Latin American Herald Tribune: A total of 68 undocumented Central American migrants were rescued from two trucks in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz, immigration officials and police said.
The migrants showed signs of dehydration when they were rescued by state police officers, having spent more than 10 hours inside the vehicles in 30 C (86 F) weather. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label Veracruz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Veracruz. Show all posts
May 7, 2015
Veracruz journalist shot dead after reporting on oil theft
Committee to Protect Journalists: The body of Veracruz radio journalist Armando Saldaña Morales was found on Monday in the neighboring Mexican state of Oaxaca, according to the Oaxaca state attorney general's office and news reports. The journalist had been shot dead, the reports said. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder and calls on authorities to identify the motive in the killing and ensure the perpetrators are held to account.
"Journalists have paid a high price for reporting the news in Mexico-they are routinely murdered or disappeared with total impunity," said Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Americas, from New York. "Federal authorities must fully investigate this crime, look deeply into Armando Saldaña Morales' reporting as a possible motive, and bring those responsible to justice." Read more.
"Journalists have paid a high price for reporting the news in Mexico-they are routinely murdered or disappeared with total impunity," said Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Americas, from New York. "Federal authorities must fully investigate this crime, look deeply into Armando Saldaña Morales' reporting as a possible motive, and bring those responsible to justice." Read more.
Apr 29, 2013
Mexican journalists, rights groups march against attacks in which scores have been slain
The Huffington Post
By Associated Press
April 28, 2013
XALAPA, Mexico — Officials in Veracruz state say they know who killed Regina Martinez. The muckraking reporter, found beaten and suffocated in her house, was just the victim of a robbery, according to prosecutors and a local court.
But many of her colleagues don’t believe it. The man convicted of the crime was tortured into a confession, they allege. And the magazine she works for says state officials discussed sending police across the country in an attempt to hunt down and seize another reporter who raised questions about the death, which is one of a growing list of killings that have put Mexico among the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist.
Some 400 people gathered Sunday in the center of Veracruz’s state capital, Xalapa, for a march to demand justice in the Martinez case and an end to attacks on the press. Many held up posters suggesting the government had a hand in the case, some describing it as “a state killing.” Dozens also protested in Mexico City.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a February report that 12 Mexican journalists went missing in 2006-2012 and 14 were killed because of their work. Mexico’s federal Human Rights Commission lists 81 journalists killed since 2000. Read more.
By Associated Press
April 28, 2013
XALAPA, Mexico — Officials in Veracruz state say they know who killed Regina Martinez. The muckraking reporter, found beaten and suffocated in her house, was just the victim of a robbery, according to prosecutors and a local court.
But many of her colleagues don’t believe it. The man convicted of the crime was tortured into a confession, they allege. And the magazine she works for says state officials discussed sending police across the country in an attempt to hunt down and seize another reporter who raised questions about the death, which is one of a growing list of killings that have put Mexico among the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist.
Some 400 people gathered Sunday in the center of Veracruz’s state capital, Xalapa, for a march to demand justice in the Martinez case and an end to attacks on the press. Many held up posters suggesting the government had a hand in the case, some describing it as “a state killing.” Dozens also protested in Mexico City.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a February report that 12 Mexican journalists went missing in 2006-2012 and 14 were killed because of their work. Mexico’s federal Human Rights Commission lists 81 journalists killed since 2000. Read more.
Apr 24, 2013
Mexico vote-buying scandal threatens president's agenda of reforms
Los Angeles Times
By Tracy Wilkinson
April 23, 2013
Mexico City - Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Tuesday faced the most serious political crisis of his young government, an explosive dispute with rival parties over electoral dirty tricks that could imperil his ambitious reform plans.
Peña Nieto's highly touted Pact for Mexico, a kind of blueprint for his administration's agenda that had seemed to have won consensus from most major political groups, was on the verge of collapse after fresh reports of vote-buying by the president's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
The government was forced to cancel a series of public events under the auspices of the Pact for Mexico to avoid the embarrassment of a boycott by the main opposition factions.
The first casualty would appear to be a broad reform to overhaul Mexico's financial sector, which was scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday. Read more.
