Frontera NorteSur
October 2000

Tuesday, October 31, 2000
BOM Holds Inspection Operation near US Port of Entry

Supported by police dogs, Mixed Operations Group (Base of Operaciones Mixtas, BOM) agents, held a practice operation yesterday to inspect cars along the Avenida Carlos G. Calles between Second and Third streets in Méxicali.

Much to the surprise of street vendors and other people who work in the area agents from the State Police (Judicial del Estado) and soldiers from the Army set up an inspection point at 11:15 AM and did not leave until their routine inspection near the US Port of Entry was accomplished at approximately 1:00 PM.

According to Antonio Pacheco Aguirre, who was in charge of the operation, the inspections were conducted to improve the current inspection process that motorists already encounter.  He said that the operation was held because this is the beginning of the season when there is the most traffic at the ports of entries. Aguirre noted that the Mixed Operations Group will be focusing its operations on the banking sector because of the increased movement of money involved with the holiday season.

Ten agents from the State Police, and 20 Army soldiers from the military made up the Mixed Operations Group along with one person from the Ministerio Público Federal.

Source: La Crónica, October 27, 2000.  Article By Samuel Murillo.
 
Monday, October 30, 2000
No FNS news today.

An as of yet undetermined volunteer observation group will monitor the actions of federal authorities as Mexican citizens from the U.S. and Canada arrive at inspection points.

Jorge Barroso Espinal, Delegate from the National Migration Institute (Instituto Nacional de Migración) in Méxicali said that beginning November 1, 2000--date on which the Paisano Program commence--volunteer observers will be placed at all checkpoints in the area.  These observers will monitor the federal agents' conduct and treatment of visiting Mexicans that reside abroad and return home for the year-end holidays.

"The intention is to avoid abuse, and acts of corruption against people who return to Mexico at year end." Barroso continued, "The volunteers will only be there to observe and if they detect any irregularities, they will report it immediately to the responsible agent's superiors or to the Internal Affairs Office."

Starting November 1, 2000, the new phone number 1-877-210-9469 will be available to report problems to the National Paisano Program Coordinator's Office.  Also, Mexican Consulates in the U.S. will have new Paisano Program guides.

Barroso promises that all reports of abuse, maltreatment, and corruption of Mexican citizens by federal agents will be investigated and responsible parties will be punished accordingly.  He also stated that these measures are hoped to guarantee better treatment of Mexican citizens.

Source:  La Crónica, October 26, 2000.

Thursday, October 26, 2000
Méxicali and Baja California Cattle Ranchers Benefit From Disaster Area Status

The declaration of coastal Baja California as a natural disaster area brought a feeling of relief to many cattle ranchers in the state.  The declaration entitles ranchers to disaster aid. However, before relief can be disbursed the correct measures and procedures to help those in need must be established.

"I believe that we all feel satisfaction that this declaration has gone through after insisting for such a long time, I remember first presenting the first document to the governor on February 17, 2000," said Jorge Hirales Vargas, President of the Regional Livestock Unión (Union Ganadera Regional).

Severe drought conditions have caused the state's cattle population to decrease from an initial 57,000 heads of cattle to 43,000.  This indicates a 17% decrease in population, 7%-8% of that as a result of cattle death.
 
"Death rates are not as devastating as in other states," explained Hirales.  "Baja California took precaution and sold many head of cattle before encountering problems. State support of cattle auctions also helped," Hirales continued.

The most affected areas are those known as the Ejido Villa Juárez, where 16 ranches with 2,630 head of cattle experienced problems when wildfires burned fences, corrals, and pastures, requiring immediate attention.  The other is the El Posario area in the south of the state where the situation is critical as well.  This area is home to 13,000 head of cattle. 

In the affected zones the major problems are erosion and the inability to import the necessary amounts of fodder.

"We do not look for government agencies to solve this problem, we want to participate and give our share to move forward.  We should not forget that the drought is not eternal," expressed Hirales.  "It is important to begin developing an infrastructure to recharge the aquifer and be prepared for future contingencies."

Source: La Crónica, October 20, 2000.  Article by: Alfredo Azcárate Varela.

Wednesday, October 25, 2000
Alleged Narcocops Suspended in Méxicali

Three municipal police officers were suspended indefinitely after an anonymous accusation linked them to protecting drug traffickers in the Méxicali Valley in exchange for money. Suspended were Florentino Méndez García, Luis Sánchez Maya and Leonardo Peña Guillén for their alleged involvement in guarding landing strips on the Cuernanava and Guanajuato ejidos where planes from Culiacán, Sinaloa are said to land. The suspension is without pay and will last until investigations have concluded. The Federal Attorney General's Office (PGR) is also already investigating the case as it has jurisdiction over drug trafficking and all crimes that involve drugs in Mexico.

