Mexico Today

Mexico Review Hits the Stands!

2012-01-11T00:28:00.001-06:00

Need to get in-depth information about what is going on in Mexico. Mexico Review hits the stands! You can download a free copy at www.mexico-review.com Check it out!

News Summary for September 13th, 2011

2011-09-12T23:36:00.000-05:00

++ The Nuevo León Congress approved a measure to set up a special committee to investigate the attack on the Casino Royale. Local PRI deputy César Garza Villarreal said that if the local Attorney General’s Office finds evidence inculpating mayor Fernando Larrazábal, either directly or indirectly on the Red casino case, the state Congress will impeach the mayor.

++ PRD national leader Jesús Zambrano called on PAN national chairman Gustavo Madero to punish Fernando Larrazábal, the Monterrey mayor, because he refused to take a leave of absence during investigations. Security spokesman in Nuevo León, Jorge Domene, announced that the Attorney General’s Office might release more information about the investigation into attack on the Casino Royale.

++ Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Medina asked the Interior Secretariat to speed up the process to close down 30 casinos operating illegally in Nuevo León.

++ President Felipe Calderón said that it will be up to the next president to see the final results of his organized crime policies.

++ U.S. President Barack Obama said he opposed a solution to Mexico’s organized crime problems by reaching an agreement with criminal gangs.

++ Authorities in Tampico, Tamaulipas, captured Manuel Alquisires García, "El Meme", who is accused of being the Gulf drug cartel financial operator.

Officials had already detained "El Meme" in July 1998, together with Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, leader of the gang…. Both were incarcerated in a Matamoros penitentiary, but an armed commando rescued El Meme in December 2002.

++ Navy troops captured 13 suspected members of the Los Zetas criminal gang in Veracruz… Among those arrested was Héctor Tejeda Vázquez, "El Pitufo", who is accused of killing a military officer last August.

++ Authorities in Mexico State arrested 19 alleged members of the La Familia Michoacana drug cartel among them public prosecutor’s office agent in Jilotepec, Elizabeth Lemus.

++ The Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity arrived in Oaxaca where poet Javier Sicilia demanded justice from the state government for victims of repression under former governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz.

++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard complained that the new federal budget for 2012 once again cuts back on federal funding for Mexico City.

News Summary for September 8th, 2011

2011-09-08T13:25:00.002-05:00

++ Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Medina denied that he would ask for a leave of absence as governor during investigations into the attack on the Casino Royale as requested by the PAN.

++ Monterrey Mayor Fernando Larrazabal said he would stay on the job and orders a survey to see what citizens think about him asking for a leave of absence.

++ The Attorney General’s Office identified another 18 suspects in the attack on the Casino Royale that killed 52 people… The Attorney General’s Office is offering a reward of 15 million pesos for each one for information leading to their arrest.

++ Among the suspects believed to have ordered and carried out the attack are commanders "Quemado" and "Mataperro", identified as heads of the Monterrey section of the Los Zetas drug cartel.

++ Raúl Rocha Cantú, owner of the casino Royale, presented an affidavit at a Mexican government office abroad, said Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Medina.

++ Speaking in Jalisco President Felipe Calderón said he does not intend to fight with any branch of government but he insisted that the judicial branch must review its own methods of reviewing criminal cases.

++ The Attorney General’s Office asked Interpol for help to search for Néstor Félix Moreno Díaz, former Operations director for the Federal Electricity Commission who is accused of illegal enrichment.

++ National Human Rights Commissioner Raúl Plascencia said it was unnecessary to create a special office of attention for crime victims… He said he hoped the new bureaucratic structure would not mean more headaches for crime victims…

++ The Federal Electoral Tribunal said that civil organizations can call on citizens to vote, but must do so with no funding from the state.

++ PAN politician Santiago Creel challenged his rival Josefina Vázquez Mota to a debate on security, the economy and politics… She accepted immediately.

++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said he dismissed Martí Batres as social development secretary because he criticized him for shaking hands with President Felipe Calderón at an event to address the nation about the state of the government.

++ Martí Batres denied he ever criticized Ebrard and said he was fired for political reasons.

++ The Interior Secretariat declared an emergency in Cuautitlán and Teoloyucan because flooding there forced 1,700 families from their homes.