By Tracy Wilkinson
April 23, 2013
Mexico City - Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Tuesday faced the most serious political crisis of his young government, an explosive dispute with rival parties over electoral dirty tricks that could imperil his ambitious reform plans.
Peña Nieto's highly touted Pact for Mexico, a kind of blueprint for his administration's agenda that had seemed to have won consensus from most major political groups, was on the verge of collapse after fresh reports of vote-buying by the president's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
The government was forced to cancel a series of public events under the auspices of the Pact for Mexico to avoid the embarrassment of a boycott by the main opposition factions.
The first casualty would appear to be a broad reform to overhaul Mexico's financial sector, which was scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday. Read more.
Nov 9, 2012
Shaky Case Against Suspect in Mexican Journalist's Murder Raises Suspicions
InSightCrime, Written by Geoffrey Ramsey Friday, 09 November 2012
The arrest of a man accused of the murder of a journalist investigating crime and corruption in Veracruz raises more questions than answers, pointing to the failures of law enforcement and power of criminal groups in the Mexican state.
On October 30, Veracruz's attorney general announced that police had arrested Jorge Antonio Hernandez Silva, alias "El Silva," on suspicion of involvement in the April murder of journalist Regina Martinez Perez. The official said that the suspect had confessed to helping another person commit the crime. The man who physically carried out the murder, according to authorities, is Jose Adrian Hernandez Dominguez, alias "El Jarocho," allegedly Martinez's romantic partner, who remains at large.
Yet as El Proceso reports, there is reason to doubt Silva's involvement in Martinez's murder. The day after his supposed "confession," the suspect said he had been coerced into admitting guilt by police who tortured him and threatened to kill his mother. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) notes that without the confession, there appears to be little proof of Silva's involvement, as prosecutors have made no mention of eyewitness, DNA or fingerprint evidence linking him to the scene of the crime. Nevertheless, authorities ordered Silva to be held in pre-trial detention on November 2. Read more.
The arrest of a man accused of the murder of a journalist investigating crime and corruption in Veracruz raises more questions than answers, pointing to the failures of law enforcement and power of criminal groups in the Mexican state.
On October 30, Veracruz's attorney general announced that police had arrested Jorge Antonio Hernandez Silva, alias "El Silva," on suspicion of involvement in the April murder of journalist Regina Martinez Perez. The official said that the suspect had confessed to helping another person commit the crime. The man who physically carried out the murder, according to authorities, is Jose Adrian Hernandez Dominguez, alias "El Jarocho," allegedly Martinez's romantic partner, who remains at large.
Yet as El Proceso reports, there is reason to doubt Silva's involvement in Martinez's murder. The day after his supposed "confession," the suspect said he had been coerced into admitting guilt by police who tortured him and threatened to kill his mother. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) notes that without the confession, there appears to be little proof of Silva's involvement, as prosecutors have made no mention of eyewitness, DNA or fingerprint evidence linking him to the scene of the crime. Nevertheless, authorities ordered Silva to be held in pre-trial detention on November 2. Read more.
Nov 6, 2012
Mexican journalists question truth of murder trial
The Guardian It is very rare for anyone in Mexico to be arrested for murdering a journalist, let alone appear before a court. So the trial in Veracruz of a man charged with killing Regina Martínez Pérez should be a reason to celebrate.
But, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), it looks as if the state "is fabricating a murder case against the wrong people."
Citing unnamed "federal officials" as its source, the report says that the man who originally confessed to the murder, Jorge Hernández Silva, has since retracted his confession, claiming that he had been tortured while his mother was also threatened with death if he did not confess. Read more.
But, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), it looks as if the state "is fabricating a murder case against the wrong people."
Citing unnamed "federal officials" as its source, the report says that the man who originally confessed to the murder, Jorge Hernández Silva, has since retracted his confession, claiming that he had been tortured while his mother was also threatened with death if he did not confess. Read more.
Sep 26, 2012
Marines in Mexico detain 35 Veracruz police officers
LATimesBlog: MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's marines on Monday said they detained 35 Veracruz state police officers who were allegedly working for the Zetas drug cartel.
In a short statement, authorities said the police officers were detained Saturday in two groups, 16 at the airport in the city of San Luis Potosi, in a neighboring state of the same name, and 19 in Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz.
