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Frontera
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Updated Every Weekday |
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January 31, 2001 A Department of Health spokesperson said that in the Mutual Help Groups diabetics will hear talks about nutrition, exercise, personal care and other subjects. There are currently 29 of these groups across the state. January 29, 2001 Yesterday, for the twelfth consecutive day, California was again on maximum alert because the state's energy reserve had dipped below 1.5%. By adding almost another 1% of the state's power needs to its electrical grid, the Mexican power contribution may help the state avoid the rolling blackouts that were necessary last week. California governor Gray Davis thanked Mexico and those involved
in its power industry for agreeing to sell electricity to his
state. January 25, 2001 The program will consist of two parts, one academic and one business related. The academic part of the agreement will consist of the development of training and research programs as well as a cultural exchange between the two nations. As part of the program's academic side UABC experts will make two training trips to Honduras and UNAH staff will go to UABC. UABC will also offer postgraduate education and instructor training. A yearly forum for accounting and administration will also be organized by UABC. The business side of the agreement will include a commitment to advise micro, small and medium-sized business and entrepreneurs. The program is called Organización y Formación Académica para la Asistencia Técnica a Pequeñas Empresas. Sonia Yolanda Lugo Morones, the director of the Facultad de Economía, will head the program at UABC. January 23, 2001 The two-page document, signed by Raúl Ramírez Baena, head of the PDHBC, complains that Tijuana residents were not consulted about the deployment of PFP agents in the city and that they did not learn of the operation until they read about it in the press. Ramírez stated that from a human-rights point of view, the excess force that is seen on Tijuana streets does not correspond to expectations that were created in public security discussions. Ramírez also maintains that the deployment of PFP elements generates an environment of psychosis, fear and uncertainty among Tijuana residents, especially among those who are searched in public or who have their homes searched. Also pointed out in the letter of protest is that Mexico has chosen dialogue and the path of democracy with which to resolve differences and conflicts. Human rights and civil groups should not be ignored when considering public security, he wrote. Ramírez noted that the present public-security scenario is ripe for human-rights violations and that since the country is not at war, a police state and an environment of militarization cannot be justified. It should be noted that Ramírez has written on human-rights
subjects for FNS. To see his articles go to: January 19, 2001 Group coordinator for Beta in Tecate, Baja California, Gabriel Arias Ochoa stated that during operations in the Cuesta de La Rumorosa area Beta agents saw a suspicious-looking group of people. After interrogating them they discovered that Silverio Serrano Guevara, age 21, from Oaxaca, was allegedly trying to cross three women and four men to the US. Serrano was given by Beta to the Agencia del Ministerio Público and charged with violating Article 138 of the Ley General de Población. The seven migrants later told Beta that their final destination was Los Angeles, California. In another event Beta agents rescued a group of 20 migrants, including a pregnant woman, that was lost in the desert, also in the Cuesta de La Rumorosa area. Agents said that the group, led by its "polleros" was crossing into the US when it encountered Border Patrol agents. The group then went back into Mexico where it was abandoned by the polleros. Once again the group tried to cross to the US but again encountered Border Patrol agents and returned to Mexico. At this point the group was walking lost in the desert until it was discovered by Beta agents. The pregnant woman in the group was sent by Beta to the Red Cross because she complained of not feeling well due to the hours she had spent walking in the desert. January 17, 2001 FIC Project Coordinator Jacinto Astiazarán said that the new organization will promote innovative programs and will systematically support education, health, environmental protection, sports programs, cultural projects and economic and community development. Astiazarán also stated that the foundation will drive the development of NGO's in Baja California. The FIC will act as a conduit for individuals, companies and foundations to give to non-profit organizations in a structured manner. Donors will be able to establish trusteeships (fideicomisos), plan their contributions, sponsor specific projects and measure the impact of their donations all via the FIC. Contributors will also be informed of the social impact of their investments. January 12, 2001 According to PGJE spokesperson Raúl Gutiérrez Anaya, state police initiated the supervision of Tijuana's car lots at the beginning of the year. In the first days of January state police agents looked at a sample of 600 cars that had been impounded at Grúas Parra Corrales and found that 94 of them had been reported as stolen in the second half of the year 2000. Gutiérrez also stated that investigations will continue to determine if pound employees were selling parts of impounded cars at Grúas Parra Corrales or other companies. Inspections at other city pounds will continue throughout
Tijuana for the rest of the month. The funds will go toward finishing El Hongo prison, equipping police agents and buying new equipment as set forth in an agreement between the state and federal government. As soon as the agreement is signed money will begin to arrive to the Baja California. This should happen in late January or early February at the latest. January 8, 2001 Gastélum Buenrostro said that city police are dedicated
to Tijuana, work hard and make arrests. However, the state and
federal police need to begin arresting criminals, he stated.
