NewsTrust - Mexico - Most Recent Stories: News (Independent)

Journalism in Mexico Faces Threat of Being Completely Silenced

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

truth-out.org - By Maria Armoudian - Oct. 17 (News Report) - Last week, members of a Mexican drug cartel slew yet another journalist for attempting to serve her community. Maria Elizabeth Macias' mutilated remains were found beside a note apparently written by the Zetas cartel in which they claimed revenge for her online exposes and criticism.

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Gunwalker: The ATF’s Kenneth Melson Blows the Whistle on the Justice Department

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Pajamas Media - By Hans von Spakovsky - Jul. 06 (Breaking News) - Contrary to the Justice Department’s denials, according to Melson, ATF agents specifically witnessed transfers of weapons from straw purchasers to third parties without taking any further action. Melson claimed that it was not until the public disclosure of the operation that he personally reviewed the “hundreds of documents” related to the case. He said he became “sick to his stomach” when he learned the full story. Even more shocking is that some of the “gun trafficking ‘higher-ups’ that the ATF sought to identify were already known to other agencies and may even have been paid as informants” by agencies such as the FBI and the DEA.

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Horse welfare declines after closing of U.S. slaughter plants

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

billingsgazette.com - By Jan Falstad - Jun. 25 (News Report) - The closure of the last U.S. horse slaughter plants in the fall of 2007 has failed to reduce the number of horses shipped to slaughter.

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New Report: U.S. Encouraged Gun Sales to Drug Cartels, 70% of Seized Mexico Guns Are From U.S.

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jun. 15 (News Report) - Some 70 percent of guns seized in Mexico from 2009 to 2010 came from the United States, according to a new report from three U.S. senators. The report finds Mexican drug cartels are arming themselves with U.S. military-style weapons and urges a strengthening of U.S. regulations to stem the flow of guns to Mexico. It comes as lawmakers are holding hearings into a once-secret government plan to encourage U.S. gun shops to sell thousands of guns to middlemen for Mexican drug cartels. The operation, called "Fast and Furious," focused on using middlemen to gain access to senior-level figures within Mexico’s criminal organizations.

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Mexican Peace Caravan Arrives in U.S. to Call for End to Deadly Drug War Policy

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jun. 15 (News Report) - A caravan of Mexican anti-violence protesters arrived in the United States over the weekend calling for a massive shift in U.S. drug policy. Mexican poet, Javier Sicilia, led the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity following the brutal murder of his 24-year-old son by drug traffickers earlier this year. The caravan's demands include an end to the Merida Initiative, in which the United States provides training and support for the Mexican army in its "war on drugs." We speak to Laura Carlsen, director of the Americas Policy Program of the Center for International Policy, and play an excerpt from her interview with Sicilia as she traveled with him to document the caravan’s journey.

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American Banks 'High' On Drug Money

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Clarence Walker - Jun. 12 (Investigative Report) - A fraud investigator helped expose the shocking world of multi-billion dollar drug laundering by American banks and the surprising lack of oversight by the Feds. Martin Woods, an Englishman in his mid-40s, is blessed with a Sherlock Holmes instinct and demeanor. Woods is an expert at sniffing out "dirty" money passing through International Banking Systems. A police officer for 18 years and later a detective with London Metro Police Agency, Woods capitalized on his unique expertise as a fraud expert by joining Wachovia's London-based Bank in March 2005 as an anti-money laundering officer. It wasn't long after taking the job that he discovered that his own employer, one of America's leading banks, was a major player in aiding the "bloodthirsty" Mexico drug cartels to launder billions of dollars in drug money through Wachovia banks. Woods traced and identified a "number of suspicious transactions" related to Mexico-based Casa de Cambios (CDC).

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Obama says border patrol has doubled the number of agents since 2004

Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - May. 10 (Fact Check) - In a speech on immigration reform in El Paso, Texas, President Barack Obama boasted about an unprecedented number of border security agents along the U.S. border with Mexico, but he said critics probably still won't be satisfied. "Under Secretary Napolitano’s leadership, we have strengthened border security beyond what many believed was possible," Obama said in his May 10, 2011, speech. "They wanted more agents on the border. Well, we now have more boots on the ground on the southwest border than at any time in our history. The Border Patrol has 20,000 agents –- more than twice as many as there were in 2004, a buildup that began under President Bush and that we have continued." Obama said that commitment is beyond what was requested by some Republicans "who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement." "I suspect there will be those who will try to move the goal posts one more time," Obama said. "They’ll say we need to triple the border patrol. Or quadruple the border patrol."

