News Week Español (Translated by Americas Program): Since former President Felipe Calderon launched the war against drug cartels, 209 soldiers have died in armed clashes, and 1,760--from privates to corporals, second and first sergeants, lieutenants and colonels-- have been wounded in shootings. In some cases, they have been discharged from the the Mexican Army due to the severity of injuries.
From January 11, 2007-just 41 days after Calderon of the PAN took control of the country from Vicente Fox--to October 2, 2014, there have been 3,520 clashes with members of criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking , extortion, kidnapping and exploitation for sexual and labor purposes.
In just the first 10 months of this year, according to information from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), 234 battles left 15 military elements dead. The latest was a death in San Martín Hidalgo, Jalisco, on September 24, when a convoy of armed men opened fire and in the exchange of fire also killed four of the attackers. Another occurred in Mier, Tamaulipas, where there is dispute over control of the plaza (trafficking route) between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, Sept. 17. Two incidents took place in Tepehuanes, Durango, when an ambush and subsequent confrontation occurred between military and probable drug traffickers in the Guanaceví neighborhood.
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 deaths. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deaths. Show all posts
Dec 18, 2014
Apr 11, 2013
Mexico: Government Says Murders Tied to Organized Crime Have Fallen
The NY Times
By Randal C. Archibold
April 10, 2013
Mexico City - The new government here, which has complained that Mexico’s image has been sullied by persistent reports of violent crime, presented data on Wednesday that it said showed that murders related to organized crime had dropped sharply.
Though analysts raised concerns about how the information was compiled, the government said that since Dec. 1, when President Enrique Peña Nieto took office, there had been 4,249 homicides that bore the markings of organized crime. That was down 685, or about 14 percent, from the 4,934 over the same period a year earlier.
The government said it also had seized more marijuana and cocaine in the more recent period and reported a drop in kidnappings, but it did not release data on extortion, another crime often associated with criminal gangs.
Analysts questioned the criminal data, particularly homicides classified as related to organized crime. Though vetted by the federal government, much of that data originally comes from the 31 states and federal district, with inconsistent or misreporting of cases and subjective criteria on what constitutes a cartel-related crime.
By Randal C. Archibold
April 10, 2013
Mexico City - The new government here, which has complained that Mexico’s image has been sullied by persistent reports of violent crime, presented data on Wednesday that it said showed that murders related to organized crime had dropped sharply.
Though analysts raised concerns about how the information was compiled, the government said that since Dec. 1, when President Enrique Peña Nieto took office, there had been 4,249 homicides that bore the markings of organized crime. That was down 685, or about 14 percent, from the 4,934 over the same period a year earlier.
The government said it also had seized more marijuana and cocaine in the more recent period and reported a drop in kidnappings, but it did not release data on extortion, another crime often associated with criminal gangs.
Analysts questioned the criminal data, particularly homicides classified as related to organized crime. Though vetted by the federal government, much of that data originally comes from the 31 states and federal district, with inconsistent or misreporting of cases and subjective criteria on what constitutes a cartel-related crime.
Oct 5, 2012
Mexico deploys forces after murder of politician’s son near border with US
AP: CIUDAD ACUNA, Mexico — The Mexican government dispatched troops, federal police and criminal investigators to a violence-torn state on the U.S. border on Thursday after the assassination of the governor’s nephew sent tremors through one of Coahuila’s most powerful political families.
Jose Eduardo Moreira, a 25-year-old state employee, was found shot to death Wednesday night on a rural road outside the town of Ciudad Acuna, across the border from Del Rio, Texas. The victim’s father, Humberto, was the state’s previous governor and also served as head of the party that won this year’s presidential elections, though he was forced out last year amid accusations of mismanaging Coahuila’s finances. Read more.
Jose Eduardo Moreira, a 25-year-old state employee, was found shot to death Wednesday night on a rural road outside the town of Ciudad Acuna, across the border from Del Rio, Texas. The victim’s father, Humberto, was the state’s previous governor and also served as head of the party that won this year’s presidential elections, though he was forced out last year amid accusations of mismanaging Coahuila’s finances. Read more.