The marines released the names of the suspected officers but did not offer other details on the arrests or say why they were suspected of working for the Zetas. Four of those arrested were women, the marines said.
Veracruz's government did not have an immediate response to the announcement. Read more.
In a short statement, authorities said the police officers were detained Saturday in two groups, 16 at the airport in the city of San Luis Potosi, in a neighboring state of the same name, and 19 in Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz.
The marines released the names of the suspected officers but did not offer other details on the arrests or say why they were suspected of working for the Zetas. Four of those arrested were women, the marines said.
Veracruz's government did not have an immediate response to the announcement. Read more.
Aug 17, 2012
Mexico journalists' killings solved? Critics doubt it.
LA Times: Veracruz state authorities say drug cartel members responsible for killing five news workers have been arrested or slain. An advocacy group doesn't buy it.
By Tracy Wilkinson. MEXICO CITY — With rare speed, authorities in the violence-plagued coastal state of Veracruz say they have solved the killings of five journalists and news media workers, pinning the slayings on two notorious drug cartels.
But press freedom advocates Thursday questioned what they considered a too facile resolution of one of the most alarming strings of journalism attacks in a country where such bloodshed has become all too familiar.
"The government of Veracruz is trying to shelve its worst-ever crisis of violence against the press," the advocacy group Article 19 said in a statement. It criticized Veracruz authorities for blaming all the slayings on a group of detainees who supposedly confessed but have yet to go before a court. Read more. Read more.
By Tracy Wilkinson. MEXICO CITY — With rare speed, authorities in the violence-plagued coastal state of Veracruz say they have solved the killings of five journalists and news media workers, pinning the slayings on two notorious drug cartels.
But press freedom advocates Thursday questioned what they considered a too facile resolution of one of the most alarming strings of journalism attacks in a country where such bloodshed has become all too familiar.
"The government of Veracruz is trying to shelve its worst-ever crisis of violence against the press," the advocacy group Article 19 said in a statement. It criticized Veracruz authorities for blaming all the slayings on a group of detainees who supposedly confessed but have yet to go before a court. Read more. Read more.
Aug 1, 2012
The Patrons of Veracruz
In These Times: The women of La Patrona provide sustenance for migrants making a wearying train-top journey across Mexico.
Joseph Sorrentino. One day in February 1995, two sisters—Bernarda and Rosa Romero Vázquez—were standing at a train crossing on their way home from buying bread and milk for breakfast in La Patrona, Mexico, waiting for the train to pass.
That train, like many passing through this small village in Veracruz, had people riding on top of and between the train cars—people who, the sisters later learned, were migrants from Central America making their way north to find work. Rosa recalls that as the train sped past one of the men on the first car called out, “Madre, we’re hungry.” The same thing happened when the second car passed. When a shout went up from people on the third car, the sisters tossed them the food they had just bought. Read more.
That train, like many passing through this small village in Veracruz, had people riding on top of and between the train cars—people who, the sisters later learned, were migrants from Central America making their way north to find work. Rosa recalls that as the train sped past one of the men on the first car called out, “Madre, we’re hungry.” The same thing happened when the second car passed. When a shout went up from people on the third car, the sisters tossed them the food they had just bought. Read more.
Jul 5, 2012
Endorsement for a Commission to Protect Veracruz Journalists
El Universal: Americas Program Original Translation
See Spanish Original.
Local representatives unanimously approved a state constitutional reform initiative that would guarantee the adequate protection of Veracruz journalists.
Statistics from national and international organizations show that from 2000 to 2012 in Mexico 14 journalists have disappeared, 71 have been murdered. And in the last few years more than 500 aggressions against journalists have been documented.
A proposal of the governor of Veracruz, Javier Duarte de Ochoa, the entire State Congress approved, for the first time, constitutional reforms to create a State Commission for Awareness and Protection of Journalists.
During a common session, the representatives unanimously approved the constitutional reform initiative that guarantees adequate protection for Veracruz journalists.
However, for the aforementioned legal changes to become effective, the constitutional reform will need to be approved in a second period of common sessions and by at least half of the 212 city chapters.