News Summary for September 6th, 2011

2011-09-06T00:06:00.000-05:00

++ UNAM rector José Narro presented a security strategy designed by UNAM academicians to President Felipe Calderón. The president said he was willing to adopt new methods to guarantee the safety of Mexicans but he said that facing up to crime was not a matter of choice. Later, at a conference with citizens on security, Calderón expressed frustration at the legal system, since he said the government arrests criminals and judges set them free on technicalities.

++ A federal judge in Nuevo León rejected an amparo sought by the former Operations Director at the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE)… The former electricity commission operations director, Néstor Félix Moreno Díaz, who is accused of illegal enrichment, could be arrested…

++ Investigations began at the Eurodólar currency exchange house… Murdered journalist Rocío González Trápaga was a shareholder in the currency exchange center. Chief justice of the Federal District Superior Tribunal Edgar Elías Azar said that an autopsy showed that both female reporters died from strangulation and gunshot wounds.

++ During the current administration authorities have captured 1,044 minors accused of organized crime, drug and people trafficking, homicide, kidnapping, arms possession and for giving information to criminal groups.

++ The Finance Secretariat said that the risk exists of a new world crisis that could cause economic slowdown in Mexico.

++ Mexico State Governor Enrique Peña Nieto urged authorities to recover security in Mexico.

++ Mexico State is on alert because of flooding in several municipalities among the Cuatitlan Izcalli and Cuatitlan México, Melchor Ocampo, Teoloyucan and Tepozotlán. Some 1,200 homes in Cuautitlán México, were flooded with sewage sludge. There was also a risk of flooding in Ecatepec and Nezahualcóyotl, after the Río de los Remedios sewage canal showed signs of damage and leaking near the bridge that connects with a highway.

Conversation with former President of Colombia

2011-09-05T19:57:00.001-05:00

I was interviewed by @NTN24. Also participating was former President of Colombia Cesar Gaviria, who had very interesting comments regarding Mexico. Please watch.

News Summary for September 5th, 2011

2011-09-05T00:31:00.002-05:00

PAN politician Josefina Vázquez Mota said she will step down on Tuesday from her position as leader of PAN deputies to seek her party’s nomination for the presidency…

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Senator Manlio Fabio Beltrones called on his fellow lawmakers to approve political, fiscal and security amendments to move forward in attacking corruption and impunity.

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The Monterrey Human Development secretary Miguel Ángel García Domínguez was caught on video together with the brother of the mayor, Manuel Jonás Larrazabal, negotiating the re-opening of the Red Casino with its owner, Sergio Gil. Civil groups and citizens gathered together at the Macro-plaza to demand that Nuevo León Governor Rodrigo Median and Mayor Fernando Larrazabal resign… Their slogan was “Monterrey Says Enough”.

The Catholic Church charged that behind the tragedy in the Casino Royale lie not only criminals, but also public servants who fail to carry out their tasks.

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Heavy rains over the last few days left a slew of damage in several states among them Guerrero, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Colima, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Mexico State and the Federal District. The National Water Commission and the Civil Protection issued a warning for the next 48 hours because of heavy rains expected in the Valley of Mexico. The Cuautitlán sewage canal flooded over early Saturday flooding more than 1,600 homes in Cuautitlán and Teoloyucan, in Mexico State. Residents forced from their homes because of flooding in Cuautitlán staged a protest on the Mexico City-Querétaro highway to demand that Mexico State Governor Enrique Peña and National Water Commission chief José Luis Luege, travel to the submerged area to listen to their demands.

Heavy rains in Tacubaya district in Mexico City caused a wall to collapse in a housing compound damaging three apartments and two vehicles…

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Amnesty International and the Mexico Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights repudiated the murders of two journalists Marcela Yarce and Rocío González Trápaga.

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The U.S. Embassy and consulates in Mexico would be closed because of Labor Day…

News Summary for September 2d, 2011

2011-09-02T08:37:00.000-05:00

++ The Nuevo León Attorney General’s Office initiated an investigation against Jonás Larrazabal Bretón, brother of the Mayor of Monterrey, Fernando Larrazabal, on suspicions he was charging extortion money to casinos operating illegally in Monterrey. Operations director for the Nuevo León Firefighters Andrés Molina said that if the Casino Royale had installed appropriate security measures the arson attack would not have spread so quickly nor would 53 people would have been killed. He said he only saw one emergency exit and the other one was false one, even though security requirements stipulate six emergency doors.

