Frontera NorteSur
  2006

High Temperatures Prompt State of Emergency

Blazing summer temperatures are reaping a grim toll in the Mexicali-Calexico region of the US-Mexico border. According to figures maintained by Mexicali 's Forensic Medical Service (Semefo) and other local authorities, at least 28 people on the Mexican side of the binational border zone died from heat stroke from June 30 to July 23. Francisco Acuna Campa, Semefo director, said 19 of the earliest victims were men and one was a woman. On the US side of the border, Pablo Arnaud Carreno, Mexican consul for Calexico, reported that 6 migrants recently succumbed from heat-related causes, thus bringing the total of such deaths in the Mexicali-Calexico area to at least 34 during the past few weeks.

Faced with a crisis, Mexicali 's municipal government has declared a state of emergency. Officials announced plans over the weekend to open emergency shelters, distribute water in poor neighborhoods and provide food and medicines. An estimated 6,000 residents of 45 neighborhoods lack electricity and running water.

"Never before in the history of Mexicali have the authorities declared a heat-related state of emergency," said Rene Salvador Rosales, the director of Mexicali 's Civil Protection department. Rosales recommended that people wear appropriate clothing and use umbrellas, avoid the consumption of dehydrating alcoholic beverages and go outside only when necessary.

The victims of the heat wave, which has reached temperatures of 118 degrees in the shade, have included workers, elderly people, indigents, children, and tourists. Semefo Director Acuna cited the case of of Alfredo Merono Solorazano, a 40-year-old photographer from Mexico City who traveled to the border to snap nature pictures.

"This was a typical case of not knowing the zone where you are," Acuna said. "Although (Merono) dressed adequately for the season and carried water and communications equipment, it's evident that he did not gauge the gravity of the temperature, the humidity and the right hour to take photographs, which in his case was the hottest hour."

Pablo Rodela, the sub-director of Mexicali 's Civil Protection department, blamed several short-term environmental and climatic factors for the searing temperatures hitting Mexicali and its environs. Rodela said high levels of humidity, illegal burnings to clear pasture land and a landfill fire have all played their part in increasing temperatures. Some forecasts predict even higher temperatures for the month of August.

This summer's heat-related death toll in Mexicali represents a significant leap in the body count from previous years. From 2000 to 2004, Baja California 's capital city averaged three deaths annually from heat-related causes. Twenty-five similar deaths were reported in 2005.

Sources: LaCronica/Notimex, July 22 and July 24, 2006 . Articles by Alejandro Dominguez and editorial staff. El Universal, July 20, 23 and 24, 2006. Articles by Rosa Maria Mendez, Julieta Martinez and the Notimex news agency. Frontera, July 23, 2006 . Article by Elvia Solis and Moises Marquez.

Arrest Announced in Journalist's Murder

Sonora state police have booked a suspect in the nearly 9-year-old murder of San Luis Rio Colorado journalist Benjamin Flores Gonzalez. The director of the border city's La Prensa newspaper, Flores was gunned down on July 15, 1997 outside La Prensa's offices in San Luis Rio Colorado , a border city located across from San Luis , Arizona . Flores was hit 7 times by rounds fired from an AK-47 rifle, popularly known as a "Cuerno de Chivo," or "Goat's Horns." According to a statement from the Sonora State Judicial Police, Gabriel Gonzalez Gutierrez was extradited last week from the United States and charged with murder and criminal association in connection with the Flores crime.

Gonzalez reportedly was serving a prison sentence of more than 6 years in a Phoenix prison for drug trafficking, but no details were immediately reported about the circumstances of the suspect's run-in with the US justice system or why he was eventually charged in the Flores murder.

Gonzalez's transfer to Mexico was handled by Interpol Mexico and the Federal Office of the Attorney General ( PGR ). Mexican authorities suspect Gonzalez was the intellectual author of Flores 's murder because of negative stories the journalist ran in La Prensa about Gonzalez's brother, Jaime Gonzalez Gutierrez, who was initially accused of the murder but exonerated in 2000. Jaime Gonzalez is reportedly incarcerated in the San Luis Rio Colorado prison for another homicide. Together, Benjamin, Jaime and their brother Gonzalez allegedly made up a gang known as "The Gonzalez Clan."

In addition to the Gonzalez brothers, Sonora state police allege several other men participated in the Flores murder. The other suspects include Arsenio Perez Lozada, Jose Francisco Benavides Avila and Carlos Pacheco Garcia, all of whom are fugitives. The alleged trigger-man, Luis Enrique Rincon Muro was jailed for 7 years for the Flores slaying but cleared of the charges in July 2004.

Sources: La Jornada, April 28, 2006 . Article by Cristobal Garcia Bernal. El Universal/Notimex, April 27, 2006 . La Cronica, April 27, 2006 . Article by Santiago Barroso Alfaro.