The reform to Article 67 of the Veracruz State Political Constitution is the state’s response to a wave of violence that has harmed the journalist trade, which in a year of a half has lost the lives of nine of its members to organized crime.
The Commission will function by attending to and protecting the integrity of journalists, such as promoting conditions for the journalism profession to practice free expression, with full respect to the right to information and freedom of expression.
This autonomous body will be authorized to settle and grant attention and protection measures to journalists upon request, making available the resources and supportive material, financial or functional, that they require to work, and making substantive criteria and guidelines for effective performance.
Also journalists can file reports or complaints before the institutions of procurement and justice administration or in the legal sphere of human rights defense when journalists, as a consequence of doing their work, are subject to threats, aggressions, or immediate risk, and arrange before competent authorities the adoption of immediate attention and protection measures.
Translation by Bonnie Ho, Americas Program
See Spanish Original.
Local representatives unanimously approved a state constitutional reform initiative that would guarantee the adequate protection of Veracruz journalists.
Statistics from national and international organizations show that from 2000 to 2012 in Mexico 14 journalists have disappeared, 71 have been murdered. And in the last few years more than 500 aggressions against journalists have been documented.
A proposal of the governor of Veracruz, Javier Duarte de Ochoa, the entire State Congress approved, for the first time, constitutional reforms to create a State Commission for Awareness and Protection of Journalists.
During a common session, the representatives unanimously approved the constitutional reform initiative that guarantees adequate protection for Veracruz journalists.
However, for the aforementioned legal changes to become effective, the constitutional reform will need to be approved in a second period of common sessions and by at least half of the 212 city chapters.
The reform to Article 67 of the Veracruz State Political Constitution is the state’s response to a wave of violence that has harmed the journalist trade, which in a year of a half has lost the lives of nine of its members to organized crime.
The Commission will function by attending to and protecting the integrity of journalists, such as promoting conditions for the journalism profession to practice free expression, with full respect to the right to information and freedom of expression.
This autonomous body will be authorized to settle and grant attention and protection measures to journalists upon request, making available the resources and supportive material, financial or functional, that they require to work, and making substantive criteria and guidelines for effective performance.
Also journalists can file reports or complaints before the institutions of procurement and justice administration or in the legal sphere of human rights defense when journalists, as a consequence of doing their work, are subject to threats, aggressions, or immediate risk, and arrange before competent authorities the adoption of immediate attention and protection measures.
Translation by Bonnie Ho, Americas Program
Jun 29, 2012
Drug Cartels Ready Themselves for Mexico Elections
AP: EMILIANO ZAPATA, Mexico – Elections in Mexico are Sunday and drug cartels have taken notice, but forget who is going to be president these cartels are interested in who is going to be mayor.
It's easier to influence a local election than an extensive well-financed national one.
It's a principal Mexican drug cartels swear by.
As Mexicans head to the ballot box Sunday, cartels are influencing Mexico's local elections by registering their votes with scare tactics, and cold hard cash to make sure whoever is elected doesn't interfere with their lucrative operations. Read more.
It's easier to influence a local election than an extensive well-financed national one.
It's a principal Mexican drug cartels swear by.
As Mexicans head to the ballot box Sunday, cartels are influencing Mexico's local elections by registering their votes with scare tactics, and cold hard cash to make sure whoever is elected doesn't interfere with their lucrative operations. Read more.
Jun 24, 2012
Veracruz Is Mexico's Most Dangerous Place To Report
NPR: The tourism website Mexconnect, claims that "The Mexican State of Veracruz brings to mind beautiful Gulf of Mexico waters, steamy jungles and mouth-watering seafood." If you read the news, it may bring to mind a turf war waged by three drug cartels, and a heap of mutilated bodies.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block at NPR West.
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: And I'm Robert Siegel in Washington, D.C. The tourism website, MexConnect, claims that the Mexican state of Veracruz brings to mind beautiful Gulf of Mexico waters, steamy jungles and mouthwatering seafood.
If you read the news, though, it may bring to mind a turf war waged by three drug cartels who kill and mutilate people, including journalists. Brooke Gladstone, co-host of WNYC's On the Media, traveled to Veracruz earlier this month and she sent us this report. Read more.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block at NPR West.