++ Unknown assailants lobbed two smoke grenades in a betting hall belonging to Grupo Caliente in Tijuana, Baja California.

++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said there is no evidence of extortion operations in Mexico City in connection to Casino businesses.

++ Authorities found the bodies of two women linked to Contralinea investigative journalism magazine. The naked bodies of Contralinea founder Ana Maria Marcela Yarce Viveros and independent journalist Rocio Gonzalez Trapaga, were found in a park in Iztapalapa borough in Mexico City…

++ Local officials said a bodyguard was suspected of firing on a school bus in Huixquilucan, Mexico State.

++ UNAM rector José Narro presented the university’s proposal on peace and security to PAN senators… He said the proposal embodies many Mexicans’ demand that there be “no more” crime in the country.

++ UNAM rector José Narro was set to meet Monday with President Felipe Calderón to review an anti-crime strategy proposed by academicians to face violence in Mexico.

++ Jean Succar Kuri was sentenced to 112 years and a half in prison for corrupting minors and child pornography.

++ Interior Secretary Francisco Blake delivered President Felipe Calderon’s state of the nation report to Congress. In the report President Calderón said that after five years his government is moving forward determinedly to transform Mexico, to raise quality of life for Mexicans and modernize institutions.

News Summary for August 29th, 2011

2011-08-29T01:52:00.003-05:00

The Defense Secretariat sent 800 additional troops to Monterrey as reinforcements to assist local authorities. The full deployment of an additional 1,500 soldiers is expected within the next couple of days. State and local authorities in Monterrey denied that two of the suspects in Friday’s attack on the Casino Royale had been arrested. Authorities said that 45 of the fatal 52 victims of the attack on the Casino Royale had been identified and their bodies delivered to their relatives… Funerals for the victims began over the weekend…

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The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development sent a condolence message from secretary general Mexican José Ángel Gurria whose remarks joined the chorus of national and international outrage at the attack on the casino in Monterrey. Fifty civic groups joined together in Monterey to launch a campaign for Peace and Justice with the “Peace Is Ours” slogan… Youth groups said they would stage a rally on Saturday October 8^th at the Angel of Independence

The National Human Rights Commission sent a team to Monterrey to meet with victims of the attack at the Casino Royale and their families and verify their conditions…

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Authorities conducted an operation at 11 casinos and betting halls in Nuevo León and the Federal District… Three people were arrested and authorities impounded more than 3,500 coin machines…

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Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera invoked punishment on earth and in heaven for those responsible for the attack on the Casino Royale, which killed 52 people… Rivera Carrera called the crime “diabolical” and said it robbed Mexico of its peace and plunged the country into mourning…

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Authorities suspended search tasks at mass grave found Saturday in Mexico State… Excavation teams had unearthed five bodies…

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The Finance Secretariat warned that financial volatility would continue for some time but said that contrary to other developing countries, Mexico continues to bear the brunt without showing signs of an economic meltdown…

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One year after Mexicana was forced to ground its airplanes the Flight Attendants Union asked President Felipe Calderón to step in to find a rapid solution so that they can recover their jobs.

News Summary for August 26th, 2011

2011-08-26T01:32:00.000-05:00

++ Armed assailants attacked the Casino Royale building in Monterrey, Nuevo León… The attack set off a fire… More then 50 people died and dozens were wounded… Authorities fear the number of victims could increase as people were trapped inside the building…

++ A group of gunmen fired at the “Caliente” betting casino in Saltillo, Coahuila... One person was hurt…

++ Authorities captured one of the suspects in the shooting Wednesday at a primary school in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, in which one man was killed and four women, whose children were at the school, were wounded.

++ Federal police captured María de los Ángeles Garibay Uribe, who is also known as “Angy”, and is an oficial with the Michoacán government... She is accused of belonging to the Knights Templar criminal organization envolved in drug dealing and extortions...

