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Headline News

U.S.-Mexico border isn't so dangerous

Border Patrol agents face less danger than street cops in cities, data show

It's one of the safest parts of America, and it's getting safer.

It's the U.S.-Mexico border, and even as politicians say more federal troops are needed to fight rising violence, government data obtained by The Associated Press show it actually isn't so dangerous after all�.Go to original article

Mexico demands inquiry in teen's border death

15-year-old shot after confrontation near El Paso, authorities say

EL PASO, Texas - A U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot a 15-year-old Mexican boy after a group trying to illegally enter Texas threw rocks at officers near downtown El Paso, U.S. authorities said Tuesday.

The shooting, which happened Monday evening beneath a railroad bridge linking the two nations, drew sharp criticism from Mexico, where President Felipe Calderon said Tuesday that his goverment "will use all resources available to protect the rights of Mexican migrants." �go to original article

Mexico police arrest 13 in fuel theft tunnel case

Police allege they were trying to steal fuel from oil company pipelines

MEXICO CITY - Police have arrested 13 people they say excavated a 500-foot (150-meter) tunnel under a busy neighborhood in Mexico's capital to steal fuel from oil company pipelines, officials said Tuesday.

Roberto Navarro, public security director for the Mexico City borough of Miguel Hidalgo where the tunnel was built, said the state oil company told police it was losing gas in that neighborhood�.Go to original article

Mexico City's rich heritage welcomes lovers of culture

Go ahead and use Diego Rivera as excuse. Mention murals as the reason you're coming.

But get down here right away, art lovers, and soak in the atmosphere of one of the most interesting cities in the world.

Just 4 1/2 hours by air from Detroit, Mexico's capital city is buzzing with 22 million people. Known for its restaurants, nightlife and traffic, it is surprisingly clean, dignified and gracious, its intentions serious, its attitude worlds away from tourist spots like Cancun or Los Cabos�.go to original article

Mexico suing U.S. companies for buying stolen petro products

Mexico's state-run oil company filed a lawsuit Tuesday against five companies, including the U.S. subsidiary of German chemical maker BASF, for allegedly buying stolen Mexican petroleum products.

Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, says in the lawsuit filed in a Houston court that the companies allegedly profited from the theft of natural gas condensate. It claims at least $300 million worth of condensate from the Burgos basin in northeast Mexico has been stolen since 2006�.go to original article

Mexico to Launch Real Estate Securities, Tellez Says

Mexican real estate-linked securities known as Fibras will begin trading soon and represent �an enormous opportunity,� said Luis Tellez, chief executive officer of Bolsa Mexicana de Valores SAB, Mexico�s stock exchange operator.

The funds will be ready after Mexico�s Finance Ministry publishes adjustments to the rules governing the securities in the coming days, Tellez said today during a conference for real estate companies in Mexico City�.Go to original article

In Oaxaca, visitors find a taste of the real Mexico

MAZUNTE, Mexico | In the small Mexican beach town of Mazunte, there are no cruise ships calling, no college-age hooligans binge drinking and no towering hotels in all-inclusive resorts.

None of that.

Instead, in this sunbathed town on the Pacific Coast of the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, locals come to dip in the ocean. Fishermen unload cases of sharks in the morning. Kids play beach soccer, with sticks in the sand for goals. Dirt roads lead to the shore. Locals lounge on hammocks, their houses a few hundred yards from the beach�.go to original article

Mexican president travels to South Africa for World Cup

Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, will travel to South Africa to meet his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma and see the opening game of soccer's World Cup, which will be opened on Friday between South Africa and Mexico, broadcasters reported on Tuesday.

Calderon and Zuma have met previously in meetings of the group of five (G5) emerging nations, namely Brazil, India, China and South Africa, and also as part of the group of 20 (G20), which includes the world's 20 largest economies, which represent 85 percent of the world's gross domestic product�.go to original article

Mexico judge OKs producer's arrest in Cancun death

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) - A judge in Mexico issued an arrest warrant Monday for a former "Survivor" producer suspected in the killing of his wife while on vacation with their children at a Cancun resort, the state attorney general said.

Francisco Alor, the state attorney general in Quintana Roo state, said prosecutors would initiate extradition proceedings soon seeking to return TV producer Bruce Beresford-Redman from the United States�..go to original article

Immigrant in Run for Mayor, Back Home in Mexico

It was the picture of a classic New York campaign: The candidate dashed around the city where he had pulled himself up from poverty to business success and now a run for elected office. He met constituents, gave interviews and, at a private celebration in a Midtown Manhattan restaurant, thanked supporters. But the recent flurry of campaigning was no ordinary political tour. The candidate, Juan Navarro, is a Mexican immigrant with homes in Queens and New Jersey, and his electoral goal is an office 2,200 miles away: the mayoralty of the small city of Serdan, Mexico. �go to original document

Arizona immigration law prompts Mexico to extend repatriation aid program

In response to the controversial Arizona immigration law, Mexico extended a repatriation program to help ease the transition of illegal migrants back home. The governments says the Arizona law could lead to a flood of returnees when it goes into effect, but most Mexicans are skeptical. �go to original article

Mexico cuts top young player from World Cup roster

Mexico trimmed its roster to the World Cup limit of 23 players Monday, cutting a top young player it may now lose for the future.

Midfielder Jonathan dos Santos, a precocious 20-year-old who seemed assured of a place in South Africa before being slowed the last month by a torn muscle, was sent home after meeting with Coach Javier Aguirre and Nestor de la Torre, executive director of the Mexican soccer federation�.go to original article

Retirement in La Paz v.s. Affordable U.S. Cities

While retirement even the most affordable cities in the U.S. is beginning to look pricy, La Paz real estate in Mexico offers a large variety of retirement options for many different budgets. When planning retirement, more and more Americans are considering inexpensive home options; however, a comparison between homes some of the most affordable cities in the U.S. and La Paz Real Estate will show that some pleasant Mexico Homes near a beautiful beachfront actually provide an attractive option for retirees�.go to original article

Mexico's Big Cellular Problem: Carlos Slim

The billionaire's wireless unit stays on top after latest spectrum auction

Mexico is dead last among Latin America's five largest economies in cell phone use per capita. The problem, government officials say, is billionaire Carlos Slim. His company, America M�vil controls 71 percent of Mexican cellular traffic. For years, the government and mobile industry have tried to reduce that dominance. Yet when the results came in from a May 25 auction of new radio spectrum intended to break open the market, it looked like Slim had further tightened his grip. ..go to original article

Olivia Newton-John's ex-boyfriend Patrick McDermott offers DNA sample to prove he's alive

Olivia Newton-John's ex-boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, has reportedly offered to provide a DNA sample to prove to the world he is still alive.

