The White House is hoping Congress will pass the Bush administration’s request for an initial $550 million for narcotics enforcement in Mexico and Central America before the fast-approaching holiday recess. The proposed aid package, known as the “Merida Initiative,” has… Read moreCongress mulls “Plan Mexico”
Mexican army troops detained the supposed leader of the powerful Gulf Cartel in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Dec. 12. Forces of the Eighth Military Zone claimed Marco Antonio Ram铆rez del R铆o, alias “Tony La Palma,” is successor to Luis Reyes Enr铆quez, known… Read moreMexican troops hunt narco forces in Tampico
“We are doing everything we can to stop drugs crossing to the United States but given this is a transnational business by definition it requires the United States do its part and that essentially means the flow of arms to… Read moreMexico’s chief prosector blasts US arms trade
Hundreds of people protested the planned border fence in McAllen, TX, Dec. 11, as a federally sponsored “open house” for public comment on a draft study of the project opened. The meeting was the first of three to hear public… Read moreTexans protest Homeland Security “open house” on border wall
On Dec. 7, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he would give landowners in South Texas 30 days to consent to letting federal officials survey their properties to determine whether they are suitable for a planned border fence. If the… Read moreTexas residents resist border wall
On Nov. 23 the workers at the Vaqueros Navarra jeans plant in Tehuacan, in the Mexican state of Puebla, voted to be represented by the September 19 Union, which is affiliated with the independent Authentic Labor Front (FAT). The vote… Read moreMexico: union wins at Puebla maquila
Marking his first year in office, Mexican President Felipe Calder贸n said Dec. 1 that fighting the war on drugs and organized crime remain his highest priority. The speech came as the death toll in 2007 narco violence topped 2,000鈥攎aking it… Read moreMexico: Calder贸n sends more troops to US border
Three popular Mexican musicians met violent deaths in six days this week. Jos茅 Luis Aquino Lavariega, 33, trumpet-player with the band Los Conde, was found Dec. 5 under a bridge in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, bound with a plastic bag over… Read moreMexico: narcos declare open season on musicians
More than 100 of Mexico’s elite Federal Preventative Police attacked student protesters from Ayotzinapa, Guerrero state, Nov. 30. Fifty-six were detained, and two gravely injured. The students were staging a protest occupation of a toll booth at La Venta, outside… Read moreMexico: police attack student highway occupation in Guerrero
Federal judicial authorities in the State of Mexico have granted an amparo, or order of protection, to 27 residents of San Salvador Atenco village, giving immunity from arrest until charges against them are reviewed. The Ninth District court in Nezahualc贸yotl… Read moreMexico: steps towards justice in Atenco case
Diego Arcos Meneses, arrested over a year ago in the massacre at the rainforest settlement of Viejo Velasco on what Amnesty International called “fabricated and deficient” evidence, was freed Dec. 4 by order of state authorities in Chiapas, Mexico. Amnesty… Read moreChiapas: scapegoat freed in Viejo Velasco massacre
Land conflicts between communities loyal to the Zapatista rebel movement and the state’s traditional political machine continue to generate violence in Chiapas, Mexico. The Zapatista Good Government Junta (JBG) Coraz贸n del Arcoiris de la Esperanza announced that on Nov. 24,… Read moreChiapas: paramilitary violence continues