++ Authorities in Culiacán, Sinaloa, found the body of journalist and director of the Internet magazine “A Discusión”, Humberto Millán Salazar, who had been kidnapped on Wednesday.

++ President Felipe Calderón said that the least that can be hoped from Congress is that it approve a national security bill that will give certainty to soldiers who fight organized crime. At a meeting of PAN deputies in Morelia, Michoacán, Calderón called on them to redouble efforts to bring about amendments on laws to fight organizad crime.

++ The Finance Secretariat filed a criminal lawsuit seeking to find out who was to blame for inconsistencies in debt contracting on the part of the Coahuila government. PAN senators leader José González Morfín said there is evidence that officials with the Coahuila government falsified documents in order to obtain more loans.

++ The National Statistics and Geography Institute said that unemployment in July reached 5.62 per cent... That is a total of 2.7 million Mexicans have no job... The rate is the highest in the last nine months

Summary of the most important news for August 25th, 2011

2011-08-24T22:37:00.002-05:00

++ President Felipe Calderón called on judges and lawmakers to bring about the changes needed between the truth in daily life, and legal truth, in a society threatened by criminality.

++ UNAM rector José Narro Robles submitted to the National Governors’ Conference, a national safety strategy devised by university experts, that seeks to help the government’s stance to fight organized crime. Narro urged the government to provide young people with work and educational options so that they don’t join the ranks of criminal organizations.

++ Ciudad Juárez Mayor Héctor Murguía Lardizábal said that the rate of daily assassinations in Juarez dropped considerably, since last year the rate was 8.1 assassinations per day, and currently, it is 3.1 murders per day. As the mayor announced this a shootout in a primary school in Ciudad Juárez left one man dead and wounded two mothers. The victim was trying to hide in the school just as kids were coming out at the end of their classes…

++ The Attorney General’s Office began an investigation into the case of Mexican pilot Rubén García García who is accused of trafficking 42 kilos of cocaine from Mexico City into Spain.

++ The Mexican Communications and Transportation Secretariat confirmed that his license had been cancelled.

++ Authorities arrested Noemí López Sánchez in Sonora… She is the former head of the IMSS Day Care Centers Department and has been charged in connection to alleged negligence that led to the fire that broke out in the ABC day care center which killed 49 children. López Sánchez is accused of homicide, injuries and unlawful exercise of public office.

++ PT deputy Mario Di Costanzo said the 2012 spending budget will be very limited because 93 percent will go to operations, salaries and other benefits for the federal government.

++ Commissioner for the Mexican Federal Access to Information Institute María Marván charged that in Mexico the lack of transparency and access to public information is intentional.

++ Santiago Creel denied that he is the "problematic" PAN presidential contender, seeking to become the nominee, and said there was no distancing between himself and the party brass or with President Calderón.

News Summary for August 23, 2011

2011-08-22T23:00:00.001-05:00

++ President Felipe Calderón condemned the lack of scruples shown by criminals who threatened the lives of thos who were at a soccer match in Torreón, Coahuila and at a mall in Morelia, Michoacán. Calderón said he would continue to protect Mexican famlies.

++ National Security Council Alejandro Poiré said the government will find and punish those who set off the shootout in the Santos Modelo stadium. He said the Attorney General’s Office has begun an investigation. Deputy Interior Secretary Juan Marcos Gutiérrez said the attack was aimed at the head of the municipal police Adelaido Flores Díaz, and not citizens.

++The Coahuila Attorney General’s Office has begun an investigation into the shooting incident at the Santos Modelo stadium… Both the federal and local attorney general’s office are working on the case…

++ After the assassination of the mayor of Zacualpan, Mexico State, José Nava Altamirano, the state government said the entire border area with Guerrero had been protected…

++ Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Guerrero and Aguascalientes joined the list of states where violent car robberies, extortions and homicides as well as kidnapping are above the national average, according to a list compiled by the Mexico Evaluates organization. Durango, Chihuahua and Morelos still top the list.

++ PRD national leader Jesús Zambrano said there will be no bias to favor any candidate in particular in surveys to choose a presidential nominee.

He said the surveys and the firms that will conduct them will be ready in October. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard hailed that the national council chose open consultation as the method to choose a presidential candidate.

War in Juarez..Peace in El Paso..