Police trustee (síndico) Gerardo Ayala Serna said that the men were suspended after a decision by the Directorate of City Public Security (Dirección de Seguridad Pública Municipal) based on the State Law for Public Security.

Six local investigators will also investigate the accusations against the three men. They have use of video and electronic surveillance equipment which will help them determine if the men are living beyond their means. This is typical in such cases in Mexico where illegal or undocumented accumulation of wealth is a crime.

This is the first case in which city police agents are being investigated for taking money from drug traffickers. In the past there have been cases of agents protecting stores selling illegal goods or contraband.

So far this year 56 local police have left the police ranks. 27 resigned or died while in service. The others were let go by the agency.

Source: La Crónica, October 25, 2000. Article by Jaime Delgado.

Tuesday, October 24, 2000
Water Crisis Will Force Méxicali and BC Authorities To Take Action

"Mexican authorities will have to make their own water plans in the future, independent from those of the USA," said Sergio Reyes Coca, investigator for the Centro de Investigación Científica y Estudios Superiores de Ensenada, CICESE.

"Whether or not the US covers the All American Canal (Canal Todo Americano) or continues to allow Río Colorado overflow to arrive here, it is important to remember that the US often says one thing but does another which makes it difficult to depend on what the US will or will not do," said Reyes. 

Reyes added that the Río Colorado is the main source of water for the Méxicali Valley and the entire state and accordingly American projects upstream cause less and less water to make it downstream. What water does arrive, because of the lower volume, now contains higher contaminant levels and higher salt levels.

Climate variations show that the Río Colorado has limits which can be low like it was two decades ago, or high like it is recently. However, what will happen 20 to 30 years from now is unknown.

"This makes us conclude that we must not depend on the Colorado all of our lives and it is time to think of alternative water sources for the Méxicali Valley and then the state," Reyes stated.

There is a series of possible alternatives that could preserve water.  The best of these is to educate people on how to conserve water.
 
Source: La Crónica, October 18, 2000. Article by Alfredo Azcárate Varela.

Monday, October 23, 2000
Tenth Crystal Meth Lab of Year Found near Méxicali

A crystal meth lab was found on ranch property in the Abasolo colonia, east of Méxicali by state police agents (Policía Ministerial del Estado, PME).  Agents also found seven high-caliber weapons and two stolen automobiles. This was the tenth lab found so far this year near Méxicali.

What seemed to be a ranch where cows, chickens and sheep were raised, turned out to be a property filled with subterranean passages where the drug was produced.  According to investigators the property is registered to Jesús Primitivo Maldonado Topete.

PME agents under Commander Juan Cristóbal Aguilar Aispuro were looking for a rapist in the area when they came to the property located 600 meters south of kilometer 13 of Airport Road at around 10:00pm.  While the rape had occurred in the town of Guadalupe Victoria police were looking for the rapist who was supposedly hiding on a Abasolo colonia ranch.

Police had already searched a number of other ranches in the area when they found the meth lab. In a small trailer on the narcoranch agents found an AR-15 .223 caliber assault rifle, a .22 magnum rifle, an AK-47 assault rifle and a .38 special revolver.  Other arms found elsewhere on the property included another magnum rifle and two 9mm military-style pistols as well as ammunition for each weapon.

Agents also found a 2000 Dodge Ram truck which had been reported stolen in California, and a white 1993 Nissan truck with Sonora license plates stolen from San Luis Río Colorado.  The Nissan truck was hidden among some bushes in back of the property.  Hidden under more bushes agents also discovered three electrically-wired underground tunnels two meters underground.  Scales and paper to wrap the drug, as well as various utensils used to prepare crystal meth were also found along with propane and acetylene tanks.

Aguilar commented that this appeared to be where meth was "cooked" and packaged without even neighbors realizing what was going on at the ranch. 

Ranch guards could have easily escaped along back roads that led out of the ranch.

Later, Federal Judicial Police agents (Policia Judicial Federal, PJF) arrived combed the tunnels with a special drug dog.  The PJF however did not locate any crystal meth on the ranch. The seized firearms and vehicles were turned over to the Federal Public Ministry as is typical in all drug cases.

Source:  La Crónica, October 17, 2000.  Article by Marco Vinicio Blanco.

A Border Patrol agent risked his life to rescue from the strong currents of the Todo Americano canal a migrant youth who was drowning after having been abandoned by "coyotes," as the human traffickers are known.

Mike Olson, 30 years old and four-year Border Patrol veteran, is the agent who saved the life of the unnamed, 17 year old Guadalajara youth.