E-mails obtained from a Los Angeles police source by The Daily Telegraph reveal private investigators want a saliva swab from McDermott's teenage son to help verify the promised DNA sample from McDermott�.go to original article

Long-unseen Kahlo tops Latin America art auction

A Frida Kahlo portrait of a pre-Hispanic warrior was the top selling work in a sale of Latin American art, which also set five auction records, including one for Mexican artist Jose Clemente Orozco.

The evening auction at Christie's on Wednesday fetched $16.8 million, its strongest Latin American sale in two years.

"It was a sale full of excitement and surprises with world auction records for key Latin American modern and contemporary artists," said Virgilio Garza, Christie's Latin America art chief�.go to original article

Obama to Send Up to 1,200 Troops to Mexico Border

President Obama will send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest border and seek increased spending on law enforcement there to combat drug smuggling after demands from Republican and Democratic lawmakers that border security be tightened.

The decision was disclosed by a Democratic lawmaker and confirmed by administration officials after Mr. Obama met on Tuesday with Republican senators, several of whom have demanded that troops be placed at the border. The lawmakers learned of the plan after the meeting. �go to original article

US to offer second round of anti-drug aid

Mexico's top diplomat says the United States and Mexico have agreed on a second round of U.S. anti-drug aid for Mexico. She says it will include increased focus on training and social programs. Foreign Relations Secretary Patricia Espinosa says the amount of money, time frame and name of the new round have yet to be determined�..go to original article

Mexican Government Aims To Attract 11 Million Visitors To Riviera Maya

In the 1990s, Playa del Carmen was a small beach village 45 miles down the coast from Cancun (on a road full of potholes). There was but a handful of streets�and these were of packed sand�$10,000 bought you a building plot in the village center. How things have changed�
Today Playa is a hip beach town. Rock stars come here to chill and sometimes to work�shooting videos on the picture-perfect beach spots. The streets are paved or cobbled now, and the stores more up market. The main street, 5th Avenue , is a cool place to hang out in the evenings. The restaurants and cafes serve everything from traditional Mexican to Thai food. You can listen to live jazz over brunch at one of the beachfront restaurants. The shops sell a mix of luxury goods, handcrafts, jewelry, and textiles�.go to original article

A stronger Mexico is good for Canada

Calderon looks to revive the relationship between the two countries

Mexican President Felipe Calderon�s visit to this country this week comes at a crucial time both for Mexico and for the bilateral relationship with Canada.

At home, Mr. Calderon faces enormous challenges in his war on the drug cartels, an opposition-dominated Congress that is blocking or watering down much of his ambitious liberal reform agenda, falling popularity in the opinion polls and the prospect that his party, the Partido de Acci�n Nacional, will lose the presidential elections in 2012. �go to original article

Mexico to dust off and examine war hero bones

Mexico is dusting off urns containing skulls and bones of the country's Independence War heroes to try to confirm their identities decades after the remains were stored in a Mexico City monument.

Soldiers will remove the urns from a mausoleum within the monument on May 30 and carry them through the Mexican capital in a procession before handing the bones over to forensic anthropologists.Historians have long questioned the listed identities of eight Independence War fighters whose remains were locked away along with those of the war's most famous hero, Miguel Hidalgo and three other decorated heroes�.go to original article

Mexico's President Has Some Nerve Lecturing His U.S. 'Amigos'

The fact that an American administration would invite and incite a head of state to disrespect our nation is unconscionable. The Democrats thought that if they invited Mexican President Calderon to address a Joint Meeting of Congress this week that they could encourage him to use that solemn opportunity to take a swipe at Arizona's new immigration law. Well it backfired.
The fact that an American administration would invite and incite a head of state to disrespect our nation is unconscionable. This is what the President of Mexico said about an American law from the podium of the United States House of Representatives:,,,go to original article

Early retirement as a low-cost adventure

Moments after opening the Skype video connection, Billy and Akaisha Kaderli smile at me from Chapala, a small town on Lake Chapala just outside of Guadalajara, Mexico. They live there much of the time, enjoying a near-perfect climate close to what may be the largest expat colony in the world.They smile a lot, and for good reason.In their book, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement, they smile at you from photos taken in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, New Zealand, America and Puerto Vallarta, plus many other places and pages throughout the book. They share the story of their travels on their website as well�.go to original article

Fountain-type system in Maya city may be first in New World

The Mayas may have developed a pressurized water system hundreds of years before it was believed to have been brought by the Spanish. Archaeologists have discovered the oldest pressurized water system in the New World, an aqueduct-tunnel system in the southern Mexico site of Palenque that probably powered a fountain or a waste water system.

Such pressurized water systems appeared in the Old World at least as long ago as 1400 BC: The remains of such a system have been found in a Minoan palace in Crete. But the apparent lack of similar remains in the Americas led most archaeologists to assume that they did not appear here until they were brought by the Spanish in the 16th century�.go to original article

Most Popular Soccer Team in the U.S.: Mexico?

