Frontera NorteSur
October 2001

November 5, 2001
Central Americans Detained in Northwest Chihuahua

An Instituto Nacional de Migración (National Migration Institute, INM) operation resulted in the detention of 62 undocumented migrants in northwest Chihuahua. The operation began on Friday, November 2, 2001 at 5:00 a.m. and was carried out by 13 INM officers. All of those arrested were originally from Central American nations. The operation was ordered by the Chihuahua head of the INM, Adalberto Balderrama.

In the area between cities like Janos, Casas Grandes and Buenaventura, the agents searched for undocumented migrants in hotels, restaurants and some private homes where undocumented migrants are known to stay. The INM officers also looked for undocumented migrants that were traveling highways and other roads in the area.

Thirty-four of the 62 undocumented migrants were discovered in hotels. The rest were detained while traveling on trucks of foreign origin.

Balderrama said that those detained may be sent back to their countries of origin as early as Monday, November 5, 2001.

Source: El Diario, November 5, 2001. Article by Pedro Torres.

October 31, 2001
Another New Police Chief for Juárez, Military to Guard Maquiladoras

Late in the week of October 22, 2001, the interim mayor of Ciudad Juárez, José Reyes Ferrer announced that Guillermo Prieto Quintana would replace Ramón Domínguez Perea as head of the city police department. Reyes explained the change by saying that Domínguez was more of an administrator than an operations person and that the job, on closer examination, required someone with operational strengths.

Guillermo Prieto Quintana, the new city police director, previously held the position during the administration of Mayor Jesús Macías Delgado (1989-1992). Domínguez described Prieto as "a career police officer" and mentioned that there was only one robbery of a Cd. Juárez bank--which was solved in just a few hours--during Prieto's previous administration.

Domínguez, who was the head of the Cd. Juárez police for less than three weeks, ordered drug testing of most police officers and fired 77 of them for failing a series of drug tests. Domínguez also had social workers inspect the homes of police captains to make sure they were living within their means. The social workers also interviewed the captains' neighbors to see how the men interacted with them.

After announcing the change in police directors, Reyes asked Domínguez to be his personal advisor and the City Council's representative to the Instituto Municipal de Seguridad (Municipal Security Institute). Prior to running the Cd. Juárez police department, Domínguez had a career in federal law enforcement and intelligence.

Prieto, the new police director, began his law enforcement career in Cd. Juárez in 1972 with the city police. Later, he advanced through the state police.

Talking about the on-going investigation of the city's police captains, Prieto told the Cd. Juárez newspaper El Norte on October 28, 2001 that he was not watching anyone in particular at this time for signs of corruption. However, he stated that he had indicated what captains were supposed to be working on and if any of them did something wrong he would fire them.

In a separate story, Juan Carlos Olivares Ramos, the director of the Asociación de Maquiladoras (Maquiladora Association, AMAC), told the Cd. Juárez newspaper El Diario that Mexican Army units will guard the city's high-technology maquiladoras against terrorist attacks. AMAC and the local Army general, Armando Arturo Núñez Cabrera, will decide which companies will receive this protection. Olivares also stated that the Army is developing prevention and response strategies to incidents that could endanger industries and their workers.

Sources: El Diario, October 27 & 30, 2001. Articles by Horacio Carrasco and Rocío Gallegos.
El Norte, October 29, 2001. Article by Juan de Dios Oliva.

October 25, 2001
Juárez Police to Patrol Maquiladora Workers' Transportation Routes

After a series of meetings between the Ciudad Juárez police and the Asociación de Maquiladoras (AMAC), Ramón Domínguez Perea, the new city police director, announced that his force will change its patrol routes so as to better cover the routes and bus stops that maquiladora workers use to get to work.

On October 11, the day that Domínguez took over the city police, Claudia Ivette González, age 20 and a maquiladora worker, was reported missing. González was last seen leaving the maquiladora where she worked. She had arrived late to work that afternoon and was not permitted into the plant. She had a six block walk to her bus stop from the maquiladora.

Since 1993, nearly 300 Cd. Juárez women have been found after being raped and murdered. Many of these young women were maquiladora workers.