2011-08-22T14:21:00.000-05:00

You have to read this article by Angela...Click here

News summary for August 22, 2011

2011-08-21T23:28:00.002-05:00

A shootout near and around a soccer stadium in Torreón on Saturday caused panic, as players rushed to the changing rooms and people attending the game crouched down among the seats…Armed men in three vans refused to halt at a military checkpoint and army troops chased after them… One municipal police officer was hurt. The game was suspended definitively… Authorities found several fired bullets in the stadium. The Mexican Soccer Federation condemned the violence and called for a meeting to assess security measures in stadiums.

The Presidency said the shootings were regrettable and offered to investigate the incident…

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Unidentified assailants murdered José Eduviges Nava Altamriano, mayor of Zacualpan, in Mexico State… He was kidnapped on Friday… Authorities found his body on the side of a federal highway from Teloloapan, in the so called Tierra Caliente region of Guerrero...

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Legal counsel for the Mexico Archdiocese Armando Martínez said the Metropolitan Cathedral is not equipped to receive holy remains of John Paul II such as his blood, because the Public Safety Secretariat withdrew guards who were protecting the cathedral…

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Finance Secretary Ernesto Cordero said political, economic and social conditions in Mexico are much better than they were 10 years ago when the PAN took over the government from the PRI…

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Senate Speaker Manlio Fabio Beltrone called on political parties and the federal government to find agreement to move forward to face the economic turbulence on an international and national level…

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School summer holidays are over… It’s back to school for the 2011-2012 year as more than 27.6 million kids from primary through secondary school return to their classrooms…

More peace..Less War This weeks column

2011-08-19T16:04:00.002-05:00

Leyendo un artículo muy interesante de la revista Foreign Policy sobre el tema de la violencia en el mundo, curiosamente y contra lo que el sentido común nos puede decir, el mundo es cada vez un lugar menos violento. Hoy en día existen conflictos armados en Medio Oriente, problemas sociales que se han manifestado violentamente en el Norte de África, piratería en Somalia, masacres en el Congo y Sudán, contrainsurgencia en Colombia, y por supuesto nuestra guerra contra el narcotráfico compartida cada vez más por algunos países de Centro y Sudamérica. En total, en el mundo se contabilizan actualmente 18 conflictos armados de manera formal. Nuestra percepción de violencia seguramente nos dice que tenemos demasiadas muertes ya que si vemos cualquier noticiero o si leemos cualquier periódico o portal de noticias, nos encontraremos seguramente con alguna nota que hable de violencia, guerra, conflictos, muertes, atentados, y sobre todo serán notas de primera o segunda página. Pero a veces uno tiene que viajar fuera de México para comprender el impacto que tiene una guerra en la población, la economía y el desarrollo de un país. En los noventa tuve la oportunidad de viajar a Sarajevo, Medellín, Beirut, y Lima cuando Bosnia y Herzegovina, Líbano, Colombia y Perú vivía una guerra civil. Uno no comprende la tragedia de una guerra hasta que uno ve y siente su impacto. To continue click here.

Summary of the most important news in Mexico for August 17th, 2011

2011-08-17T01:23:00.000-05:00

++ President Felipe Calderón signed a decree to eliminate the so-called “informal” veto power that gave the Executive branch the right to indefinitely postpone publication in the Official Gazette of an approved legislation, in effect stalling it indefinitely. Under the new rules, the Executive branch has 10 days to make observations, and there is a 30-day period set to enact the bills or for the president to exercise the right to an outright veto.

++ Interior Secretary Francisco Blake has now called on representatives of civil society to express their concerns about the National Security law bill.

The heads of “End to Kidnapping”, and “Common Cause”, Isabel Miranda de Wallace and María Elena Morera, respectively, called for approval of the bill, with some changes. Deputy Interior Secretary Rubén Fernández said a political agreement had been reached at the Chamber of Deputies to discuss the National Security Law with senators and social activists groups, so as to reach agreement as soon as possible.

++ The federal government and the nation’s 32 state governments agreed to work together to fight the high impact crimes that are of concern to society.

++ Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Ángel Mancera said that in his affidavit to Federal District authorities, Óscar Osvaldo García, the head of the Hand With Eyes criminal group, confessed he had taken part in the murders of five members of a family in the Ajusco mountain area near Mexico City.