In late 1993, buoyed by having qualified for the World Cup in the United States the next year, Mexico stepped outside its usual sites � Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and New York � to play an exhibition game in San Diego. Promoters, who had never attracted more than 20,000 fans to a soccer game unaccompanied by a concert, would have been thrilled to hit that mark on a midweek night game against China. But when the game arrived, they were overwhelmed. Traffic heading north from the border on Interstate 805 was backed up for miles, and as kickoff approached, people began to park on the side of the road. They walked down embankments and through a creek and dashed across streets to reach Jack Murphy Stadium. Once there, long lines snaked from ticket windows. When the crowd finally settled in, shortly after halftime, nearly 50,000 people filled the stadium. �..go to original article

Views from My Tropical Garden �Tara A. Spears

Warm climate gardening tips

One of my favorite tropical plants is the exotic blooming Heliconia pictured left. These weird, beautiful multicolored flowers are native to areas where it doesn�t generally get below a nighttime temperature of 60 degrees (15 Celsius), which includes the Riviera Nayarit area. They have a wonderful deep green sword-like leaf that contrasts nicely with the lobster claw shaped bracts that are available in red, yellow, orange and sever bi-colored combinations. This plant is also known as the false bird of paradise plant for its similarity to its larger cousin. The Heliconia can be a house plant north of the border, but in the tropics it is a perennial that blooms all year long. These stunning rhizomes are a snap to grow here, making wonderful permanent plantings to showcase a pool or balcony. The cut flowers will last for weeks in a vase, making it a terrific addition to home tropical gardens: unique beauty indoors and out.

Continued on page 2

Thank you from Diane and Francisco

I want to put out a big thank you for the generous contributions, and the great party. Francisco is still weak,, and my problem is keeping him home and resting... he just cant stay calm. Thanks to the donations he paid off the hospital, and we have some left for medications.

Sincerely:

Diane and Francisco Prado.

Scam Alert!

Friends - I just received various, suspicious e-mails from a person posing as my friend, from his e-mail address, requesting emergency money to get back home. The person posing as my friend, Terry...stated that he and his family had just been mugged in Cardiff, Wales and had nothing except his passport and needed 1,980.00 U.S. to pay their hotel bill; that the hotel manager would not let them check-out, without first paying the bill; and, that they had to be at the airport to catch their plane back home in a few hours. He wanted me to wire them the money immediately by Western Union to the hotel's address, or the nearest Western Union. My suspicions deepened. I asked for the hotel's phone number, telling the poser that I would simply pay the bill with my credit card. The poser e-mailed what supposely was the hotel's number and it was, indeed, a British number. But that didn't satisfy me. I called my friend at his home in California. No answer. I became more concerned. I told the poser over the internet to call me collect and gave our home phone number. No call. I then e-mailed back to the poser, requesting the answer to a personal question. The person posing as my friend wrote back, suggesting that I was trying to back out of sending him the money, suggesting that our friendship was on the line. My suspicions multiplied. I asked him to answer two more questions, in addition to the one he had not answered. I waited on the internet for the answers (we were also connected to "Chat"). None came. After fifteeen minutes I called a local mexican operator to verify the type of number given me over the internet. As I suspected, it was a British cell phone number. At that point all doubt vanished. But in order to warn my friend, I called his California number again. This time I got an answer. It was his niece. She told me that Terry and his wife were in Wyoming and, that they had received similar complaints from other friends, that the pleas for help from Britain were fraudulent, and that they didn't know how anyone could have entered Terry's e-mail address to send the fraudulent messages. Is this a new angel in internet fraud? I trust my friend. We've been good buddies since our college days. Besides that, he's got too much money to pull this shit. But, how in the hell did they get into his internet to send the fraudulent messages? Weird. Be careful folks!

Your Friend,

Charlie
Editor's Note!

This is the second report of this type of scam using real friends emails.

Upcoming Events Los Ayala

On Saturday, June 5th there will be a special dual celebration of Mothers & Fathers Day in the Town Square! Dance the night away; take in some colourful fireworks! Everyone welcome! Complimentary snacks and refreshments will be served...

In celebration of the �Sacred Heart of Jesus�, thirty runners from Talpa are scheduled to arrive Los Ayala at 12 Noon, on Friday June 11^th, coinciding with Mass. A lively night of entertainment is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Town Plaza and includes; Folkloric Dancing, Belly Dancing, a Running Bull ablaze with fireworks; dancing to a live band; and some extraordinary fireworks!

For further details please see

http://losayalalife.com/upcoming_events.html

Views from My Tropical Garden �Tara A. Spears

Warm climate gardening tips

A sure sign of spring is the full flowering of the lovely lilac-blue tree, Jacaranda mimosifolia, that adorns the Riviera Nayarit jungle and roadways. The blue jacaranda tree, which is native to Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Australia, and Africa, is a beautiful flowering tree with a profusion of tubular, trumpet-shaped flowers that grow in dense clusters 8 to 12 inches long. Of the many Jacaranda species, the most popular is the blue jacaranda tree, left photo. The flowers begin to bud in late March and will continue blooming until late May. While spectacular to look at, some people can be allergic to the shedding petals and leaves that fall off individually to carpet the ground beneath the trees. The large seed pods are a flat and puffy irregular shape that is about two inches wide and a half inch thick that contains winged seeds.

To read the entire Tara Story click here

Click here to view more Rafael Ballet Folklorico photography

Too Hot to Cook? Get Takeout from Petra�s Deli

� Tara A. Spears

Good news, La Penita! As the temperature and humidity soars, you can stay out of the kitchen as Petra�s Deli is open six days a week, from 8 am to 4 pm. Don�t feel like getting out of your swimsuit? Call for a takeout order to enjoy while lazing around the pool. �I had drop in guests and needed a spur-of-the-moment dinner for eight,� said Barbara. �I called Petra and she had excellent potato salad, a fresh meat and cheese platter, plus yummy rolls and dessert ready in 30 minutes�. I set the table while my husband picked up the meal. It turned into a great party thanks to Petra!� You can also dine in the restaurant where the gregarious Petra and charming Lucy will serve you with a smile.

Summer Specials:

In addition to the regular menu options of breakfast plates, deli sandwiches and fresh salads made to your specifications, Petra is offering Munich Schnitzel with potato or cabbage salad, one beer or soda with bread; German Bratwurst with red cabbage and fried potatoes, one beer or soda included, for $55 pesos. A delicious vegetable Quiche or sausage/cheese sample plate is available daily. Cool off with an ice cold Pacifico or Corona beer for only $12 pesos.

You don�t have to drive to Bucherias to get fresh deli meats or cheese: Petra carries a selection of 10 meats (the Black Forest Ham is a personal favorite) and 9 cheeses available by the kilo. Very convenient and hassle free for the Riviera Nayarit residents and visitors. You can also buy bulk sausages (German brats/ Italian/ Polish) that are perfect for backyard bar-b-ques.