"I couldn't think of anything besides helping him when I saw him drowning in the canal," Olson said. According to Olson, the young man was yelling for help and then the current took him underwater and out of sight. Olson took off his gun and equipment and dove into the canal to look for the youth under the water's surface. After finding him Olson had to fight a strong current to get them both to safety.

"It was the life of a person, it didn't matter what country he was from," he said. "People are the same all over. The truth is that anyone in this job would have done the same thing in my shoes and I'm sure that any of my co-workers could have done the same thing."

Source: La Crónica, October 19, 2000. Article by Edgar Fabián Chávez.

Thursday, October 19, 2000
No news today. FNS has gone to Ciudad Juárez to work on next month's special stories on the border's human rights situation.

Wednesday, October 18, 2000
BC Indigenous Peoples Forgotten

La Crónica reports that five indigenous groups in Baja California have been almost totally forgotten. Lacking government support and confronting legal problems the native groups have not been able to develop economically.

The main tribes in BC are the Kumiai, Kiliwa, Pai-Pai, Cochimí and the Cucapá. All are descendants of the Yumanos that came from the south of the US to the Baja Peninsula around 3,000 years ago.

The Cucapá, numbering about 300, inhabit the lower delta of the Río Colorado and the Méxicali Valley. The 240 surviving members of the Kiliwa tribe are in the Valle de Trinidad, about 18 kilometers from the mountains there. 325 Kumai members are 12 kilometers from Ensenada Peñablanca and El Hongo.

The largest tribe, the Cochimí, with 596 surviving members are in the Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada. The 376 members of the Pai-Pai are in Santa Catalina and on the Ejido Leyes de la Reforma, 20 kilometers toward the mountains. The Pai-Pai have relatives in Viejas, California known as the Walapai.

All five tribes, with a combined population of 1,837 make their livings in the same way. They dedicate themselves to fishing, rudimentary agriculture, hunting and selling artisanal wares.

They population statistics are from the 1999 census performed by the Instituto Nacional Indigenista (INI).

Source: La Crónica, October 12, 2000. Article by José Manuel Yépiz Ruiz.

Tuesday, October 17, 2000
Baja California's Growth is Strong

Baja California has solid economic development and various investment projects in progress which will be presented in a search for funding to President-elect Vicente Fox.

"We've been witnesses to concrete investment projects and that economic development is good, which proves that Baja California is not waiting to hear or see what 'papá' or father government is going to do for us," said Carlos Angulo, President of the Border Commerce Treaty and a member of Fox's transition team.

In charge of investigating development and foreign investment, Angulo commented that Baja California has already started a statewide planning process for these matters which will also be presented to the President-elect.

After meeting with members of the Industry Coordination Council of Méxicali (Consejo Coordinador Empresorial de Méxicali, CCE), Angulo indicated that there are numerous advances in economic matters in Baja California.

Angulo highlighted that in Méxicali's case there was a very noticeable growth in the maquiladora industry and increased employment rates in the city and state.

In the future, Angulo said that government will look for incentives to attract the high-tech industry with the goal of creating more job growth in the region.

Source:  La Crónica, Tuesday October 10, 2000.  Article by Edgar Favián Chávez.

Monday, October 16, 2000
No news today.

Verduzco cautioned that BC's problems should be kept in perspective given that in some states 400 marijuana fields are discovered per day [sic]. However, the slight rise in BC's numbers do still trouble the commander.

Drug seizures have risen considerably Verduzco stated. Last year in the Second Military Zone about 54 tons of marijuana were seized. So far this year over 76 tons have been decommissioned by the military. Very little cocaine has been found, mostly in Precos and in the Méxicali Valley. For this reason he believes that most cocaine is moved by plane or ship.

About the possible corruption of Army officials, Verduzco said that the military will continue to be rigid in its application of laws and that there will be no impunity for military officials involved in drugs nor will there even be any opportunity for them to become involved in the drug trade.

Source: La Crónica, September 14, 2000. Article by Aline Corpus.

Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Bomb Drops On Yuma Orchard

The pilot of a Harrier FA-2 was forced to drop an active bomb over a Yuma, Arizona citrus orchard on Friday after experiencing technical problems while on a routine practice flight.  Eight practice bombs and two fuel tanks were also dropped from the aircraft.

"The procedure that the pilot followed was the correct one, according to Marine Corps. guidelines," said Artillery Sergeant Nathan Portman.  Portman explained that upon dropping the bombs, which weighed 453 kilograms, the pilot reduced the risk that the aircraft could crash and he was able to successfully return to the Marine Corps Air Base-Yuma (MCAS-Yuma).

Captain Marck Carter, Public Relations Official, considered that upon dropping the bombs, the risk of them exploding was reduced.  The active bomb was found north of 32nd Street and west of Pacific Avenue.  Members of the base's explosive team disabled the weapon.

