Mexico look to clinch World Cup ticket with win against El Salvador

BY PAUL A REID Observer writer

Monday, January 19, 2015    

CATHERINE HALL, St James — Two-time defending champions Mexico could book their place in the FIFA Men’s Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand later this year with a win over second-placed El Salvador in the CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship Group B game at the Montego Bay Sports Complex at 5:30 pm today.

Mexico have won their previous three games to lead Group B on nine points and another win today would give them an unassailable lead and an automatic spot in New Zealand reserved for the group winners.

Canada, who have lost their last two games, including a shocker against El Salvador on Thursday, will seek to revive their hopes when they take on Cuba in the first game set for 3:00 pm, while Honduras and Haiti face off in the 8:00 pm game.

Mexico will be without captain Victor Guzman, who picked up a second yellow card in their bruising 3-0 win over Honduras, and defender Oscar Bernal, who was sent off for lashing out at a Honduras forward.

Hirving Lozano, who has four goals, and Alejandro Diaz, who has three, will be available, however, and they could torment an El Salvador defence that has given up five goals.

El Salvador have improved with every game played, however, and their 3-2 win over Canada, their first ever at this level, would have lifted their confidence a few more notches.

Jose Villavicencio has been their most consistent scorer with three so far and, along Juan Barahona and Andres Flores, could give El Salvador some attacking options.

As proficient as they have been in attack, Mexico are equally good in defence and except for a third-minute goal against Cuba in their first game over a week ago, they have conceded since.

With Mexico running away with the lead, the battle for the two other spots in the play-offs is wide open with four teams all in with at least mathematical chances.

A loss for El Salvador would be good news for Honduras and Canada, who could pass them with wins.

Even with back-to-back losses Canada should be too strong for Cuba, especially if coach Rob Gale decides to start both Jordan Hamilton and Cyle Larin in attack.

Hamilton scored two goals in their opening 3-1 win over Haiti, was held scoreless by Mexico, then got less than 15 minutes off the bench against El Salvador.

Honduras will start favourites against an inconsistent Haiti, who were expected to beat Cuba but ended 2-2.

Honduras’s Albert Elis is due to get back on the scoresheet after being kept out by Mexico last time, while Haiti’s Jonel Desire has shown he has real quality but little support.

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Mexico look to clinch World Cup ticket with win against El Salvador

Panama join Mexico for New Zealand World Cup

CATHERINE HALL, St James — Panama joined Mexico in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup after beating Guatemala 1-0 in their Group A decider at the Montego Bay Sports Complex yesterday to take the second automatic CONCACAF qualifying spot.

A well-placed header from Ismael Diaz in the 65th minute, his fifth of the competition, was enough for the ‘Canaleros’ to qualify for a fifth men’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

Panama won Group A with maximum 15 points and will meet Group B winners Mexico in Saturday’s final to decide the CONCACAF champions.

Guatemala, on 10 points, will get another bite at the cherry when they play a team from Group B in Saturday’s play-offs that will decide the other two CONCACAF places in the World Cup that will be held in New Zealand May-June this year.

It was another workman-like performance by Panama, who had looked sluggish in their 1-0 win over nine-man Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday at the same venue.

Needing to win, Guatemala came out hard but the steely Panama defence, that is yet to give up a goal, held them at bay.

Panama came close to scoring in the first half when Carlos Small’s rocket of a shot flew past the post by less than six inches in the 35th minute.

After several promising build-ups, Panama finally got the breakthrough when Diaz headed home a corner from a right-side cross that beat goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen and flew into the top of the net.

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Panama join Mexico for New Zealand World Cup

Mexico to issue birth certificates to citizens at its US consulates

California Highway Patrol officers Armando Garcia, right, and Ray Patton explain to immigrants the process of getting a drivers license during an information session at the Mexican Consulate, in San Diego. (AP)

The Mexican government will issue birth certificates to its citizens at consulates in the United States to make it easier for them to apply for a U.S. work permit, driver’s license and protection from deportation.