Domínguez also announced that parents should not take their children to El Paso for trick-or-treating because, "the neighboring country is at war." Typically, many Cd. Juárez families go to El Paso to participate in Halloween. Domínguez also said that parents should only take their children to homes they know to be safe.

Sources: El Norte, October 24, 2001. Article by Juan de Dios Oliva.
El Diario, October 25, 2001. Article by Alejandro Quintero.

October 23, 2001
Two Children Die from Carbon Monoxide while Waiting to Cross to US

Late Sunday night, October 21, Erika Valenzuela, age 13, and her brother Daniel Valenzuela, age 6, died from carbon monoxide asphyxiation in the covered back of their parents' pickup truck. The truck was stuck in traffic for approximately 90 minutes while waiting to cross the Zaragoza bridge into El Paso from Ciudad Juárez, according to the Cd. Juárez newspaper El Diario. The deaths have been ruled accidental and are attributed to carbon monoxide having entered the truck through holes rusted in its bed. The long wait on the bridge may have been due in part to heightened security at the US border.

The children's parents found the Erika and Daniel unresponsive in the back of their truck when they arrived to their El Paso home. They called an ambulance but the children were pronounced dead upon arriving at the hospital. Francisco Valenzuela, the children's father, said that he had left a window open in the camper. The couple's other daughter, age 7, survived because she was upfront in the truck's passenger cabin.

While at the port of entry to the US, the agent on duty there decided to let the children continue sleeping when he inspected the car. El Diario reported that the agent did not attempt to awaken the children.

Speaking about the deaths, INS spokesperson Leticia Zamarripa told El Diario, "This is a tragedy. We recognize it."

However, Zamarripa expressed that the INS has to help guarantee national security because of the current crisis. She also told El Diario that the death of the children will not change recent federal policies.

Source: El Diario, October 23, 2001. Article by R. Terrazas, R. Gallegos & L. Sosa.

October 19, 2001
Seventy-Seven Juárez Police Agents Fired after Failing Drug Tests

Seventy-seven Ciudad Juárez police agents were fired after they failed a second round of drug tests.

New city police director Ramón Domínguez Perea ordered the drug testing of all city police agents within hours of entering office on October 11, 2001. Approximately 1,500 agents were tested. Five hundred agents that work weekends or have special assignments were not tested.

Of the 77 agents, the Cd. Juárez newspaper El Diario reported that 30 tested positive for cocaine, 35 tested positive for methamphetamines and 11 tested positive for anti-anxiety drugs and tranquilizers (benzodiazepines).

José Reyes Ferriz, the new Cd. Juárez interim mayor, said that the city will not launch investigations into the fired officers. However, as in the case of all retired, resigned or fired law-enforcement officers, the names of the agents and the reason for their firing will be sent to a Mexico City database maintained by the Secretaría de Gobernación.

On October 18, 2001, Cd. Juárez police director Domínguez said that in an effort to rid the police force of corrupt elements, there will be an investigation of the lifestyles of all agents. Specifically, the Internal Affairs department will go to agents' homes to see if agents are living beyond their means.

The Cd. Juárez newspaper El Norte reports that it is well known that some agents live in luxurious homes that are well beyond the purchasing power of their incomes. The average city police agent earns about the equivalent of US$300 per month.

Sources: El Diario, October 19, 2001. Article by Horacio Carrasco and Alejandro Quintero.
El Norte, October 18, 2001. Article by Juan de Dios Oliva.

October 16, 2001
Cd. Juárez-El Paso Health and Environmental News

The El Paso Times reports that US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has said that he will make a strong effort to get $25 million from the US Congress for border health programs. Thompson and Julio Frenk Mora, the Mexican Secretary of Health, are in El Paso where they are co-chairs of the US-Mexico Border Health Commission. Tuberculosis, AIDS and diabetes are among the health problems being discussed by the commission, according to the El Paso Times.

Gonzalo Bravo of the Comisión de Cooperación Ecológica Fronteriza (Border Environment Cooperation Commission, COCEF) told the Ciudad Juárez newspaper El Diario that US$3.4 billion in financing is necessary to save delayed US-Mexico border environmental projects. Bravo said that border-wide needs include projects in the areas of drinking water, sewage and solid-waste management.