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: And I'm Robert Siegel in Washington, D.C. The tourism website, MexConnect, claims that the Mexican state of Veracruz brings to mind beautiful Gulf of Mexico waters, steamy jungles and mouthwatering seafood.
If you read the news, though, it may bring to mind a turf war waged by three drug cartels who kill and mutilate people, including journalists. Brooke Gladstone, co-host of WNYC's On the Media, traveled to Veracruz earlier this month and she sent us this report. Read more.
Jun 23, 2012
Killings Curb Reporting of Mexican Crime Wave
NYT: XALAPA, MEXICO -- Mexico for several years has been one of the most dangerous countries in
the world for journalists, with 45 killed or missing since 2007, according to one tally. But Veracruz State is considered the most dangerous
patch of all in which to report the news. The violence here has gone
off the charts, with at least nine journalists killed in the past year
and a half.
Veracruz, with prime drug and migrant trafficking routes crisscrossing
the state, plus a busy port on the Gulf of Mexico known for smuggling
contraband, has erupted into a battleground, as two of the most powerful
organized crime groups, the Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel, fight for
dominance.
Read moreMay 4, 2012
3 Mexico journalists slain, dumped in bags in drug gang-plagued Veracruz
CBS News: "Three photojournalists who covered the perilous crime beat in the violence-torn eastern Mexico state of Veracruz were found slain and dumped in plastic bags in a canal on Thursday, less than a week after a reporter for an investigative newsmagazine was beaten and strangled in her home in the same state.
Press freedom groups said all three photographers had temporarily fled the state after receiving threats last year. The organizations called for immediate government action to halt a wave of attacks that has killed at least seven current and former reporters and photographers in Veracruz over the last 18 months.
Like most of those slain, the men found Thursday had been among the few journalists left working on crime-related stories in the state. Threats and killings have spawned an atmosphere of terror and self-censorship among the journalists of Veracruz, leaving most local media outlets too intimidated to report on drug-related violence. Social media and blogs are often the only outlets reporting on serious crime." read more
Press freedom groups said all three photographers had temporarily fled the state after receiving threats last year. The organizations called for immediate government action to halt a wave of attacks that has killed at least seven current and former reporters and photographers in Veracruz over the last 18 months.
Like most of those slain, the men found Thursday had been among the few journalists left working on crime-related stories in the state. Threats and killings have spawned an atmosphere of terror and self-censorship among the journalists of Veracruz, leaving most local media outlets too intimidated to report on drug-related violence. Social media and blogs are often the only outlets reporting on serious crime." read more
Apr 29, 2012
Reporter for Mexican magazine killed
latimes.com: "A reporter for a muckraking newsweekly magazine in Mexico was found dead in her home Saturday, apparently beaten and strangled, authorities said.
The journalist, Regina Martinez, covered crime and drug trafficking for Proceso magazine in the gulf state of Veracruz, where authorities said her body was found in the bathroom of her home in Xalapa, the capital. The magazine is known for high-profile coverage of narco-related crime and corruption.
State officials in Veracruz said police went to the house after receiving a telephone call. Martinez’s body showed signs of blows to the face and body and she appeared to have died of strangulation, the state prosecutor’s office said in a statement. read more
The journalist, Regina Martinez, covered crime and drug trafficking for Proceso magazine in the gulf state of Veracruz, where authorities said her body was found in the bathroom of her home in Xalapa, the capital. The magazine is known for high-profile coverage of narco-related crime and corruption.
State officials in Veracruz said police went to the house after receiving a telephone call. Martinez’s body showed signs of blows to the face and body and she appeared to have died of strangulation, the state prosecutor’s office said in a statement. read more
Apr 19, 2012
Mexican army detains Gulf coast mayor with drug suspects
The Washington Post: Mexico’s army says troops have detained a small-town mayor in the company of heavily armed drug cartel gunmen, leaving the ruling party officials scrambling to distance themselves from a man who had run for office on their ticket.