Previously, Mexico required citizens to get birth certificates at government offices in Mexico. Mexican immigrants living in the U.S. can ask friends and relatives back home to retrieve them, but it delays their applications for immigration or other programs.

Mexico is trying to help millions of immigrants living illegally in the U.S. apply for programs that would allow them to remain temporarily in the country and continue sending money to relatives across the border, despite Republicans in Congress trying to quash President Obama’s immigration reform plan.

“It is a huge help. It helps individuals really begin to formulate their formal identity in this country,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

About half of the 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally are from Mexico, and immigration experts estimate that roughly 3 million Mexicans could be eligible to apply for work permits and protection from deportation under the administration’s plan.

About two weeks ago, California — which is home to more Mexicans than any other state — began issuing driver’s licenses to immigrants in the country illegally

Starting Thursday, the country’s 50 consulates in the United States will be able to access data in Mexico and print birth certificates at the consulates.

Consulates should be able to issue birth certificates for nearly all birthplaces in Mexico, aside from rural communities, Arturo Sanchez, consult for press and commerical affairs in Santa Ana, California, said.

Over the past year, the Santa Ana consulate has seen a surge in the demand for documents. Daily appointments have jumped by a third to nearly 400, with many people trying to get birth certificates, Sanchez said.

Mexican immigrants usually seek birth certificates to obtain a passport or consular identification card so they can then apply for a driver’s license or immigration relief, he said.

In California, Mexican consular officials have supported the rollout of the new driver’s license program, holding information sessions and offering test preparation classes to help immigrants pass the written test required to get a license.

Mexican migrant workers, many who live in the United States, sent home $21.6 billion to their families in 2013, according to the country’s central bank.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Mexico to issue birth certificates to citizens at its US consulates

Mexico profile

28 November 2014 Last updated at 15:04 Mexico is a nation where affluence, poverty, natural splendour and urban blight rub shoulders.

Its politics were dominated for 70 years by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. But elections in 1997 saw a resurgent opposition break what was in effect a one-party system behind a democratic facade.

Elections in 2000 confirmed the trend when Vicente Fox became the first president to come from the right-wing opposition PAN.

Mexico has the second-largest economy in Latin America and is a major oil exporter. Though production has fallen in the last few years, about one-third of government revenue still comes from the industry. Much of the crude is bought by the US.

Revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata – portrayed at the entrance to a base used by rebels who take his name – is still revered in Mexico

But prosperity remains a dream for many Mexicans, and the socio-economic gap remains wide. Rural areas are often neglected and huge shanty towns ring the cities.

In recent decades many poor Mexicans have sought to cross the 3,000-km border with the US in search of a job. At one point more than a million were being arrested every year

But since 2007 there appears to have been a dramatic fall in numbers, mainly attributed to changing demographics in Mexico and the economic downturn in the US after 2008.

As a result, there has also been a fall in the amount of money sent home by migrant workers in the US, which had provided a useful boost for Mexico’s economy in the preceding decade.

Economic recovery

Continue reading the main story Politics: The Institutional Revolutionary Party was ousted in 2000 after 70 years of ruling Mexico effectively as a one-party state. It returned to power in 2012, promising it would not return to its authoritarian ways Economy: Latin America’s second largest economy is heavily dependent on oil, but has seen a boom in foreign investment since the recession of 2008-9International: Traditionally close to the US, Mexico has demonstrated greater independence since the 1960s, but relations with its larger northern neighbour still loom large, especially as a result of the high volume of trade and extensive Mexican migration to the US

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Mexico was hit hard by the credit crunch of 2008, experiencing its deepest economic slump since the 1930s.

But its economy has recovered since then, with foreign companies pouring billions of dollars of fresh investment into the country. Foreign direct investment climbed nearly 30% in the first six months of 2010 from a year earlier.

Violent crime though remains a major concern; Mexico has one of the highest rates of kidnappings in the world, and over 47,500 people have died in drug-related violence since December 2006.

Powerful cartels control the trafficking of drugs from South America to the US, a business that is worth an estimated $13bn (£9bn) a year.