Sweet tooth heaven

Petra now carries delicious north of the border favorite sweets: apple strudel, a variety of cheesecakes, and carrot cake if you want a snack after shopping or to bring home for a late night snack.

petra deli3.JPG Since most of the area�s fine restaurants are closed until the fall, having Petra�s Deli open as usual is a real plus. In the seven years that Petra�s restaurants have been servicing the area, she has many satisfied repeat customers. With the expanded summer menu, deli bulk products, and take out service, Petra�s Deli is sure to make your summer living a little bit easier.

Petra�s Deli

Alfredo Bonfil #9 (next street from the avenida near ATM)

Tel: 277-1650 or (cell) 322-142-9063

President Announces Bill for New Police Force Model
Suzanne Stephens Waller - Presidencia de la Rep�blica
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June 04, 2010

President Felipe Calder�n explains that aim is for citizens to be protected, regardless of who is in power. (Presidencia de la Rep�blica)

Mexico City - During the 28th National Public Security Council meeting, President Felipe Calder�n announced that at the new ordinary period of Congress sessions, he will submit a bill for constitutional reform that will promote a new police force model.

This will be based, he explained, on 32 state police forces with a single, reliable command in each, which will make it possible to advance with much greater clarity and unity of command in the coordination of the various orders of government.

�Our main objective is to ensure that, regardless of who is governing or what party he belongs to, Mexicans will be protected by an honest, professional police force, an effective, transparent system of justice and a legal framework that increases the authorities� power in the face of criminals and makes it possible to effectively punish criminals,� he declared.

In Campo Militar Marte, accompanied by the Security Cabinet as well as most of the country�s governors, the President stressed that the best response to crime are institutional solutions that outlast governments, since countries that have successfully overcome the problem of the lack of law and order have done so in an integral, national, long-term fashion.

�We must continue working to ensure that institutional changes translate into Mexicans� security and tranquility.

That is why it is essential for local authorities to redouble efforts to ensure the professionalization and reliability of their security corps, so that they strengthen their institutions for the procurement and administration of justice,� he explained.

President Calder�n confirmed Federal Public Administrations� willingness to support the efforts being made by this Council, �Because we want a safe Mexico, in which there is no place for the fear, violence and impunity we are suffering today.�

�I am sure that in the discussion we will have here on the new police force model, the resources and contributions of the Contribution Fund for Public Security and the creation of a National Academy of Penitentiary Administration and others, Mexicans� interest will prevail over all others.

The Mexico of freedoms, order and peace we wish to pass down to future generations demands the unlimited commitment of all those that have the privilege of serving our country in a public position,� he declared.

During the closing ceremony of the 28th version of the Council, attendees approved President Calder�n�s proposal to create a special commission that will follow up the agreement to create a new police force model in Mexico.US-Mexico Border Isn't So Dangerous
Martha Mendoza - Associated Press
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Graphic shows types of assaults against Border Patrol agents last year.

Mexico City � It's one of the safest parts of America, and it's getting safer.

The top four big cities in America with the lowest rates of violent crime are all in border states: San Diego, Phoenix, El Paso and Austin, according to a new FBI report. And an in-house Customs and Border Protection report shows that Border Patrol agents face far less danger than street cops in most U.S. cities.

The Customs and Border Protection study, obtained with a Freedom of Information Act request, shows 3 percent of Border Patrol agents and officers were assaulted last year, mostly when assailants threw rocks at them. That compares with 11 percent of police officers and sheriff's deputies assaulted during the same period, usually with guns or knives.

In addition, violent attacks against agents declined in 2009 along most of the border for the first time in seven years. So far this year assaults are slightly up, but data is incomplete.

"The border is safer now than it's ever been," said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Lloyd Easterling.

He said one factor is that with fewer jobs available amid the U.S. recession, illegal immigration has dropped. And responding to security concerns after 9-11, the Border Patrol has doubled the number of agents in the region since 2004.

Nonetheless, border lawmakers and governors say their region is under siege and needs more troops.

"Violence in the vicinity of the U.S.-Mexico border continues to increase at an alarming rate. We believe that this violence represents a serious threat to the national security of the United States as well as a serious threat to U.S. citizens that live along the 1,969-mile long border," a dozen bipartisan members of Congress from border states wrote President Obama.

In Arizona, a stringent new immigration law takes effect next month, requiring police to question suspects' immigration status if officers believe they're in the country illegally. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said in a televised interview last weekend: "We are out here on the battlefield getting the impact of all this illegal immigration, and all the crime that comes with it."

In response to the concerns from the border states, Obama pledged to send 1,200 National Guard troops to help and spend an extra $500 million on border security.

His one-time rival for the presidency, Arizona Sen. John McCain, said he should send at least 6,000 troops, which are needed because he said Arizona leads the nation in marijuana seizures, suffered 368 kidnappings in 2008 and has the highest property crime rates in the U.S.

But FBI crime reports for 2009 says violent crime in Arizona declined. And violent crimes in southwest border counties are among the lowest in the nation per capita - they've dropped by more than 30 percent in the last two decades. Of America's 25 largest cities, San Diego - with one out of four residents an immigrant - has the lowest number of violent crimes per capita.

Opponents of increased border security are frustrated by descriptions of a wave of violence when the statistics show the region to be relatively safe.

"Politicians are hyping up this incredible fear across the country about the border, but these numbers show these are lies being perpetrated on the American public," said immigrant advocate Isabel Garcia at Tucson-based Derechos Humanos. "The warnings about violence are just an excuse to crack down on migrants who want to work and be with their families."

Even residents of the border region who want more security are surprised by the talk of violence.

"I have to say, a lot of this is way overblown," said Gary Brasher of Tuboc, Arizona, who is president of the Coalition for a Safe and Secure Border.

So why send troops to the region?

"That's really something to ask the White House," Easterling said.

White House spokesman Mike Hammer said "there are other rationales for why those border deployments are occurring" but declined to name any of them. "I would really put this to the Department of Homeland Security," he said.

Homeland Security spokesman Matthew Chandler provided a written statement that said more help is needed to build upon "the unprecedented resources the Administration has dedicated over the past 16 months and will serve to expand long-term the successes that have been realized to date."

