garza acknowledged he could have used different phrasing in his speech.
Garza, a Texas Republican, has sent several strongly worded warnings to Mexico this year about killings and kidnappings in a drug feud between gangs in northern Mexico.
Mexico, Venezuela Recall Ambassadors After Dispute
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused Mexican leader Vicente Fox of being a "puppy" of President Bush and said: "Don't mess with me, sir." Mr. Fox shot back on Monday that "we have dignity in this country" and demanded an apology. Now the two nations are withdrawing their ambassadors.
The severing of diplomatic relations came after a week of verbal sparring that highlighted Latin America's differences over free trade and relations with the United States. The conservative Mr. Fox tends to side with Washington on many issues, while Mr. Chavez, a socialist and populist, has been one
Bush, Fox Discuss Mexico Border Security
President Bush and President Vicente Fox of Mexico exchanged ideas Monday on how to stop violence and improve security along the two countries' mutual border, the White House said.
Press secretary Scott McClellan said that Bush telephoned Fox while traveling here to give a speech and said the pair "talked about working together" to improve conditions that have been a source of friction between the two countries.
McClellan told reporters that Bush has designated Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to talk to his counterpart in Mexico about the problem and said that Bush and Fox also talked
Bush vows to make U.S.-Mexico border more secure
President Bush rekindled a debate Monday in his own party, proposing a crackdown on illegal aliens at the Mexican border while allowing some undocumented immigrants to work in the United States.
"We are going to protect the border," Bush vowed in a speech at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz.
In his latest effort to shore up his conservative base, Bush insisted a crackdown would also prevent terrorists from entering the country. He wants 1,000 more border patrol guards, as well as cameras and listening devices, along the border.
But much to the displeasure
The View from Mexico
If the Bush administration doesn't revise its border control legislation or enact a guest worker program by Jan. 18, it will force Mexico's next president to adopt the rhetoric of anti-American nationalism.
Mexicans high and low are piqued because of a measure by Republicans James Sensenbrenner and Tom Tancredo, HR 4437, which calls for, among other things, erecting double walls along some 700 miles of the Mexican-American border.
American Congress-watchers say that the bill doesn't stand much chance of approval in the Senate, but that's beside the point: in Mexico, the idea that powerful Americans want to
Bush gets tough down Mexico way
The President of the United States, having noticed that the illegal-immigrant issue has rent asunder both the nation at large and his own core constituency, proposes now to dispatch 6,000 National Guard troops to the Mexican border, thereat to provide temporary backup to an overwhelmed Border Patrol in stanching the flow of interlopers currently interloping unchecked.
Millions of Americans approve and applaud, as they surely will also cheer the rest of the border-tightening plans Bush outlined in prime time last night: a bigger civilian Border Patrol to allow the troops to resume other duties,
Roh and North's envoy meet at Mexico City fete
On the third day of his visit here, President Roh Moo-hyun met with local businessmen, toured a South Korean product exhibition, dined with the Mexican president and had a brief, unscheduled encounter with the North Korean envoy to Mexico.
At the dinner on Friday, hosted by Mexico's President Vicente Fox, Mr. Roh chatted with So Jae-myong, the North Korean ambassador, for a few minutes. Mr. So approached Mr. Roh and his wife to introduce himself. Mr. Roh told Mr. So he hoped North-South Korean relations would improve, and Mr. So said he
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 Calls for New Approach on Immigration Issue
Mexican President Vicente Fox says serious discussions and cooperation between the United States and Mexico, rather than reinforcing the entire border with a fence, is the way to organize orderly migration, while insuring security.
President Bush toured the American Southwest states of Arizona and New Mexico earlier this week to promote and explain what he called his "comprehensive immigration strategy."
The illegal immigration situation in these two states is so serious that the governors have declared statewide emergencies. The U.S. Congress is scheduled to vote on border enforcement legislation soon.
President Bush said
Bush to tackle immigration on Mexico border
President George W. Bush on Monday tackles the thorny problem of illegal immigration on the Mexico border with his own Republican Party split over whether undocumented workers already in the United States should be allowed to stay.
Fueled by fears of terrorists slipping into the country, escalating violence and drug smuggling, Americans have become increasingly worried about illegal immigration. More than three-quarters think the government is not doing enough to control the borders, according to a CBS News poll last month.
In Tucson, Arizona, on Monday and El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Bush will focus
For migrants passing through Mexico, full detention centers often mean they are set free
After two months of dodging thieves and thundering trains during the perilous journey from Honduras, Marco Antonio Vasquez has finally reached the Rio Grande.
Now plotting his next move, the 26-year-old displaced factory worker sits on the steps of a Reynosa church and worries aloud that, if the Border Patrol catches him, he'll be deported and his hopes of finding a job in Houston will be dashed.
What he may or may not realize is that he would likely be freed in Texas, even after American agents stop