Mexico’s northern border towns are experiencing the worst of the violence. Ciudad Juarez (just across from El Paso in Texas) is the city suffering the most. There are also high levels of violence in Michoacan and Guerrero states.

However, Mexico is a large country, and there are still many areas which do not experience high levels of serious crime. The overall murder rate is lower than several other countries in the region, including El Salvador and Honduras.

Native rights

Another persistent issue has been the pressure for greater rights for Mexico’s indigenous people. A law passed in 2001 fell short of giving Mexico’s Indians political autonomy.

However, demands for indigenous rights have been largely peaceful since 1994, when at least 150 people died during an uprising in the southern state of Chiapas, led by the Zapatista rebel movement.

Writers such as Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes, the mural-painter Diego Rivera, and popular ranchero and mariachi music mean that Mexican culture is known throughout the Spanish-speaking world and beyond.

Hundreds of traditional dancers perform at a festival in Guadalajara

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Mexico profile

VIDEO: Violent clashes in southern Mexico

Violent clashes erupted between student protesters and riot police in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero on Sunday, leaving at least 20 people injured – including eight police officers.

The clashes have been linked to the death of 43 college students who disappeared on September 26, causing a political crisis in Mexico.

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VIDEO: Violent clashes in southern Mexico

Mexico students "not in mass grave"

15 October 2014 Last updated at 01:55 The disappearance of the 43 students has shocked Mexicans and led to violent demonstrations Mexico’s attorney general says DNA tests have shown that 28 bodies found in a mass grave are not those of a missing group of students.

Jesus Murillo Karam said further tests were being carried out on four other recently discovered grave sites.

The 43 students went missing three weeks ago amid violent protests in Iguala, south of Mexico City.

Mr Karam said 14 more police officers had been arrested, accused of handing the students over to a drugs gang.

About 50 people have been arrested in connection with the students’ disappearance, with the vast majority being local police officers.

The officers are believed to have been working for a drugs gang, known as the Guerreros Unidos.

The shallow mass graves were found on the outskirts of Iguala earlier this month

On Tuesday, police said the gang’s leader, Benjamin Mondragon, had killed himself when he was about to be arrested during an operation by Mexican security forces in the state of Morelos.

The missing students all attended a teacher training college in Iguala, some 200km (125 miles) south of Mexico City.

The college has a history of left-wing activism but it is not clear whether the students were targeted for their political beliefs.

Renewed hope

They disappeared after deadly clashes with the police on 26 September in which six people died. Eyewitnesses reported seeing them being bundled into police vans.

Will Grant, the BBC’s Mexico correspondent, says confirmation the missing students were not found in mass graves will give their families renewed hope.

Many of the families are camped out in Iguala waiting for answers from the local authorities.

On Monday, crowds of fellow students and teachers from the teaching college set fire to Guerrero state headquarters in the city of Chilpancingo.

They are angry at a perceived lack of progress in the investigation and have called for state governor Angel Aguirre to resign.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has vowed to find and punish those responsible for the disappearances, saying the incident was “shocking, painful and unacceptable”.

View the original article here

Mexico students "not in mass grave"

Mexico missing: New graves found

16 October 2014 Last updated at 16:27 Vigilante groups have been joining in the search for the students in Guerrero state People searching for 43 missing Mexican students say they have found new burial pits.

The 43 have been missing since they clashed with police almost three weeks ago in the town of Iguala.

Vigilantes who joined the search said they had found six new burial pits, at least two of which contained what they believe are human remains.

The search had been stepped up after forensic tests showed bodies found on 4 October were not those of the students.

Gruesome find

The latest burial pits were found by members of a group of vigilantes who had travelled to Iguala to help with the search.

A student hangs up a poster reading “They took them alive, we want them back alive”

They said they had found six pits, two of which looked freshly dug but had not been used yet.

They searched three of the remaining four and said they found what looked like human remains, clothes and hair in two of them.

If confirmed, this would bring the total number of mass graves found around Iguala since the students’ disappearance to 19.

‘No match’

So far, forensic experts have only concluded tests on 28 bodies found on 4 October

They could not be matched with the DNA provided by the relatives of the students, raising questions as to who was in the mass grave.

