Friday, 18 January 2008
Mexican Government Passes a Resolution Condemning "Xenophobic" Anti-Immigrant Actions in the U.S. and Construction of a Border Fence

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Foreign News Report

La Prensa (Mexico City) ("O.E.M.": large nationwide newspaper chain) 1/18/08

The "Permanent Commission" of the Mexican Senate "expressed its most energetic repudiation concerning the xenophobic actions materialized in the United States against Mexican emigrants."
A resolution approved by senators of all political parties "also stated its opposition to round-ups and massive deportations of Mexicans carried out by American immigration authorities."
The accord exhorts the Executive Branch to use all diplomatic and consular channels for the purpose of emphasizing protective and defensive activities for those countrymen victims of human rights violations in the neighboring country. It also condemned the construction by the United States of a fence on the northern border and pointed out that neither fences nor restrictive walls are what is needed to stimulate the integration and cooperation between the two nations.
The legislators stated they were for an "integral migratory reform" which supports a framework of shared responsibility, aids family reunification and preserves human rights and international law.
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El Diario de Yucatan (Merida, Yuc.) 1/18/08

A ship on-board container at the port of Manzanillo, Colima, was found to have 500 kilos of cocaine. The drug was in 1,165 boxes of tennis shoes labeled "Buble Gummers" (sic). The container came on a ship from the port of Callao, Peru.
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El Bravo (Tamaulipas), El Universal (Mexico City) 1/18/08

Some of the Mexican Special Forces, so-called "Red Berets", which arrived in the Tamaulipas area a couple of days ago are now stationed at all the international border crossing bridges that Tamaulipas has with the United States except for two where naval forces have been posted since last year.
Further, the Red Berets have suddenly and without warning taken over the customs clearance functions and have replaced, not augmented, the Mexican customs officials at those crossings. They are also inspecting and questioning northbound traffic.
El Universal questioned the legality of the customs function takeover.
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El Debate (Culiacan, Sinaloa) 1/18/08

Filemon Cota Molina, 51, a judge at Elota, Sinaloa, was found in his home with his face down and "wrapped", his hands and feet tied, and beaten to death.
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El Diario (Chihuahua, Chih.) 1/18/08

In the city of Chihuahua at dawn today Jose Angel Castillo, a police officer, became the latest fatal victim of a "narcoshooting."
And Saulo Reyes Gamboa, Director of Public Security of Ciudad Juarez from 2004 to 2007, was arrested in El Paso for drug trafficking after trying to bribe a man he believed to be a corrupt U.S. customs official to attempt to arrange the passage of marihuana loads through the ports of entry.
His arrest also led to the seizure of 985 lbs. of marihuana at a suburb of El Paso.
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La Cronica de Hoy (Mexico City) 1/18/08

In Mexico, at least twenty police officers have been murdered by organized crime in the first 17 days of 2008
(note: the description of the various crimes did not include the agent killed in yesterday's shootout in Tijuana)
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Norte (Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua) 1/18/08

318 carjackings took place in Juarez in 2007
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El Universo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) 1/18/08 - AFP news agency -

A new European Union directive about the detention and expulsion of undocumented aliens could be adopted tomorrow and several organizations have called for a protest against the proposal.
If approved by the EU council of ministers, illegal aliens could be held for up to 18 months and be barred from entering European territory for five years.
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Frontera (Tijuana, Baja California) 1/18/08

headline: "Shootout generates terror; six executed are found" (Full transl. of article)

Tijuana lived moments of panic for more than three hours due to a confrontation between police and military against members of organized crime, which ended with the capture of four delinquents and the finding of six dead bodies in a safe house.
Six of the lifeless bodies which were found inside the house on Agua Prieta St., in Colonia Cortez, are believed to be kidnapping victims and were gagged and had been given a coup de grace shot.
The shootout against the criminals which took place between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. yesterday left three agents wounded, an officer who later lost his life due to firearm wounds and a criminal who was found dead inside the house. Concerning the persons arrested, the "SSPF" (Secretaria de Seguridad Publica Federal) reported that they are the policemen Roman Gamez Osuna and Carlos Alberto Espinoza Vega, besides two other hired killers who are part of the Arellano Felix brothers criminal group.
Inside the house authorities also found two suburban vehicles (sic) and a Chevrolet Tahoe with strobe lights, three bullet proof vests, eleven long weapons (read: shoulder firearms) and 30 clips.
(note: other articles about this shootout said that the Tijuana police radio frequency was repeatedly used during the event to make death threats against the police and at the end they played a "narco-corrido", a "narco" lyrics Mexican/country theme song on the police radio.)

http://www.borderfirereport.net/foreign ... e-u.s.html