Governors along the border say improved crime rates don't counter their concerns about risk.

"The federal government currently does not know who is entering our country and when, which obviously creates tremendous security concerns," said Brewer's spokesman Paul Senseman.

And in Texas, "we respond to threats based on risk, not occurrence," said Gov. Rick Perry's spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger. Thus Perry has activated a secret state border protection emergency plan.

"With the safety of Texans on the line, we can't afford to wait," he said.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who ordered the National Guard to patrol the border in his state six weeks ago, is concerned about "the potential for drug cartel violence spilling over the border," spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spokesman Francisco Castillo said that while "we've seen some success," troops are needed "to provide more security along our borders."

Concerns about danger come, in part, from Mexico, where raging cartel violence has taken 23,000 lives in three years, often within view of the U.S. border. There's frequent talk of the potential for that violence to spread across the border, although so far it hasn't happened to any significant degree.

Several high-profile and frightening incidents have added to the fears: Authorities suspect an illegal immigrant working for drug smugglers killed Arizona rancher Robert Krentz in March, and last year Border Patrol agent Robert Rosas, 30, was murdered while on patrol near San Diego.

"Agents now have to question if they will be ambushed," U.S. District Judge M. James Lorenz said as he sentenced a 17-year-old Mexican to 40 years for killing Rosas.

In fact, agents in the San Diego region are less likely to be attacked these days.

"Agent Rosas' death changed the way we do business. Agents are on high alert, we have to be ready. But if you just look at the numbers, assaults here are down 27 percent," said Border Patrol spokesman Jerry Conley, who worked with Rosas. He said that since Rosas' death, officers don't venture into potentially dangerous situations without backup. Solo patrols are rare, and they emphasize safety precautions.

There are exceptions to the trend: Assaults on agents in the Laredo, Texas, region increased from 44 in 2008 to 118 in 2009, and they increased in the neighboring Rio Grande Valley as well. Agents also fired their guns on 49 separate occasions in 2009, a 50 percent increase from 2008.

Customs spokesman Easterling said that while fewer people are trying to sneak across the border, those who do are more likely "engaged in activity other than illegal entry, such as drug smuggling, and are more likely to use violence as a means to help them escape apprehension."

But the bigger picture is one of increased safety. In fiscal year 2009, there were 1,073 violent attacks - mostly thrown rocks, bottles and sticks but also 48 incidents in which a gun was fired - against the 20,119 Border Patrol agents, down from 1,097 violent incidents against 17,819 agents in 2008.

In addition to those agents, another 22,000 officers work at the nation's border crossings and airports, checking people as they enter and exit the country.

It's one of the safest jobs in law enforcement: Last year 17 of them were assaulted, a 74 percent decrease from 2008.

Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said it's time for lawmakers to reconsider what they'd like to see happening in the region.

"Border security has become the most overused, and least understood, concept in the struggle over what to do about our broken immigration system," he said. "While an election year may not be the best time, the United States finally needs an honest debate over what it means to secure the country's borders."

Mexico Drug War Doesn't Stop Americans from Moving South of the Border
Sara Miller Llana � Christian Science Monitor
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June 05, 2010

M�rida, Mexico � Bill Engle is outside, sweating in work clothes while he oversees renovations to his colonial house in M�rida, Mexico. It sits on a street dubbed "Gringo Gulch," a pretty row of baby blue, violet, and mustard facades where expatriates outnumber Mexicans.

"It is not the climate," says Mr. Engle, explaining why he moved to the Yucat�n Peninsula. "It is the people. It is the most welcoming place."

Americans scared off by violence in Mexico? Not here.

In towns far from the US border such as M�rida, Mexico's drug wars seem like another world. In fact, according to a recent survey by the International Community Foundation, violence reduced the frequency or duration of trips to Mexico for only 7 percent of American retirees who live or travel frequently to Mexico.

No one knows how many foreign retirees, entrepreneurs, and families relocated to M�rida in recent years, but judging from real estate deals, new members to the English-language library, and observations by locals, it is not a few � nor is it ebbing.

'As safe as Seattle'

"I feel more part of a community here and safer or as safe here as I did in Seattle," says Martha Lindley, a retired chaplain and lawyer who moved here three years ago.

Of 5.25 million Americans living abroad, 1 million are estimated to live south of the border. Some communities, such as San Miguel de Allende (a Heritage Site in central Mexico), seem virtual US suburbs. M�rida is becoming a magnet as transplants rush to buy old mansions and haciendas from the 19th century boom in henequen (a fiber used to make rope).

"I do not feel any violence here," says Dan Karnes, a retired lawyer from New Orleans who moved here last year. He purchased an 18th-century colonial mansion, last used as a warehouse, and on a recent day was overseeing workers digging a pool foundation and laying an oval courtyard. When done, Mr. Karnes will boast an 18,300-square-foot home.

M�rida housing market rebounds with retirees

M�rida became a hot destination five years ago, says Mitch Keenan of Mexico International Real Estate. He's sold homes here for 15 years. While the global recession hurt sales, he says the market is rebounding and sending in more well-heeled retirees.

With America's baby boomers retiring, potential for further growth is huge. The International Community Foundation found that Mexico remains their retirees' No. 1 travel destination. The possible extension of Medicare benefits to Americans who retire abroad could further fuel that.

Ellen Fields and her husband, Jim, run the site Yucatanliving.com and help expatriates settle here with the company Yucatan Expatriate Services. "It is so neighborly," she says. She once left her keys in her door; instead of getting robbed, the keys got returned. "It is so neighborly," she says. She once left her keys in her door; instead of getting robbed, the keys got returned.

Locals say foreigners blend easily with the city's 1 million residents.

Alvaro Martinez and Sara Lopez, who moved to "Gringo Gulch" 70 years ago, long before it earned its nickname, are one of two Mexican families on the street. "They are good neighbors, there are never any problems," says Mr. Lopez, his arm draped around his wife. "They are moving in all around us."

Mexico to Boost Competitiveness of Tequila Industry
Suzanne Stephens Waller - Presidencia de la Rep�blica
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June 02, 2010

Accompanied by state governor Emilio Gonz�lez and the Economy Secretary, the President said that his administration will promote various measures to boost the country's competitiveness.