It is also not clear how long ago the grave may have been dug and by whom.

About 50 people have been arrested in connection with the students’ disappearance, with the vast majority being local police officers.

The officers are believed to have been working for a drugs gang, known as the Guerreros Unidos.

The missing students all attended a teacher training college in Ayotzinapa.

The college has a history of left-wing activism but it is not clear whether the students were targeted for their political beliefs.

They disappeared after clashes with the police on 26 September in which six people died. Eyewitnesses reported seeing them being bundled into police vans.

View the original article here

Mexico missing: New graves found

#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

The mother of the U.S. Marine imprisoned in Mexico after mistakenly crossing the border with three legally-registered guns told lawmakers Wednesday her son is rapidly deteriorating and pleaded with them to press for his return.

Jill Tahmooressi, whose 26-year-old son, Andrew, served two tours in Afghanistan, appeared before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee to push her case for the U.S. to pressure Mexico to release him. The condition of Tahmooressi, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his service, has deteriorated since he was locked up March 31 on gun charges.

“My son is despondent, without treatment, and he needs to be home,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

The longtime nurse, who lives in Weston, Fla., recounted several emotional calls from her son, including one from Afghanistan, where he told her about blacking out after an IED exploded near him. Upon returning home, Andrew Tahmooressi abandoned his dream of becoming a commercial pilot because, he told his mother, “I can’t concentrate on the academic work.”

Then, on March 31, he called her from a Mexican border checkpoint to say he was in trouble.

“Mom, I got lost; I made a wrong turn,” Jill Tahmooressi recounted her son saying. “I’m at the Mexican border. You need to know this because I’m surrounded by Mexican military.”

Hours later, in another call, he told her, “Mom, I’ve been arrested, please secure me an attorney.”

Appearing with the distraught mother before the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee were television personality and former Navy Lt. Commander Montel Williams, who is also a former Marine, and Pete Hegseth, the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and a Fox News contributor.

“We know for a fact that A’s time in this prison has been worse than his time in both tours of combat,” Williams said. “How dare we, how dare we as a nation, hesitate to get that young man back?”

The hearing took place just hours after Tahmooressi’s attorney, Fernando Benitez, told Fox News he plans to rest his case today, possibly opening the door for Tahmooressi’s release within a matter of weeks.

“We have more than enough for an acquittal,” Benitez said. He said a crucial development in the case came within recent days, when the prosecution acknowledged that Tahmooressi’s PTSD may have played a role in the immediate aftermath of his detention. That stipulation could pave the way to Tahmooressi’s release on humanitarian grounds, he said.

Lawmakers said it is outrageous for a U.S. ally to hold an ailing American on gun charges that clearly stem from an honest mistake. Tahmooressi was in the San Diego area to get PTSD treatment, and living out of his pickup truck when he mistakenly crossed the border at a poorly marked checkpoint. He immediately declared that the guns were among all of his possessions in the truck, according to Benitez.

“As a direct result of his honorable service in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi now suffers from combat-related PTSD,” said Rep. Matt Salmon, R- Ariz. “Tragically, instead of receiving the treatment he needs, he is being held in a Mexican prison.

“Our war hero needs to come home,” he added.

Hegseth, a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard who served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, said the administration needs to do more to bring Tahmooressi home.

“Shame on anyone, at home or abroad, who does not move heaven and Earth to ensure that those who given so much, receive the care they deserve,” Hegseth said.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., noted that the Obama administration traded five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, accused of desertion by several men who served with him.

“Sgt. Tahmooressi is an American hero, whose wrong turn at the Mexican border has had the devastating effect of delaying his much-needed PTSD treatment for too long,” Royce said.

Royce said he and Salmon have been in contact with Mexico’s attorney general, who has the power to release Tahmooressi on humanitarian grounds. They said they impressed upon Jesus Karam that Tahmooressi had been diagnosed with PTSD by the VA San Diego Healthcare System just five days before his arrest.

“I am confident the humanitarian release of Andrew Tahmooressi will occur very soon,” Royce said.