Sergeant Raúl Mendoza, of the Yuma Police Department stated that no deaths were reported as a result of the bombs dropping.  However, one  person was reported with injuries after an accident near 32nd Street that resulted from the falling objects.

Source:  La Crónica, October 8, 2000.  Article by Manuel Angulo.

Tuesday, October 10, 2000
Méxicali Industry Requires Robotics

"Méxicali industry is in need of robotics training, integrated robotics support, process implementation, electrical engineers and process automation among other things," informed Gerardo Solis of the Méxicali Maquiladora Association (Asociación de Maquiladoras de Méxicali, Ammac).  Because of this demand a training course in robotics has been developed.

During sessions with representatives from Baja California universities and centers for technology development and investigation, Solis said that the state has the necessary academic level and laboratories to develop this field.  It is because of this that industry and academia are continuing with the first phase of the planning process which is to elaborate proposed technologies in industrial applied robotics.

Representatives of industry at the meeting also expressed the need for investigation into robotics and technology development. These needs will then be approached with proposals from academia. 

Solis added that the National Science and Technology Council (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Technología) the Ammac, and representatives from the academic sector will continue to collaborate in solidifying proposals to develop applied robotic technology for local industry.

Source:  La Crónica, October 4, 2000.  Article by Mariana Rivero.

Monday, October 9, 2000
No news today.

Lynn Ramsey, 50, former secretary for Calexico between 1992 and 1993, committed suicide in San Diego, California due to as of yet undeclared motives. 

The news dismayed Calexico residents and authorities, who were initially under the impression that he had died of a heart attack. Public officials later ruled that the cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

Ramsey's body was found Wednesday, September 27 in the parking lot of the La Jolla Veterans Medical Center.

Before his death Ramsey headed civil investigations into the alleged disappearance of $10 million dollars from the Calexico hospital administration. Ramsey realized various public protests and presented documented evidence of the assumed misuse of funds.

"His death is a tragedy, he always tried to make sure that public finances are transparent, " according to Imperial County supervisor, Antonio Tirado who had previously worked with Ramsey.

"We are moved by his death, he loved Calexico and fought to improve the health system in this city," said Javier Alatorre, mayor of Calexico.

Source:  La Crónica, September 30, 2000.  Article by Edgar Fabián Chávez.

Tuesday, October 3, 2000
PROFEPA to Monitor Disposal of Fish by Large Boats

PROFEPA, the Federal Environmental Protection Office (Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente), will make a formal recommendation to owners of large fishing boats in San Felipe that they no longer throw dead fish in the sea. San Felipe is about 75 miles from the top of the Gulf of California.

According to reports received by La Crónica, large quantities of dead fish are washing up on beaches and their smell and appearance is unpleasant and a threat to tourism.

In addition to prohibiting the disposal of dead fish at sea, port officials will ask that the city participate in cleaning fish off of beaches.

If ships continue with their illegal disposal they will be fined anywhere from 20 to 2,001 daily minimum salaries. In severe cases, where endangered fauna or flora are affected, including seals and dolphins, the fines could range up to 20,000 daily minimum salaries [Editor's note: in Mexico fines are often based on what the daily minimum wage is in a state or federal entity].

Source: La Crónica, September 3, 2000. Article by Carolina Ortega Aguayo.

Monday, October 2, 2000
Fraudulent Offers of Immigration Papers Affect Méxicali Workers

The United States Embassy warns that people are fraudulently approaching farmer workers and offering them work visas in exchange for large sums of money.  Lorena Blanco, spokesperson for the United States Consulate in Tijuana, said that the most recent reported case was Friday, September 22, 2000.

Blanco indicated that 270 farmers from Tabasco went to the United States Embassy thinking that they would receive work visas for which they were already approved. 

According to Blanco, preliminary investigations show that each worker deposited 3,700 pesos (approximately US$400) into a Banamex account bearing the name of Esperanza Rosales González. Rosales was involved in a similar fraud case in Monterrey at the beginning of the year.

Each victim held in their possession a document informing them that their visa was accepted and they should go pick it up.  The document bore a fake seal from the Immigration and Naturalization Service and contained grammatical errors.

These types of fraud have taken place at the border near Calexico as well. Maritza Hurtado, director of Barron's, an immigration consulting business, said that various people have approached their offices in search of help after becoming victims of fraud.  "As far as we understand, they gather people in Méxicali colonias and promise them jobs and paperwork, but in the end it's all fraud," said Hurtado.  Hurtado stated that some people end up paying US$800-$3,000 only to be defrauded of their money.

The United States Ambassador to Mexico Jeffrey Davidow has hopes that those responsible will be arrested.

Source:  La Crónica, September 27, 2000.  Article by Edgar Fabián Chávez.