Zapopan, Jalisco - President Felipe Calder�n repeated Federal Government's commitment to supporting the tequila industry and the entire national productive sector to make it more competitive and successful in the world.

�My presence here is not only in response to your kind invitation to visit this building of the Council's and met with you but also to confirm Federal Government's commitment to go on supporting your valuable efforts, which is why we will continue working shoulder to shoulder with the tequila industry, specifically this Council, so that the sector can reach its full potential,� he said.

At the last point of his tour of Jalisco, in Zapopan, he met up with the Tequila Regulating Council. There he announced that China and Korea has reported the modification of their regulations to admit tequila to their respective markets.

�Today, in addition to being a feature of Mexican identity, the tequila industry is also a symbol of national competitiveness. It has shown its strength at difficult times, particularly last year, when the production and consumption of this and other sectors was considerably affected by the world crisis. However, despite this adverse situation, over the past five years, the tequila industry managed to maintain an average increase in production of over 7% with exports growing by over 4.5%,� he added.

Accompanied by state governor Emilio Gonz�lez and the Economy Secretary, the President said that in order to disseminate and promote tequila in the world's main markets, his administration will promote various measures to boost the country's competitiveness.

One of these, he said, is that government is determinedly fighting the illegal trafficking of merchandise. Proof of this is the fact that the Attorney General�s Office has raided over 11,000 dwellings that illegally stored and reproduced tequila substitutes. It has engaged in 17,000 operations in the streets where illegal products were sold and arrested nearly 2,500 individuals.

�Rest assured that Federal Government is working with a view to the future. And we will continue to take the necessary steps to transform our beloved Mexico to change it so that it becomes the prosperous, developed nation it is meant to be,� he explained.

Arizona Immigration Law Prompts Mexico to Extend Repatriation Aid Program
Nacha Cattan & Sara Miller Llana - Christian Science Monitor
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June 02, 2010

A woman protests against the new Arizona immigration law in front of the US Embassy in Mexico City, Saturday. The sign reads in Spanish 'Death Camp. Law SB1070.' (Claudio Cruz/AP)

Mexico City and Cartagena, Colombia � In response to the controversial new Arizona immigration law, Mexico is extending a program that helps citizens living illegally in the US return home.

Need medical attention? Need something to eat? The website of the Mexican National Migration Institute illustrates how the voluntary repatriation program works.

But few in Mexico are expecting a flood of new returnees. Last year about 500,000 Mexicans were repatriated from the US, an average annual number, according to National Migration Institute (INM).

While the country is spending some money to ease the transition home for Mexicans who want to return, most with steady jobs in the US are unlikely to sign up for the program.

�There will not be a massive return, unlike what is expected,� says Rodolfo Cruz, a professor in the population studies department at the College of the Northern Border in Tijuana (COLEF). �In Mexico they do not have employment options, and they are well aware of this� It would be much more expensive for them to return [to Mexico]. Because they�ll return, spend money, not find any [work] or find work that does not meet their economic needs and will go once more to the United States.�

The head of Mexico's INM, Cecilia Romero, said that the repatriation program, is being extended this year because of concerns that more Mexicans will be driven out of Arizona. �It is probable that when the [new immigration] law of Arizona goes into effect, repatriations and deportations of Mexicans will go up,� she said recently.

The program will run from June 1 through Sept. 28, during which federal, state, and local authorities will help Mexican migrants, pointing them towards medical attention should they need it and helping them avoid criminal groups who prey on them on the way home.

The new Arizona immigration law directs police to determine immigration status if they are suspicious of criminal activity. Currently, police officers can inquire about a person�s immigration status only if that person is a suspect in another crime.

Rodolfo Mendez, who parks cars for a Mexico City restaurant, says his brother is an undocumented worker in Arizona and is considering leaving Arizona for another US state but not returning home. He wouldn't be able to earn enough to support his six children working the fields in his hometown of Santa Catarina, Oaxaca. The program could help his brother, �but it is no solution to the Arizona law.�

Hilario Fuentes, a newspaper vendor in Mexico City whose daughter lives illegally in Los Angeles, says he thinks few migrants living in the US would agree to voluntary repatriation. �They wouldn�t accept it, because people go [to the US] out of necessity. They leave their families out of necessity,� he says. His daughter has been deported four times, but keeps returning to Los Angeles to be with her American-born children.

Mr. Cruz says that Mexican action against the law, which has ranged from travel alerts to canceled bilateral meetings in Arizona, is popular in Mexico.

�Any help given to immigrants in the state of Arizona will be welcomed, because the new law is one of the strongest and most racist that has passed [in the US],� he says. But the real support will need to go toward Mexican consulates in Phoenix and Tucson once the law goes into effect, he says. �They will need help in presenting discrimination cases, abuse cases, civil rights violations� More than anything they will need information about what their rights are.�

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Home, Not Free: Parolee Brenda Martin has Struggled In Her Own Country
Kevin Libin - National Post
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June 05, 2010

Brenda Martin is reunited with her mother, Marjorie Bletcher, left, in Trenton after being paroled in May, 2008.

Rebecca Roth is delighted to be in Boise, Idaho, which doesn't happen all the time when people visit Boise, Idaho. After four years in a Mexican prison, though, Boise, Idaho looks pretty great. It's one of the stops on a sort of freedom lap Ms. Roth is doing around the American Pacific Northwest, catching up with friends and relatives she hasn't seen since getting tangled up in the odious financial scams run by Edmonton's Alyn Richard Waage from his Mexican mansion.

A few weeks ago, Ms. Roth beat the charges. Clean. She turned away the opportunity to waive her appeals and transfer to an American prison. She stayed and fought.

"That's why I didn't take the prisoner transfer, so I that would have the ability to exonerate myself," she says. "I would have been a felon in Mexico and the U.S. and I was not agreeable to that."

She has no record now. Anywhere. A Mexican public defender who "worked his you-know-what off " convinced the same judge who sentenced her and Canadian Brenda Martin to nine and five years in prison, respectively, to quash Ms. Roth's sentence, and dismiss the original charges for lack of evidence.