Of the US$3.4 billion, US$1.384 billion are required for Mexican projects in the areas of sanitation, drinking water and solid waste disposal, according to Bravo. US border-county environmental projects need nearly US$2 billion in financing.

Finally, on October 10, 2001, El Diario also reported that the illegal shipment of Freon to the US has been in a steady decline for years. Freon, a refrigerant, is a source of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and is a threat to the ozone layer. It has been banned from production and use in the US since January 1, 1996.

El Diario quotes US Customs, El Paso-area spokesperson Roger Maier as stating that in 1998 area Customs agents decommisioned 13 Freon shipments. In 1999, Customs seized 5 shipments of the refrigerant. Last year there were 3 seizures of Freon and this year there have been none, according to Maier.

Sources: El Diario, October 10 & 15, 2001. Articles by Rubén Terrazas & Miguel Gallardo.
El Paso Times, October 16, 2001. Article by Tammy Fonce-Olivas.

October 11, 2001
PRI Returns to Power in Ciudad Juárez for First Time in Nine Years

Due to the annulment of the July 2, 2001 election which would have given the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) its fourth consecutive win in a Ciudad Juárez mayoral race, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional has returned to power in that city for the first time in nine years. The interim Cd. Juárez mayor is José Reyes Ferriz, a lawyer and son of a former Cd. Juárez mayor. Reyes was elected to the position by the PRI-controlled Chihuahua Congress and was one of three names proposed to the Congress by Chihuahua Governor and PRI politician Patricio Martínez.

New mayoral elections must be held within six months. The cost of the elections could be as high as 45 million pesos (approximately US$4.7 million).

A number of city cabinet positions and offices have already been filled with PRI appointees. The most significant of these announcements until this time has been the appointment of Ramón Domínguez Perea as the head of city police. Domínguez, who had a previous career in federal law enforcement and intelligence, replaces Jorge Ostos Castillo.

Upon entering office, Domínguez was quick to announce that he would clean up the city police force. In recent weeks the police department has been shaken by the disappearance of two police captains. According to stories in the Cd. Juárez newspaper El Diario at least one of these officers may have had some sort of relationship with the city's major heroin ring.

Source: El Diario, October 11, 2001.

October 9, 2001
Juárez Elections Annulled, Interim City Government to be Appointed

With a 4-3 vote, a federal election court in Mexico City (Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación) upheld an August 20, 2001, Chihuahua election court decision to annul the July 2, 2001 Ciudad Juárez city election. The Partido Acción Nacional (National Action Party, PAN) candidate Jesús Alfredo Delgado Muñoz had won that election by a wide margin. His election would have been the PAN's fourth consecutive win in the city.

An interim mayor is to be appointed Wednesday, October 9, 2001 by the Chihuahua Congress. It is expected that a member of the PRI will be chosen to fill that post as the Chihuahua Congress is controlled by the PRI. New elections will be held within six months at a cost of 45 million pesos (approximately US$4.7 million).

The four members of the federal court that voted to uphold the annulment said that they hold current Cd. Juárez Mayor Gustavo Elizondo responsible for the situation. Both courts found that Elizondo campaigned during a pre-vote period of reflection in which there was to be no more campaigning before the election. The members of the court also found other election irregularities including city-directed police interference with voters and PRI representatives on the day of the election.

El Diario also reported that high-ranking members of the PAN city government where seen vacating their offices on the night of October 8, 2001. Elizondo's government and term ends on October 10.

Source: El Diario, October 9, 2001. Articles by César Cruz Sáenz, J.M. Cruz & C. Coria.

October 1, 2001
Border Crossing Cards Known as "Micas" Expire

The old border crossing cards known as "micas" expired on Sunday, September 30, 2001. The cards have been replaced by biometric cards commonly known as "laser visas."

City officials in both countries fear traffic flow problems on October 1 when Mexican drivers may arrive at US points of entry only to be told they can no longer enter the US on their old documents. Indeed, one lane on the Paso del Norte bridge into El Paso from Ciudad Juárez has been reserved for return traffic, according to the Ciudad Juárez newspaper, El Diario.