++ Authorities arrested seven police agents with the General Escobedo, Nuevo León, police department… They are accused of links to organized crime.

Summary of the most important news in Mexico for August 16th, 2011

2011-08-16T00:11:00.001-05:00

++The Veracruz government said that it is the responsibility of the Attorney General’s Office to investigate the explosion of an artifact in a tourist spot that killed a man and wounded another three people, among them two minors. Veracruz officials confirmed that criminals inside a moving vehicle who were fleeing from military troops threw an explosive device on the street near the Veracruz aquarium to create a distraction and be able to make their escape.

++ Also in Veracruz, the Navy said that four of its troops are missing… They were apparently kidnapped by organized crime.

++ Authorities arrested Ricardo Benítez Servín, known as “The Mute”, and accused of being second in command of the Beltrán Leyva cartel in the Costa Grande region of Guerrero, was arrested in Cancún, Quintana Roo.

++ The Attorney General’s Office said that the person who was found hanging from a bridge in Huixquilucan, was murdered on orders from Óscar Osvaldo García Montoya, know as the “El Compayito”, head of the Hand with Eyes, and who was captured last week.

++ UNAM President José Narro said that the National Security law being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies should be debated together with university academics and professors… He said that up to now the Presidency has given him no date for the meeting to discuss his security proposal.

++ Senators hailed security discussions being renewed between Congress and the Peace with Justice and Dignity Movement led by poet Javier Sicilia…. But they said they would not bow down to the movement’s demands…

++ State and municipal debt reached 316 billion pesos, two billion more than six months ago, according to Finance Secretariat figures. The PRI denied that state and municipal debt load is exorbitant as the Finance Secretariat described it… Compared to federal debt, the amount is only 0.72 percent.

++ Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said there would be no split within the PRD during the electoral process to choose a presidential candidate.

Summary of the most important news in Mexico

2011-08-14T22:48:00.005-05:00

For a summary of the most important news in Mexico for August 15th, 2011 go to www.mexicotodayblog.com or click here.

News Summary for August 15th, 2011

2011-08-14T22:47:00.000-05:00

Finance Secretary Ernesto Cordero said that despite the complexity of the international financial instability, the Mexican government is moving forward to strengthen the local economy… He said new measures will be announced this week to increase the role of small and medium-sized businesses…

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PAN deputies caucus leader Josefina Vázquez Mota offered an annual report on her role as leader… She said it is impossible to proposed development plans if Mexico is rocked by bitter divisions…

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And Finance Secretary Ernesto Cordero continues to garner support from the rank and file of the PAN for his bid for the presidential nomination… He received the endorsement of 38,000 PAN followers in Guanajuato… He called on sympathizers not to let themselves be intimidated by the PRI…

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Also in Guanajuato, PAN politician Santiago Creel lashed out at party strategy that appears to be already favoring Finance Secretary Ernesto Cordero… Creel visited former president Vicente Fox at the Fox center…

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A cargo trailer carrying diesel overturned on the Puebla-Orizaba highway and exploded near the Cuauhtémoc stadium… No one was injured…

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The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity led by poet Javier Sicilia will renew dialogue with Congress on Wednesday so as to analyze the national safety law bill. Some 2,000 people took part in a silent march by the Movement for Peace from the National Anthropology Museum to Los Pinos and from there to the Senate building… Other social leaders who accompanied Javier Sicilia included former Federal District ombudsman Emilio Álvarez Icaza, Julián Lebaron, and other victims of crime in Mexico…

At a rally near Los Pinos Julián Lebaron called on Mexicans to take united action against violence… He said that no “populist Messiah” will come to save Mexicans from the lack of safety and injustice…

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An armed commando in Jalisco assassinated the chief of police of Ixtlahuacán Jesús Caledonio Humildad Galaviz… The attack was particularly brutal as first the assailants shot him on a highway and then they followed the ambulance that picked him up some minutes later to finish him off before medics could save his life…

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A judge issued an arrest warrant for the head of the Tarímbaro, Michoacán police department, Juan Osvaldo Cedeño Esquivias… Known as “El Zorro” or “The Fox”, Cedeño is accused of protecting members of the criminal organization calling itself the Knights Templar.