"I had to spend two more years in jail, but now I am free, and justice has been done," Ms Roth says.

Brenda Martin was convicted along with Ms. Roth but made different choices. She is not free. She is on parole. She lives at a halfway house in the Toronto area after spending the last few months in a Kingston, Ont., prison. She has had some trouble staying out of trouble. She cannot visit Boise, Idaho.

Like Ms. Roth, Ms. Martin agreed to do some chores for Mr. Waage at his Puerto Vallarta mansion, the fruit of a massive US$60-million ponzi scheme. She was, like Ms. Roth, accused by Mexican authorities of helping Mr. Waage launder his dirty money. They both insist they were innocent, only Ms. Roth is officially so.

Last month, Mr. Waage was released from a North Carolina prison, roughly two years after his accomplices, his son Carey, Keith Nordick and Michael Webb were all released. Out of all these characters in this crime story, only Ms. Martin remains a ward of the state, on parole till February, 2011.

Ms. Martin was for a time in early 2008 the Most Important News Story in Canada. Federal MPs were swamped with phone calls and letters from constituents demanding they save Ms. Martin, having served two years of a five-year sentence, from a supposedly rigged Mexican justice system and bring her home. The prime minister got involved. And three Cabinet ministers. Former prime minister Paul Martin visited her. Ms. Martin, emotional, regularly called reporters to plead for Canadians to rescue her. The Puente Grande prison was a hellhole, she said. She was beaten. Her weight and her mental health were rapidly deteriorating. Still, she badmouthed the government; said the politicians were only interested in photo-ops with her - "a dog and pony show that showed up ... for their own personal political gain." Back home, Canadians tried to square her version of this miserable existence with reports of jailhouse beauty pageants (Ms. Martin won) and relatively decent prison surroundings.

The government got her out. She had to give up her appeals and, against her better judgment, effectively concede guilt in helping Mr. Waage launder a few thousand of the $60-million he had fleeced from investors. Canada spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to make it happen: 16 translators waded through Mexican legal documents; she was flown home on a government aircraft. There are 1,700 Canadians imprisoned around the world, many of them undoubtedly unjustly. None got the treatment that Ms. Martin did.

"I have to be grateful," she says. "I think they did an amazing thing and wow was it fast bringing me back."

But there have not been, in the two years since her return to Canada, many moments of delight

for Ms. Martin. She served eight days in Kingston's campus-style Grand Valley Institution for Women upon her return, which she complained made her "ready to go back to Mexico." Supporters, dozens of whom who had thronged her arrival at the airport in tears, felt stung, or lost interest. Ms. Martin felt alone, she says.

Released on parole to her hometown of Trenton, Ont., she was depressed. She was bored.

"Some major, major issues had happened in my life and to top it off I'm in this dead-end town with no possibility of jobs because it's a very impoverished place. It's pretty bad when the downtown stores are Giant Tiger, Bibles for Missions, Goodwill and Salvation Army."

There were problems. The time some locals at the downtown Chinese buffet recognized her and asked her to join them. They insisted on picking up her tab, she says. Then didn't. The police came banging at her door later that night accusing her of theft. That's her version. She had reportedly "consumed a large amount of alcohol on that day," according to parole documents.

Then in September there was what Ms. Martin calls "a small bout of self-harm." Two good friends in Mexico had just died; a stranger on the street yelled at her for wasting taxpayers' money. She engaged, according to parole documents, in "excessive drinking" and did something to hurt herself (Ms. Martin won't go into details but agreed it was similar to the time she cut herself with a razor in Mexico).

She was admitted to a psychiatric ward, then a group home, and was ordered by the parole board to stay away from alcohol and drinking establishments. She was required to get substance abuse counselling. Eventually she was allowed to get her own apartment.

Then, in January, sad because no one remembered her birthday, Ms. Martin went to a drinking establishment. And she drank. She "reportedly blacked out," says the parole board account. She was "unco-operative" with police. She later told the parole board that someone at the bar must have drugged her. The parole board thinks she has a drinking problem. Ms. Martin says she is not an alcoholic.

"I didn't use my wise mind on my birthday. I was a little depressed. And I was caught drinking. But it was made out a lot bigger than it actually was," Ms. Martin says.

She was returned to prison for breaching parole. She was released May 17. She wants to get her own place in Toronto, she says, and return to catering. She wants to become anonymous. Media attention, once her saviour, is a major stress.

"In essence Brenda Martin has truly been exonerated by Mexico," says Deb Tieleman, a former childhood friend of Ms. Martin's who was instrumental in championing her case. "Brenda in her own mind is an innocent woman, which she truly is ... so should she really be on parole? Should she really be scrutinized the way she's being scrutinized? It's really unfair."

When news broke in March that Ms. Roth convinced the Mexican court that prosecutors had relied on faulty evidence and that there was insufficient evidence for a retrial, Ms. Martin immediately thought of her own case.

"I hope this is going to maybe set the record straight that maybe an average Canadian could go 'Wow. She was innocent. And boy oh boy, no wonder she's had a hard time dealing with it,'" she says. "Vindication. It's OK right now because I know it myself but I would like people to see it."

But Ms. Martin will never get the official exoneration Ms. Roth did. "She chose to return to Canada before all her legal options were exhausted and unfortunately I think that results in her being a felon in two countries now," Ms. Roth says.

Today Ms. Roth is free and happy. Ms. Martin cannot say the same.

klibin(at)nationalpost.com

President Calder�n Leads Launching of Routes of Mexico
Suzanne Stephens Waller - Presidencia de la Rep�blica
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May 24, 2010

(Presidencia de la Rep�blica)

Mexico City.- President Calder�n led the luncheon to launch "Routes of Mexico" in La Hondonada at the official Los Pinos residence.

"Routes of Mexico" is designed to promote the enormous variety of tourist destinations in Mexico, on the basis of ten conceptual tours that will enable tourists to gain access to the cultural and historical diversity as well as the enormous natural wealth that distinguishes Mexico.

These ten routes include the 31 states and the Federal District.

During the initial stage, the groups that will go on the tours will include tour operators and representatives of the national and international media.