US business owners are worried that many Mexican shoppers will not be able to enter the US. Business is already off on both sides of the border following the September 11 attack on the US. Since then tighter security measures at US ports of entry have meant waits of up to two to three hours despite a drop in crossing traffic. Many consumers appear to be unwilling to put up with such waits.

For weeks the border press has speculated that there would be no mica extension because of the September 11 attack on the US. However, some US politicians are still pressing for an extension, according to El Diario.

El Diario also reports that in the state of Chihuahua there over 500,000 micas that have not been replaced with laser visas.

The new laser visas are valid for ten years and allow people to travel up to 40 kilometers into the US for periods of up to three days. The new visa costs US$45.

Source: El Diario, October 1, 2001. Article by Lorena Figueroa.

September 24, 2001
Three Hour Waits to Cross from Juárez into El Paso, Stores in Both Cities Affected

According to Mexico's Caminos y Puentes Federales (Federal Highways and Bridges, Capufe), border crossers had waits of between 2 1/2 and 3 hours to enter El Paso from Ciudad Juárez on Sunday, September 23, 2001. The long lines at the bridges are due to increased inspection times at the US ports of entry. Heightened security procedures have been in place at the bridges since the September 11 attack on the US. On Sunday, lines of vehicles extended from the bridges far into downtown Cd. Juárez despite a 50% drop in bridge traffic since September 11.

Capufe said that while vehicular traffic is down at the international bridges, pedestrian traffic has increased 20%. On an average day, 18,000 people walk across the bridges that connect the city. Recently, 21,000 people per day travel on foot between the El Paso and Cd. Juárez.

Due to the decline in border crossers because of the fall off in vehicle traffic, Capufe stated that it has lost 85,328 pesos (approximately US$9,000) per day in bridge toll money between September 11 and September 21.

Articles in the El Paso Times and the Cd. Juárez newspaper El Diario have reported a drop in sales at downtown stores in both El Paso and Cd. Juárez. In the Cd. Juárez Avenida-Juárez area which caters to tourists and El Paso residents, store owners say that business is off 90-99%. Comprised of bars, restaurants, pharmacies and shops that sell artisanal goods, the area was vacant of buyers over the past weekend. One store owner said that business is worse than ever before, worse even than in bad recessions.

While shoppers are avoiding border crossings, illegal immigration seems to be more or less unchanged between the US and Mexico. Méxicali's newspaper La Crónica wrote that a Beta official stated that the number of daily attempts to cross the border has not changed following the events of September 11. Beta is a migrant protection and rescue organization.

On September 24, Doug Mosier, the Border Patrol public affairs officer for the El Paso sector, told Frontera NorteSur that the number of apprehensions in the sector since September 11 has remained steady at the sector average of 200-300 apprehensions per day. The Border Patrol's El Paso sector includes all of New Mexico and the Texas counties of El Paso and Hudspeth.

Source: El Diario, September 23 & 24, 2001. Articles by Rosario Reyes and Gabriela Minjáres. La Crónica (Méxicali), September 18, 2001. Article by Héctor Peralta.

September 21, 2001
Arab Residents of Chihuahua City under Investigation

A joint investigation of Chihuahua City residents who are citizens of Arab states is being conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Migración (National Migration Institute, INM) and the Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado (State Attorney General's Office, PGJE), according to an article in the Ciudad Juárez newspaper, El Diario. A national intelligence organization, the Centro de Inteligencia y Seguridad Nacional (National Security and Intelligence Center, Cisen), is also gathering information about people from Arab nations that reside in Chihuahua City.

The joint INM-PGJE operation, known as "Milenio" (Millennium), is being coordinated by the PGJE. PGJE authorities told El Diario that since the September 11 attacks against the US, the PGJE has not detected the presence of any alleged Islamic terrorists in the state.

Braulio Gutíerrez Almuina, state director of the INM, said that as part of Operation Milenio his agents will watch people of Arab origin to obtain information about their activities in Mexico. He said their rights will not be affected.