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Some good news.. The Tourism Secretariat said that 11.44 million foreign tourists arrived in Mexico in the first quarter, which was an increase of 3.3 percent compared to the same period last year…

Scrutiny of US Agents... Weekly Column...

2011-08-12T14:33:00.001-05:00

Agentes en la Mira

Por Ana Maria Salazar

Según información publicada por el diario New York Times el gobierno de Estados Unidos está fortaleciendo su participación en la guerra contra los cárteles de la droga en México, mediante operativos de la C.I.A, mandando personal militar retirado e incluso diseñando esquemas en los que empresas privadas, formadas por excombatientes y personal de campo que laboró en sus agencias de seguridad, podrían prestar servicios de capacitación, entrenamiento y apoyo tecnológico a los cuerpos policiacos nacionales.

En esta nota periodística se habla de que en las últimas semanas un pequeño grupo de miembros de la C.I.A. y personal militar de ambos países han sido asignados a una base militar mexicana para recabar información acerca de los cárteles de la droga y diseñar operativos para hacerles frente en ambos lados de la frontera. To continue click here.

News Summary for August 12th, 2011

2011-08-12T00:11:00.000-05:00

For a summary of the most important news in Mexico for August 12th, click here.

Better late then never... News Summary for August 11th, 2011

2011-08-11T15:55:00.004-05:00

We are testing with videocasting. Following is a summary of the most important news in English and Spanish.
Click here.

News Summary for August 10th, 2011

2011-08-10T10:41:00.001-05:00

Summary of the most important news in Mexico for August 10th, 2011 (We are experimenting with videoblogs..) so click here...

Seguridad Total TV ronight at 00:30 hrs..

2011-08-09T21:40:00.006-05:00

Two workshops to prevent two different problems which mexican children confront: Child Abuse and Bullying. You can watch Seguridad Total TV live at 00:30 hrs this evening click here.

News Summary for August 8th, 2011

2011-08-08T13:57:00.003-05:00

Better late then never!

Summary of the most important news in Mexico for Augsut 8th, 2011

As markets around the world crash, this weekend different sectors called on the government to take action to protect the economy in view of the volatility in world markets. The Chamber of the National Manufacturing Industry, Canacintra, said that "Mexico is ready to resist a financial crisis but not a slowdown or recession in the United States, its main trading partner.” The Center for Economic Studies on the Private Sector said it was “urgent” to approve structural changes to promote economic growth, so Congress must seek consensus to bring about the measures…

* More specifically, Interior Secretary Francisco Blake said it was of great importance to move forward with the labor amendment to create conditions that will allow companies and workers to contribute to competitiveness. Senate speaker Manlio Fabio Beltrones said it was necessary to carry out measures to activate the domestic market and protect jobs in view of turbulence in international financial markets…

A lot of political news this weekend. Not only did Finance Secretary Ernesto Cordero reaffirm his intentions of becoming Mexico`s next President, but he was endorsed by 7,000 PAN politicians who signed a letter to back him in the primaries for the presidential nomination…

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PRD national leader Jesús Zambrano called on the PRI not to be so sure it will be returning to Los Pinos next year… He said the left in Mexico is preparing the democratic transition the PAN was unable to bring about in 12 years…

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The New York Times reported that U.S. forces have trained 4,500 Mexican federal agents and have assisted in the capture or elimination of 30 leaders of criminal organizations…

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The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, led by poet Javier Sicilia, held a fund raising event in the Zócalo called “A Peso for Peace” as activists sought to raise funds for a caravan they want to conduct to the south of the country…

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Federal and state police clashed with a group of Los Zetas hired killers, among them a 13-year-old girl… Three suspects, including the girl, were arrested in the Lagos de Moreno township in Jalisco...

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The holy remains of Pope John Paul II, beatified in May, will arrive in Mexico on August 25 and remain in the country until December.

The Art of War...For Narcos!!

2011-08-06T15:11:00.002-05:00

That is all we need. A special edition of the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu, for drugtraffickers and organized crime! It is actually very interesting reading. If you are a "frequent" reader of Sun Tzu, you need to get a copy of "El Arte de la Guerra para Narcos" Click here.