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition asking the Obama administration to demand Tahmooressi’s release, prompting White House officials earlier this summer to ask Mexican authorities to quickly process the Marine’s case.

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#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

Mexico bodies "not all students"

12 October 2014 Last updated at 01:38 The disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College students has shocked Mexicans Some bodies found in shallow graves near the Mexican town of Iguala are not those of students missing after clashes with police, the state governor says.

The 43 students were last seen being pushed into police vans after a protest in Guerrero state on 26 September.

“I can say that some of the bodies, according to the work of forensics experts, do not correspond to the youths,” said Governor Angel Aguirre.

Prosecutors believe police turned over the students to a drug gang.

The gang was linked to the family of Iguala’s Mayor Jose Luis Abarca Velazquez.

He, his wife and his head of security went on leave after the clashes and have not reappeared.

A formal search has been launched for them.

Mr Aguirre has promised new developments in the investigation over the next few days.

“I have big hopes of finding our young students alive. That is why we have now entered a new phase in the search for them,” he said.

The clandestine graves were located in the outskirts of Iguala following an anonymous tip off.

Twenty-eight burnt bodies were retrieved from the pits. Forensic experts are still working to identify all of them, said Mr Aguirre.

‘No impunity’

The students all attended a local teacher training college with a history of left-wing activism.

Federal forces have disarmed local police and taken over security in the town of Iguala Parents of the students joined the search for their loved ones, but many fear the worst at this stage

Six students were killed in two separate shooting incidents during the protests in Iguala, which lies some 200km (120 miles) south of the capital, Mexico City.

But it is not clear whether they were targeted for their political beliefs.

Some think that they may have angered a local drug gang called Guerreros Unidos by refusing to pay extortion money.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Mexico to demand government action to locate the students.

President Enrique Pena Nieto went on national television to promise to identify and punish those responsible for the disappearance.

He described the incident as “shocking, painful and unacceptable” and said there will be “no impunity”.

View the original article here

Mexico bodies "not all students"

Mexico bodies "not all students"

12 October 2014 Last updated at 01:38 The disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College students has shocked Mexicans Some bodies found in shallow graves near the Mexican town of Iguala are not those of students missing after clashes with police, the state governor says.

The 43 students were last seen being pushed into police vans after a protest in Guerrero state on 26 September.

“I can say that some of the bodies, according to the work of forensics experts, do not correspond to the youths,” said Governor Angel Aguirre.

Prosecutors believe police turned over the students to a drug gang.

The gang was linked to the family of Iguala’s Mayor Jose Luis Abarca Velazquez.

He, his wife and his head of security went on leave after the clashes and have not reappeared.

A formal search has been launched for them.

Mr Aguirre has promised new developments in the investigation over the next few days.

“I have big hopes of finding our young students alive. That is why we have now entered a new phase in the search for them,” he said.

The clandestine graves were located in the outskirts of Iguala following an anonymous tip off.

Twenty-eight burnt bodies were retrieved from the pits. Forensic experts are still working to identify all of them, said Mr Aguirre.

‘No impunity’

The students all attended a local teacher training college with a history of left-wing activism.

Federal forces have disarmed local police and taken over security in the town of Iguala Parents of the students joined the search for their loved ones, but many fear the worst at this stage

Six students were killed in two separate shooting incidents during the protests in Iguala, which lies some 200km (120 miles) south of the capital, Mexico City.

But it is not clear whether they were targeted for their political beliefs.

Some think that they may have angered a local drug gang called Guerreros Unidos by refusing to pay extortion money.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Mexico to demand government action to locate the students.

President Enrique Pena Nieto went on national television to promise to identify and punish those responsible for the disappearance.

He described the incident as “shocking, painful and unacceptable” and said there will be “no impunity”.

View the original article here

Mexico bodies "not all students"

TUI Travel pins hopes on Jamaica, Mexico

International Travel Group, TUI Travel, says increased demand for long haul flights to Jamaica and Mexico will help it to realize its profit forecast this year.  
The company had projected earnings to grow in the region of  7-10%. It said recent developments mean its earnings will reach the upper end of  the forecast.      
TUI said bookings on its airline for the upcoming winter are up 2%. It said the demand has been driven by the addition of  long haul leisure destinations such as Jamaica and Mexico, out of  the UK.  