A Cisen source that El Diario would not name told the newspaper that it was investigating post cards that were sent to a mosque in Saltillo, Coahuila from Chihuahua City. Cisen is also looking for at least two people from Pakistan that were walking the streets of the city selling artisanal goods last week. Cisen wants to locate them and find out the motives for their stay in Mexico.

In addition to the above mentioned investigations, Cisen is also gathering information about all Chihuahua City residents from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and other countries.

Source: El Diario, September 21, 2001. Carlos Coria Rivas.

September 12, 2001
US-Mexico Border Open but on Level One Alert, Port Delays Expected
by Greg Bloom, FNS Editor

The US-Mexico international ports of entry remain open according to an INS spokesperson interviewed on Wednesday, September 12, 2001. However, the border remains on the Level One alert that was initiated yesterday after the hijacking of four airliners and attacks against the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. INS describes Level One procedures as a "sustained, intensive, anti-terrorism operation."

Yesterday, September 11, in the hours after the attacks, major national and local news media stated that the US borders with Mexico and Canada had been closed. Customs Service and INS officials later described these statements as "totally inaccurate."

Due to the implementation of Level One inspection procedures, INS advises that border crossers should expect delays at least twice as long as normal in crossing the border.

Local Reactions

About the attacks against the US, the Mexican Consul to El Paso, Antonio Meza Estrada, told the El Paso Times, "The Mexican government wishes to express its solidarity with the United States and to reprove this kind of terroristic violence."

Out of respect for the US in a time of mourning, Consul Meza also told the El Paso Times that, under orders from Mexican President Vicente Fox, Mexico was withdrawing from its participation in 16 de septiembre (Mexican independence) celebrations in the US.

Communities like Mesilla, New Mexico, a small, historic, predominantly Mexican-American community in southern New Mexico, have canceled this year's 16 de septiembre celebrations and will not reschedule them.

The El Paso Independent School District and the Ysleta Independent School District, also in El Paso, are on a normal school schedule the day after the attacks. The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has also announced that, "Consistent with a directive from the Office of the Governor and the University of Texas System, until further notice, all UTEP business, including classes, will be conducted on a regular schedule."

September 11, 2001
US Borders Still Open After Attacks on NYC & DC
by Greg Bloom, FNS Editor

International border crossings in El Paso, TX and Santa Teresa, NM are open and have been open all day despite widespread reports on major television and radio news networks stating that the US border with Mexico has been closed. Major media sources stated that the US borders with Mexico and Canada were closed after the hijacking of four airliners and attacks against the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

Enrique Ray, an Assistant Public Affairs officer in the INS El Paso office, said that major media reports describing the closure of the US-Mexico border are "totally inaccurate." While Ray could not confirm if some ports had been closed on the border between the two nations, he said that all of El Paso's international bridges are still open to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Ray said that he has heard no discussion of closing the ports although he did say that travelers should expect delays twice as long as usual.

An INS Public Affairs officer in Washington DC said that the US's northern and southwestern borders remain open but are on a Level 1 Alert which is a, "sustained, intensive, anti-terrorism operation."

Jim Coleman of the New Mexico Border Authority said that there are "normal operations" at the Santa Teresa, New Mexico port which is approximately fifteen miles from El Paso, TX.

Doug Mosier, the Public Affairs officer for the US Border Patrol's El Paso Sector, said that Border Patrol action in the field continues the same as ever with 24-hour patrols. As far as apprehensions are concerned he said that it was, "business as usual." However, the El Paso Sector compound is on a "heightened state of alert," Mosier stated. The Border Patrol's El Paso Sector is responsible for the state of New Mexico and the two western-most Texas counties, Hudspeth and El Paso.

The Federal Building in downtown El Paso, only a few blocks from the US-Mexico border was still open as of noon today, September 11. Calls to the Federal Protective Services, which is allegedly responsible for the building, were not returned.

Many city buildings and city offices in El Paso, Texas have been closed for non-essential business according to a city website.

In New York City, both 110-story buildings at the World Trade Center were each hit by one presumably hijacked airliner. The towers later collapsed and some estimates predict as many as 10,000 casualties although the actual figure could vary significantly.

Another plane struck the Pentagon in Washington D.C. There have been no estimates on casualties there. A fourth plane crashed near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.