Jun 12, 2012
2 political figures shot to death in Mexico
A state assembly candidate in the state of Guerrero and a PAN supporter in Chiapas have both been killed, marking the upcoming elections with violence.
Associated Press: TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico -- A candidate for a state assembly seat was shot to death Monday in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, and a supporter of President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party died of a gunshot wound in the southern state of Chiapas, marring the campaign for Mexico's July 1 national elections with bloodshed.
The presidential and state races had been peaceful until now. Read more.
Jul 23, 2008
Border activist on trial for leaving water for migrants
This is taken from the press release today
"Trial for Border Volunteer, Cited for Littering while Picking Up Trash"
A humanitarian aid volunteer goes to federal court Friday over a littering
citation received while picking up trash along the Arizona – Mexico
border. No More Deaths volunteer Dan Millis, 29, has entered a plea of
not guilty to the Class B Misdemeanor offense of littering on a National
Wildlife Refuge. He faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or
$5,000 in fines.
The trial is this Friday, July 25, at 9:30 a.m., at the DeConcini federal
courthouse, 405 W. Congress, in Tucson. A press conference will be held
in front of the courthouse at noon or immediately following the trial.
Millis and three other humanitarian aid volunteers were picking up trash
and leaving jugs of drinking water along border trails in Brown Canyon
north of Sasabe on February 22, 2008, when they were confronted by U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement. Officers informed volunteers that they
could neither leave water nor recover trash without proper permits, and
Millis was presented with a $175 ticket for littering.
“I felt especially compelled to leave drinking water out that day, because
only two days earlier I found the body of a young girl in the desert. She
was only fourteen,” states Millis. “It was heartbreaking.”
238 migrants were found dead in the Arizona borderlands during the 2007
fiscal year. During the summer of 2007, No More Deaths encountered 388
migrants along the Arizona – Mexico border, including twenty seven women,
fourteen children, and one pregnant seventeen-year-old. Many required
serious medical attention. No More Deaths has been working to provide
humanitarian aid to people along the border since 2004, including the
Brown Canyon area where Millis was cited.
For more information, please visit www.nomoredeaths.org, write us at
action@nomoredeaths.org, or (928) 821-0331.
"Trial for Border Volunteer, Cited for Littering while Picking Up Trash"
A humanitarian aid volunteer goes to federal court Friday over a littering
citation received while picking up trash along the Arizona – Mexico
border. No More Deaths volunteer Dan Millis, 29, has entered a plea of
not guilty to the Class B Misdemeanor offense of littering on a National
Wildlife Refuge. He faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or
$5,000 in fines.
The trial is this Friday, July 25, at 9:30 a.m., at the DeConcini federal
courthouse, 405 W. Congress, in Tucson. A press conference will be held
in front of the courthouse at noon or immediately following the trial.
Millis and three other humanitarian aid volunteers were picking up trash
and leaving jugs of drinking water along border trails in Brown Canyon
north of Sasabe on February 22, 2008, when they were confronted by U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement. Officers informed volunteers that they
could neither leave water nor recover trash without proper permits, and
Millis was presented with a $175 ticket for littering.
“I felt especially compelled to leave drinking water out that day, because
only two days earlier I found the body of a young girl in the desert. She
was only fourteen,” states Millis. “It was heartbreaking.”
238 migrants were found dead in the Arizona borderlands during the 2007
fiscal year. During the summer of 2007, No More Deaths encountered 388
migrants along the Arizona – Mexico border, including twenty seven women,
fourteen children, and one pregnant seventeen-year-old. Many required
serious medical attention. No More Deaths has been working to provide
humanitarian aid to people along the border since 2004, including the
Brown Canyon area where Millis was cited.
For more information, please visit www.nomoredeaths.org, write us at
action@nomoredeaths.org, or (928) 821-0331.
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