Bingaman meets with Mexican officials about border violence
By The Associated Press
Article Launched: 03/12/2008 06:26:11 AM MDT



WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mexican officials are aware of an increase in violence along Mexico's northern border and they plan to send additional law enforcement resources to the area, according to U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman.

The New Mexico Democrat met with Mexican Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan and Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora at his Capitol Hill office Tuesday to discuss drug-related violence in the Palomas area and other cities in northwest Chihuahua.

"In recent weeks, we've seen an increase in violence in the border region. Today's meeting was an opportunity for me to convey to the Mexican government that New Mexicans have serious concerns about this violence and that it needs to be addressed right away," Bingaman said.

Bingaman said the two Mexican officials told him they were committed to stepping up efforts to fight drug trafficking.

The senator also presented Sarukhan and Medina Mora with a copy of a resolution passed Tuesday by the Dona Ana County Commission that raises concerns regarding the safety of residents of Lomas del Poleo, a Mexican community just south of Sunland Park, N.M.

The resolution urges state officials and church leaders to help find a peaceful resolution to a land dispute in Lomas de Poleo that centers on more than 300 acres. Residents who have laid claim to the land say they have been intimidated and that some homes have been burned.
Mexican businessman Pedro Zaragoza claims the land belongs to him, and he has had a fence put up around the disputed property.

In the resolution, Dona Ana County commissioners said they were not taking sides but simply urging "a just resolution to the situation in Lomas de Poleo."

Mexican attorney Mario Chacon, who represents Zaragoza, told commissioners after their vote that they had received misleading information about the land dispute. He said no residents have been mistreated and he invited commissioners to visit the site.

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