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How a Big US Bank Laundered Billions From Mexico's Murderous Drug Gangs

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Ed Vulliamy - Apr. 03 (Investigative Report) - As the violence spread, billions of dollars of cartel cash began to seep into the global financial system. But a special investigation by the Observer reveals how the increasingly frantic warnings of one London whistleblower were ignored

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Border agents unwittingly freed suspects near border with weapons from federal sting

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Center for Public Integrity - By John Solomon, David Heath, Ricardo Sandoval Palos - Mar. 24 (Investigative Report) - The episode — confirmed by the Center for Public Integrity through interviews, internal agency memos and court records — highlights major gaps in the U.S. war on Mexican gun and drug cartels: America’s frontline agencies aren’t always coordinated fully and often feel powerless to arrest suspected gun runners in the absence of tougher federal laws.

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Cross-Border Trucking Program Could Begin Again

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

texastribune.org - By Julian Aguilar - Jan. 26 (News Report) - A proposal by the Obama administration that would grant Mexican truckers greater access to Texas roadways — and far beyond — would be a boon to businesses in the state, supporters say. But unions, the Teamsters in particular, say the plan would cost American jobs.

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Rick Perry Willing To Send U.S. Troops Into Mexico To Fight Drug War (VIDEO)

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - Nov. 18 (News Report) - Texas Gov. Rick Perry, soon to be the leader of the Republican Governors Association, continued his argument Thursday that the federal government needed to halt their intervention in the private sector and refocus their energy toward securing the border -- even if that means sending U.S. troops into Mexico.

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Climate change legislation benefits the elite, not the people

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Natural News - By Jonathan Benson - Sep. 10 (News) - The National Forestry Commission of Mexico in conjunction with the Swiss government recently held a conference to discuss the possibility of new, centralized climate change legislation. If enacted, the legislation will change the way Latin America governs its forests, and potentially set a precedent for how governments around the world manage their resources. But many at the conference expressed concerns that such legislation will end up benefiting a few wealthy elite while depriving local communities of their natural resources–all in the name of protecting the climate.

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Violence Does Cross the Border After All--Going the Other Way

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

FAIR - By Jim Naureckas - Sep. 08 (News Analysis) - An imaginary crime wave supposedly caused by unauthorized immigration from Mexico has been frequently offered by pundits as a rationalization for Arizona's draconian anti-immigrant law. It would be more helpful for media observers to call attention to the actual assistance U.S. gun dealers are providing to violent criminals on the other side of the border.

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With 28,000 Killed Since 2006, Movement for Drug Legalization in Mexico Takes Hold

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman - Aug. 19 (News Report) - The Mexican government's policy against drug trafficking over the past few years has been to increasingly militarize the conflict with the only tangible result being a skyrocketing death toll. Now a growing movement in Mexico to legalize drugs, particularly marijuana, is taking shape. Four proposals that aim for varying degrees of decriminalization or legalization of drugs are on the docket in Mexico's House of Deputies and another is circulating in the Senate. Meanwhile, former Mexican President Vicente Fox, who was a key US ally in the war on drugs, has backed the legalization of drugs saying prohibition has failed to reduce violence and corruption.

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Expert says violence by cartels may intensify

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

El Paso Times - By Diana Washington Valdez, Daniel Borunda - Aug. 05 (News) - "The grenades, the car bombings in Mexico is just a preview of the worse to come. The collateral damage is nothing now in what can happen to the future," said Phil Jordan, former director of the federal anti-drug El Paso Intelligence Center, or EPIC.

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A Shifting Tide: Recent Trends in the Illegal Immigrant Population

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:59:13 -0700

Center for Immigration Studies - By Steven A. Camarota, Karen Jensenius - Aug. 03 (Research) - Monthly Census Bureau data show that the number of less-educated young Hispanic immigrants in the country has declined significantly. The evidence indicates that the illegal population declined after July 2007 and then rebounded somewhat in the summer of 2008 before resuming its decline in the fall of 2008 and into the first quarter of 2009. Both increased immigration enforcement and the recession seem to explain this decline. There is evidence that the decline was caused by both fewer illegal immigrants coming and an increase in the number returning home. However, this pattern does not apply to the legal immigrant population, which has not fallen significantly.

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Who Is Behind the 25,000 Deaths In Mexico?

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Charles Bowden, Molly Molloy - Jul. 29 (Investigative Report) - With at least 25,000 people slaughtered in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón hurled the Mexican Army into the anti-cartel battle, three questions remain unanswered: Who is being killed, who is doing the killing and why are people being killed? This is apparently considered a small matter to US leaders in the discussions about failed states, narco-states and the false claim that violence is spilling across the border.

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What's a Little Marriage Fraud Between Amigos?