Gastélum Buenrostro also told Tijuana's Frontera
newspaper that the PJF and the PJE need to start cooperating
in the fight against organized crime. The newspaper also reported that in Tijuana, in the year 2000,
1,192 foreigners were arrested for illegally being in Mexico.
This is an increase of 60% over 1998 when 744 foreigners were
arrested in the city, according to data from the Instituto Nacional
de Migración. 1999 saw the arrest of 924 foreigners. The three second-grade workbooks will deal with themes like, "Our Families," "Our Travels and Camps," "Languages and Cultures of the World," "Travelers, Nations and Civilizations," "Rights and Obligations," among other things. Marcela Ramírez Jordán, project coordinator, stated that the project was designed to offer quality education that deals with the needs, characteristics and lives of young migrant workers. Since 1982 SEP has was worked with migrant populations through diverse programs that are implemented with the direct participation of state authorities without forgetting the mobility and dispersion of these groups throughout the country. December 11, 2000 Osuna told a crowd of 700 supporters that he will run an honest and respectful campaign. If elected governor he said he will make infrastructure development and crime two of his top priorities. He will seek to control electric rates during the summer months, add one hundred kilometers of roads to Tijuana, add more infrastructure to Ensenada and Tecate, and connect Rosarito and Puerto Nuevo with a tourist boulevard. BC was the first state to have a non-PRI governor. This occurred in 1989 when the PAN's Ernesto Ruffo, Fox's current border development czar, was elected BC governor. In 1995 the PAN triumphed again and Héctor Terán Terán was elected governor. Terán died in 1998 and the state congress designated Alejandro González Alcocer also of the PAN to be governor of the state. December 8, 2000 Forty percent of US citizens arrested abroad are arrested in Baja California. According to Richard González, the US consul in Tijuana, of the 5400 US citizens arrested abroad every year, approximately 1800 are arrested in BC. González told the Tijuana Journalists Association (Asociación de Periodistas de Tijuana) that the primary function of diplomatic representation is to protect US citizens that are in trouble in some part of the world. The consul also said that people detained in Baja California are generally well treated. The US consulate in BC also attends to the deaths of 400 US citizens a year in BC. "It falls on us to tell families about the deaths, help arrange funeral services and make inventories of the deceased's belongings," González stated. González also said that INS turns in 5,000 documents a month seized at the San Isidro port of entry to the US. These documents include stolen laser visas and falsified laser visas with superimposed photos. December 5, 2000 Perea, who is also the Secretary of Social Communication for the Evangelical Churches of Mexico, stated that the naming of Javier Moctezuma Barragán as head of Religious Affairs has been well received by Mexican evangelicals. "Moctezuma Barragán belongs to the public sector. He has a liberal background and we hope that he has a balanced administration. While he does not have much experience in religious affairs he does have experience in the public sector," Perea said. Perea also stated that in the Office of Religious Affairs,
part of the Secretaría de Gobernación, there is
a team of people that have been working together since 1992 when
reforms were made to articles 130, 27 and 24 of the Mexican Constitution.
"This team is composed of professional, well-trained people
that have maintained neutrality which has been important in the
development of relations between the church and state,"
Perea stated. The Tijuana Beta group stated that in a 24 hour period it rescued 17 migrants that became lost in different mountainous regions of the area. Gabriel Arias Ochoa, Beta leader, said that while traveling through the Jácume Ejido, Beta located 10 people who were lost along the US-Mexico border. Upon questioning them, the migrants said that they were there because they had been abandoned by the "pollero" who they had paid $700.00 dollars to take them illegally into the United States. The migrants were from Michoacán, Jalisco, Oaxaca, and Mexico City. Among the group were three women who later went to the Casa del Migrante in Tijuana. Beta group members also located seven people who were abandoned in the area known as the Rosa de Castilla, 500 meters north of Tecate, in a canyon one kilometer from the border. They had paid a person to drive them to the point where they were found. This group of migrants originated from Guerrero, Hidalgo, Michoacán and Chiapas, and were found to be dehydrated and without food or water. Ochoa also mentioned that Beta managed to detain an illegal-immigrant smuggler who was transporting 6 migrants through Tecate. The smuggler was identified as Epifanio Cruz Juárez, from the state of Morelos, who revealed that he charged $1,500.00 to each migrant for his services. Their final destination was to be Los Angeles, California. |