The Defense Department said late Wednesday that soldiers detained Chinameca Mayor Martin Padua on Tuesday along with five alleged members of the Zetas drug cartel carrying rifles and hand grenades. read more
The Defense Department said late Wednesday that soldiers detained Chinameca Mayor Martin Padua on Tuesday along with five alleged members of the Zetas drug cartel carrying rifles and hand grenades. read more
Mar 26, 2012
Mexican police kill Zetas cartel lieutenant
The Sacramento Bee: "Mexican police say they have killed a leader of the hyper-violent Zetas drug cartel in the border state of Tamaulipas during a gun battle in the neighboring state of Veracruz.
Federal police say suspect Enrique Delgado Fraire and one of his bodyguards were killed in the shootout with police, and eight others were arrested.
Police say Delgado Fraire helped break 53 inmates out of jail in the northern state of Zacatecas in 2009. In that incident, a convoy of gunmen drove into the prison and sprang their colleagues, as guards stood by." read more
Federal police say suspect Enrique Delgado Fraire and one of his bodyguards were killed in the shootout with police, and eight others were arrested.
Police say Delgado Fraire helped break 53 inmates out of jail in the northern state of Zacatecas in 2009. In that incident, a convoy of gunmen drove into the prison and sprang their colleagues, as guards stood by." read more
Feb 28, 2012
Mexico Crime: Four Bodies found in SUV in Veracruz
La Jornada- "Government sources have reported that four lifeless bodies have been found inside a SUV in the Veracruz neighborhood of Ampliación las Bajadas.
According to primary reports, at about 12:00PM on Tuesday, the Naval Police received word that a white Ford Explorer had been abandoned on the corner of Calle Siete and Zapata in Veracruz.
According to primary reports, at about 12:00PM on Tuesday, the Naval Police received word that a white Ford Explorer had been abandoned on the corner of Calle Siete and Zapata in Veracruz.
Members of the federal police force arrived at the scene, cordoning off the area, while local authorities performed the standard crime scene procedures.
Forensics officers transported the bodies to the coroner for autopsies that will attempt to determine the cause of death and the identification of the victims." Spanish original
Forensics officers transported the bodies to the coroner for autopsies that will attempt to determine the cause of death and the identification of the victims." Spanish original
Feb 10, 2012
Human Rights Violations: 30 femicides in Veracruz since August of last year
Milenio: "From August 29, 2011 to February 8 of this year, in Veracruz state 30 femicides have been counted, said the director of the Collective for Research, Development and Education for Women (ICW), Mayela Garcia Ramirez. Since the adoption of the amendments to the Penal Code by which Veracruz established the legal concept of femicide, there have been 30 cases, so it is urgent that the authorities work to prevent this crime and the daily increase in the number of victims." Spanish original
Globalization--NAFTA: From Veracruz to North Carolina
CIP Americas: "Less than half a mile from Fausto Limon’s house is one of the many pig farms built by Granjas Carroll de Mexico (GCM) in the Perote Valley, a high, arid, volcano-rimmed basin straddling the Mexican states of Veracruz and Puebla. “Before the pig farms came, they said they would bring jobs,” Limon remembers. “But then we found out the reality. Yes, there were jobs, but they also brought a lot of contamination.”
David Torres, a Perote native who spent eight years in the operation’s maternity section, estimates that GCM has 80 complexes, each with as many as 20,000 hogs. The sheds look clean and modern. “When I went to work there, I could see the company was completely mechanized,” Torres says.
But in back of each complex is a large oxidation pond for the hogs’ urine and excrement. On a recent drive through the valley, only one of several dozen was covered. “Granjas Carroll doesn’t use concrete or membranes under their ponds,” Torres charges, “so the water table is getting contaminated. People here get their water from wells, which are surrounded by pig farms and oxidation ponds.”" read more
David Torres, a Perote native who spent eight years in the operation’s maternity section, estimates that GCM has 80 complexes, each with as many as 20,000 hogs. The sheds look clean and modern. “When I went to work there, I could see the company was completely mechanized,” Torres says.
But in back of each complex is a large oxidation pond for the hogs’ urine and excrement. On a recent drive through the valley, only one of several dozen was covered. “Granjas Carroll doesn’t use concrete or membranes under their ponds,” Torres charges, “so the water table is getting contaminated. People here get their water from wells, which are surrounded by pig farms and oxidation ponds.”" read more
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