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Village Voice - By Gustavo Arellano - Jul. 17 (Special Report) - It's a felony, sure, but in the absence of real immigration reform, some young, assimilated illegal immigrants see it as their best path to citizenship

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Agence Global

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

agenceglobal.com - By David Bacon - Jun. 17 (News) - When the Mexican government moved to bust the three-year miners' strike in Cananea on June 6, it brought 2,000 Federal Police into the tiny mountain town in the state of Sonora -- two cops for every striker. As darkness fell and helicopters clattered overhead, they charged the gate with riot shields and batons, filling the streets with tear gas. Miners retreated to the union hall with their families, and the police followed, barricading the doors and lobbing more tear gas inside. The union's leaders were already in hiding, since the police had arrest warrants for them all. Manny Armenta, an organizer for the United Steel Workers who's probably spent more time in Cananea than at home in Arizona, helped lead women and children down fire escapes and through the basement to safety. The same day, police moved on the widows of sixty-five miners.......

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Mexican Teenager Shot Dead on Mexican Soil by US Border Agent

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Fernando Garcia, Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman - Jun. 10 (News Analysis) - US authorities have said fifteen-year-old Sergio Adrian Hernandez Güereca was part of a group of boys throwing rocks at Border Patrol agents who were trying to detain two people at the border crossing. But a cell-phone video obtained by the Spanish language network Univision shows otherwise. The grainy footage shows the Border Patrol agent detaining one man at gunpoint. While he has the man on the ground, he points his gun toward a second person on the Mexican side of the border. The video shows that person running away as the agent fires several shots. The video then shows a body next to a column under the bridge. We speak to Fernando Garcia, the director of the Border Network for Human Rights.

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Analysis: Italian mafia brokering Mexican drug trade

Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

GlobalPost - By Christopher Livesay - May. 06 (Special Report) - Calabrian syndicate has re-focused efforts on shipping drugs from Latin America to West Africa, grossing $60 billion a year.read more

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Paramilitaries Kill Two Human Rights Activists in Oaxaca

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Apr. 30 (News Report) - In Mexico, two human rights activists have been shot dead in the state of Oaxaca. The victims have been identified as Beatriz Carino, director of the Mexican human rights group CACTUS, and Jyri Antero Jaakkola, a human rights observer from Finland. They were traveling as part of a convoy attempting to deliver aid to a town that’s been targeted by paramilitary blockades since the 2006 uprising against governor Ulises Ruiz.

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Rep. Grijalva Calls for Federal Non-Cooperation with Controversial AZ Immigration Bill

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Amy Goodman - Apr. 27 (News Report) - Outrage is growing over the passage of a controversial new measure in Arizona that forces police officers to determine the immigration status of someone they suspect of being an undocumented immigrant. We speak with Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), who is urging federal non-cooperation with the new law and is calling for a targeted economic boycott of Arizona. We also speak with Sunita Patel, an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is filing a lawsuit demanding records related to ICE's little known "Secure Communities" program.

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Once and Future News, 2009-2010

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Link TV - By Erin Coker, Evelyn Messinger - Dec. 24 (Special Report) - The year 2009 may be coming to an end, but some news events are far from over. This special end-of-year half-hour Global Pulse program digs deeper into the most significant stories of 2009. In the daily welter of news coverage, sometimes what will truly affect the future can only be seen from a distance. We look at how broadcasters around the world have presented divergent views on key events. Original interviews and clips from the most astute observers round out the picture. China and the Global Economy: The historic financial economic collapse at the start of the year scrambled the long-standing hierarchy of power, and China has emerged as the world’s new leader. Original interview with Wayne Silby, Co-Founder and Chairman of Calvert Investments and advisor to Grameen Bank on China. Remembering Pakistan: President Obama’s new Afghanistan “surge” mirrors the troop increase from February ‘09 -- as does the rise in violence across the border, in Pakistan. Mexico at War: Except for the few times violence has exploded in the U.S., American news has paid too little attention to the escalating war between organized criminal gangs and the Mexican government. Iran’s Strange Course: A deeply flawed election that challenged Iran’s theocratic régime was followed by a newly aggressive and oddly contradictory policy on nuclear enrichment. Original interview with Professor Mohsen Milani - Chair, Department of Government & International Affairs, University of South Florida.

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Mexican Army Accused Of Torture By Amnesty International

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - Dec. 09 (News Report) - The group said one case involves 25 Tijuana police officers detained on corruption allegations. The officers say troops put their feet in water and applied electric shocks to their bodies, including their genitals. The Interior Department said it will analyze the report released by the human rights watchdog group on Tuesday. It also details four other cases of abuse against 10 people in the northern border states of Chihuahua, Tamaulipas and Baja California, where Tijuana is located.

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