View the original article here

TUI Travel pins hopes on Jamaica, Mexico

#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - VIDEO: Montel: Marine case "ridiculously politicized" - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

The mother of the U.S. Marine imprisoned in Mexico after mistakenly crossing the border with three legally-registered guns told lawmakers Wednesday her son is rapidly deteriorating and pleaded with them to press for his return.

Jill Tahmooressi, whose 26-year-old son, Andrew, served two tours in Afghanistan, appeared before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee to push her case for the U.S. to pressure Mexico to release him. The condition of Tahmooressi, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his service, has deteriorated since he was locked up March 31 on gun charges.

“My son is despondent, without treatment, and he needs to be home,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

The longtime nurse, who lives in Weston, Fla., recounted several emotional calls from her son, including one from Afghanistan, where he told her about blacking out after an IED exploded near him. Upon returning home, Andrew Tahmooressi abandoned his dream of becoming a commercial pilot because, he told his mother, “I can’t concentrate on the academic work.”

Then, on March 31, he called her from a Mexican border checkpoint to say he was in trouble.

“Mom, I got lost; I made a wrong turn,” Jill Tahmooressi recounted her son saying. “I’m at the Mexican border. You need to know this because I’m surrounded by Mexican military.”

Hours later, in another call, he told her, “Mom, I’ve been arrested, please secure me an attorney.”

Appearing with the distraught mother before the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee were television personality and former Navy Lt. Commander Montel Williams, who is also a former Marine, and Pete Hegseth, the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and a Fox News contributor.

“We know for a fact that A’s time in this prison has been worse than his time in both tours of combat,” Williams said. “How dare we, how dare we as a nation, hesitate to get that young man back?”

The hearing took place just hours after Tahmooressi’s attorney, Fernando Benitez, told Fox News he plans to rest his case today, possibly opening the door for Tahmooressi’s release within a matter of weeks.

“We have more than enough for an acquittal,” Benitez said. He said a crucial development in the case came within recent days, when the prosecution acknowledged that Tahmooressi’s PTSD may have played a role in the immediate aftermath of his detention. That stipulation could pave the way to Tahmooressi’s release on humanitarian grounds, he said.

Lawmakers said it is outrageous for a U.S. ally to hold an ailing American on gun charges that clearly stem from an honest mistake. Tahmooressi was in the San Diego area to get PTSD treatment, and living out of his pickup truck when he mistakenly crossed the border at a poorly marked checkpoint. He immediately declared that the guns were among all of his possessions in the truck, according to Benitez.

“As a direct result of his honorable service in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi now suffers from combat-related PTSD,” said Rep. Matt Salmon, R- Ariz. “Tragically, instead of receiving the treatment he needs, he is being held in a Mexican prison.

“Our war hero needs to come home,” he added.

Hegseth, a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard who served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, said the administration needs to do more to bring Tahmooressi home.

“Shame on anyone, at home or abroad, who does not move heaven and Earth to ensure that those who given so much, receive the care they deserve,” Hegseth said.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., noted that the Obama administration traded five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, accused of desertion by several men who served with him.

“Sgt. Tahmooressi is an American hero, whose wrong turn at the Mexican border has had the devastating effect of delaying his much-needed PTSD treatment for too long,” Royce said.

Royce said he and Salmon have been in contact with Mexico’s attorney general, who has the power to release Tahmooressi on humanitarian grounds. They said they impressed upon Jesus Karam that Tahmooressi had been diagnosed with PTSD by the VA San Diego Healthcare System just five days before his arrest.

“I am confident the humanitarian release of Andrew Tahmooressi will occur very soon,” Royce said.

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition asking the Obama administration to demand Tahmooressi’s release, prompting White House officials earlier this summer to ask Mexican authorities to quickly process the Marine’s case.