The persons that go on these tours will have the opportunity to enjoy archaeological zones, magical towns, colonial cities, large ecological reserves and sustainable areas on the same trip, before visiting sun and beach destinations.

"Routes of Mexico" includes: From the World's Wine and Aquarium, The Age-old Tarahumara, The Magic of Traditions and Nature, The Cradle of History and Romanticism, The Art of Tequila and Music under the Sun, Beautiful Huastec Sites, A Thousand Mole Flavors, The Mystery and Origin of the Maya, A Viceregal Experience and the Fascinating Encounter between History and Modernity.

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Mango season...vendor sells from truck on the Avenida La penita

We Need to Dump the Word "Illegal"
Kung Li - t r u t h o u t
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(Fifth_Business)

The owner of Mulligans, a watering hole popular with middle-aged white men in Cobb County, Georgia, regularly updates his marquee to comment on current events. Here is what's up today:

HELL YEH, ARIZONA. SEND THEM WETBACKS HOME! ANCHOR BABIES & ALL! IF U CAN'T FEED UM DON'T BREED UM!

The local news station reporting on the sign bleeped out the offensive term. As they should have, wetback being an ugly racial slur.

But there is a word more commonly used and much more damaging to immigrants and Latinos: illegal. We need to stop using it ourselves, and demand that media outlets retire the word as well.

Every few months, another listserv circulates What Part of 'Illegal' Don't You Understand?, the excellent 2008 New York Times piece by Lawrence Downs, to remind us that until we get rid of the phrase illegal immigrant, we have little hope of opening up pathways for the people thus maligned to come into legal status.

We know this phrase is crushing us, yet we have done nothing to deliberately and conscientiously fight this battle.

Gays and lesbians have long understood that language is a weapon, and so have actively defended against it. It is not the harshest words - fag, homo, dyke - that have done the most damage. The most damaging term was the word homosexual, which managed to be both sensational and clinical. With most gay people still hidden in the shadows in the 1980's, Average Straight Jane's reading about a homosexual could not see past the sex at the heart of the word. The alpha and omega of a homosexual was sex; he or she was not anyone's son or daughter, a teacher or a mail carrier, a friend or a neighbor. At the same time, the clinical ring of the term made the person sound psychologically deviant in some fundamental way. Until the late 1980's, it was the term unthinkingly used by every mainstream news outlet.

In 1987, the New York Times changed its editorial policy to using "gay and lesbian" rather than "homosexual" in writing about, well, gays and lesbians. Once the venerable Times changed its policy, most other news outlets followed suit.

The change did not materialize out of thin air. The switch from homosexual to gay and lesbian came after a yearlong campaign by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), formed in the mid-1980's to counter the mainstream media's viscous - and dangerous - coverage of the AIDS crisis. After this huge win, GLAAD stuck around and bird-dogged other damaging terminology: sexual preference got the boot, replaced by sexual orientation; admitted homosexual became openly gay; and the right wing extremists' favorite term, special rights, never made the leap from right wing propaganda to mainstream reporting.

GLAAD can be irritating, tipping over to whining at times. But goodness, are they effective. Gays and lesbians may not be loved by all, but we would certainly not be the face of CoverGirl if we were still homosexuals.

So what's the lesson for immigration? It's time to stop kidding ourselves. As long as illegal immigrant remains an acceptable term, we lose. We certainly lose so long as our side continues to use the term. The Center for American Progress uses illegal immigrant interchangeably with undocumented immigrant. Contributors to the Huffington Post have no problems with the term. Even the t-shirts and signs protesting Arizona's SB1070 by asking "Do I look illegal?" are acquiescing to a right-wing semantic ploy. It's time we stopped.

But even if we get disciplined and stop using the term ourselves, we will still need a deliberate campaign to retire the phrase. A decision by progressive and liberals to stick with out of status or unauthorized is fine, but without more, an overly passive strategy.

Last year, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists asked media outlets to stop using the term illegals as a noun. Even that somewhat meek request was generally ignored, and the NAHJ has not followed up.

What does a media campaign to have mainstream media talk right look like? It starts with a history lesson, to remind media outlets that illegals and illegal immigrant are terms that were created and deliberately propagated by right wing hacks. And it explains that, whether as a noun or as an adjective modifying a person, the terms are inaccurate and un-American: one of the fundamental principles of American jurisprudence is that it is the act that is illegal, not the person.

A campaign to rid us of this flawed term would also point out that the range of terms used to demean and dehumanize people - illegal alien, illegals, aliens - are simply defamatory. They are intended to not only insult, but to vilify. Which is, of course, why it is so brutally effective for the right wing's purposes. By implying criminality where there is none, no further argument is needed by those who wish to maintain the status quo, and no further argument is possible for those who see the need for immigration reform.

There is an opening right now to dramatically change the conversation. Earlier this month, 21-year old student Jessica Colotl caught people's attention after she was shot into deportation proceedings after being stopped for driving without a license. Pleas from her sorority sisters prompted ICE to give Jessica a one-year deferment and release her from detention, which in turn produced howls of protest from anti-immigrant extremists. The Sheriff of Cobb County responded to his constituents - including the owner and patrons of Mulligan's bar - and issued an arrest warrant and sent out a posse of deputies to haul her in. She has become, in the words of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a new face on an old debate.

Jessica and other young people brought here as children, who have no pathway to legalization and are now facing deportation, have disrupted people's cozy, simplistic ideas of what it means to be out of status in this country. That opens the way for new thinking.

The majority of people in Cobb County reject the sentiments on the Mulligans marquee, but support the Cobb County Sheriff's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Jessica. We will not win meaningful immigration reform until ordinary Cobb residents see the Sheriff's actions for what they were: an overly aggressive act by a bully against Jessica, a young woman we very much want to remain in the United States. That shift will not come until Jessica stops being an illegal immigrant and becomes a college student, her mother's daughter, and our friend and neighbor. Adelante!

Kung Li is an Open Society Fellow writing out of Atlanta, GA. A civil right attorney by trade, Kung Li is the former Executive Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights and can be reached at kung.li.atl(at)gmail.com.

Driving Safely in Mexico

Driving safely in Mexico tips by Bill and Dot Bell

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Speak Spanish - That Should be Your Goal!

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