Gas Scams Probed

US drivers have grumbled a lot during the past two years about higher gasoline prices. In Mexico , gripes about high fuel costs, poor quality gasoline and pinched pocket books are old hat. Many Mexican consumers complain they get shafted at the pump because they don't receive the the full amount of gasoline they order. Mexican Economy Minister Sergio Garcia de Alba estimates that his nation's consumers lose about $2 billion dollars every year because of irregular sales.

In the Sonora border town of San Luis Rio Colorado , a reporter from the La Cronica newspaper discovered another possible scam: selling and charging for more gasoline than requested. Comparing whether there was a difference in the amount of a gallon of gas as measured in liters, reporter Juan Jose Razzo discovered that 5 out of 6 stations he checked delivered more gas than the liter-gallon standard ratio.

At a Circle K gas station on Revolution Avenue and 34th Street , for instance, Razzo reporting finding that a "gallon" of gas which measured 4.048 liters cost about $2.60 dollars. On his excursions, the reporter was accompanied by two witnesses, including Esteban Sanchez Urquidez of the Cuahtemoc Human Rights Group. Razzo and Sanchez went to a gas station on the San Luis Rio Colorado-Sonoita highway, where they discovered that a "gallon" of gas topping out at 4.1 liters fetched $2.70 dollars. Sanchez contended that consumer losses at the station could be significant because of the service outlet's location on a highway where drivers are captive.

Gasoline prices and quality are front page news in San Luis Colorado and elsewhere in Mexico . Mexico 's Attorney General for Consumer Protection (Profeco) recently shut down 20 gasoline stations located in different parts of the country because they allegedly did not deliver full liters of gasoline. Federal regulations now require that outdated pumps be upgraded, but the mandate has caused an uproar among gasoline station operators who say they will be severely impacted financially.

A threatened February 8 national strike by gasoline station franchisees was called off after the Interior Ministry agreed to a one-year delay in implementing the rule and the Profeco toned down its inspections. According to the Profeco, 20,000 pumps need to be discarded because they are more than 10 years old; the federal agency considers another 10,000 to be in good condition.

Mexico 's national oil company Pemex enjoys a monopoly in providing fuel for more than 7,000 gasoline stations nominally owned by the state-controlled company but managed by private franchisees. Only a handful of stations are directly managed by Pemex. A proposal to put Pemex gas stations back under government management was rejected by the oil company's administration in 2003. Instead, Pemex is renegotiating a 1992 contract with its franchisees. As one new condition, Pemex wants more leeway in verifying retail distribution practices. Pemex is offering the franchisees a 6.5 percent hike in payments, while the private managers, who contend that the 6.5 percent on the table is not enough to replace their faulty equipment, are requesting a 10 percent increase.

Jumping into the gasoline controversy, the Mexican Senate is calling for testimony from officials. Jose Luis Luege Tamargo, the director of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), said his agency is also getting involved. Working in tandem with other federal agencies, Luege said the Semarnat will inspect gasoline to make sure the fuel content conforms to established formulaes. "It seems we have problems with the content," Luege confirmed. "We're going to get to the bottom of this very carefully."

Sources: La Cronica, February 13, 2006. Article by Juan Jose Razzo. La Jornada, February 13 and 14, 2006. Articles by Ismael Rodriguez and editorial staff. Excelsior, February 10, 2006. Articles by Cecilia Tellez Cortes, Mercedes Osorio Martinez, Roman Gonzalez Alvarez, and editorial staff.

Detentions of Foreign Nationals Soars

Launched last summer to curb narco-violence and organized crime in Nuevo Laredo and other cities, the Mexican federal government's Safe Mexico program has been under fire for not achieving its objectives. The deployment of federal troops and police has not reduced gangland violence, or resulted in the nabbing of any drug lords. But in San Luis Rio Colorado , Sonora , Mexican authorities can point to one success: an increase in the detention of undocumented foreigners who were presumably attempting to cross into the United States .

Officials with the National Migration Institute (INM) attribute the surge in arrests to the presence of special INM agents at a Safe Mexico checkpoint located on the San Luis Rio Colorado-Sonoita highway. The checkpoint operated between the months of August and December of last year. According to INM figures, the number of foreign nationals detained in the San Luis Rio Colorado area shot up 14 times from 2004 to 2005, when statistics were tallied for the time period between January and November. The INM logged 736 detentions during the first 11 months of 2005, compared to 52 arrests for all of 2004. In 2003, 56 foreigners were detained for immigration violations in the San Luis Rio Colorado area.

The majority of people detained during 2005 were from the following countries: Guatemala , 443; El Salvador , 156; Honduras , 84; Brazil , 24; and Belize , 10. Five Iraqi nationals were also arrested, and a small number of people from Nicaragua , Costa Rica , Paraguay , China , Colombia , Peru , and Venezuela were picked up by immigration agents. Prior to Safe Mexico, INM special agents in San Luis Rio Colorado detained undocumented foreign nationals in operations conducted at bus terminals and hotels.

Source: El Universal/Notimex, January 30, 2006.