View the original article here

#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - VIDEO: Montel: Marine case "ridiculously politicized" - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

Mexico arrests alleged head of Juarez cartel

MEXICO CITY (AP) –  The alleged leader of the Juarez drug cartel, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, has been arrested in the northern city of Torreon, two Mexican officials said Thursday.

Carrillo Fuentes, 51, heads the cartel founded by his late brother, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, and Mexico had offered a reward of 30 million pesos ($2.2 million) for his arrest.

It was the second capture of a major drug lord in as many weeks. Mexican authorities nabbed Hector Beltran Leyva as he ate fish tacos in a seafood restaurant in central Mexico on Oct. 1.

The two officials who revealed the information about Carrillo Fuentes’ arrest insisted on speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Carrillo Fuentes, better known as “The Viceroy” or “The General,” took over control of the Juarez drug cartel after his brother Amado, nicknamed “The Lord of the Skies,” died in 1997 in a botched cosmetic surgery. Amado got his nickname by flying planeloads of drugs into the United States.

Vicente carried on trafficking on a more modest scale, but in a much more violent era for the cartel. Based in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Carrillo Fuentes led the gang in a battle for control of the area’s trafficking routes with interlopers from the Sinaloa cartel, engaging in a multi-year war that cost at least 8,000 lives. The area is estimated to be the route of passage for as much as 70 percent of the cocaine entering the United States.

Carrillo Fuentes, who like many top drug lords was from Sinaloa state, had a $5 million reward on his head from U.S. authorities, and a similar bounty of about $2 million was offered by Mexican prosecutors for information leading to his capture.

Immediately after his brother’s death, there were doubts among cartel members about Carrillo Fuentes’ ability to lead, according to a profile provided to The Associated Press by the Mexican Attorney General’s Office.

“He was not believed to possess the leadership and decision-making skills,” according to the document, noting this created internal tensions in the group.

In the end, he was able to consolidate what the profile called “an iron grip” on the cartel, while leading it in new directions. As demand for cocaine declined in the United States, the gang took to selling more of it in Mexico.

“He overcame the initial perceptions about his personality,” the document said.

Carrillo Fuentes was also known for establishing a series of shifting alliances that seldom worked out for long.

He initially allied his cartel with the Sinaloa Cartel, Mexico’s most powerful drug gang. But that alliance fell apart following the 2004 killing of another brother, Rodolfo Carrillo Fuentes, in Sinaloa. That killing was reportedly ordered by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the top Sinaloa drug lord. In revenge, Carrillo Fuentes allegedly ordered the killing of Guzman’s brother in a prison a few months later.

From that point on, the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels became locked in Mexico’s bloodiest turf battle.

That in turn led Carrillo Fuentes to establish another alliance of convenience with Sinaloa’s rivals, the Beltran Leyva cartel, and the Zetas, the most ruthless Mexican gang.

Carrillo Fuentes was allegedly protected by an “extremely violent” group of former soldiers, and the Juarez cartel pioneered the use of targeted car-bomb attacks on police.

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Mexico arrests alleged head of Juarez cartel

Mexico arrests over lawmaker murder

6 October 2014 Last updated at 00:19 Gabriel Gomez Michel was abducted in broad daylight on a motorway Police in Mexico have arrested four men in connection with the recent killing of governing PRI party congressman Gabriel Gomez Michel.

The men were arrested in the western state of Jalisco. Police released no further details.

Mr Gomez Michel, 49, and his driver were abducted in broad daylight on a motorway leading to Jalisco airport on 22 September.

Their bodies were found a day later in the boot of their burnt car.

The authorities have so far not established a motive for the killings.

Politicians from his party said they suspected a criminal gang was behind the murder.

Local politicians are often targeted by Mexican drug cartels, but the murder of politicians at a federal level is more rare.

Mr Gomez was a paediatrician who served as the mayor of the town of El Grullo in Jalisco state from 2010 to 2012.

Jalisco is the stronghold of a criminal gang calling itself the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion and the state has seen a spate of killings blamed on the group.

The car with the bodies of Mr Gomez Michel and driver Heriberto Nunez Ramos was found in neighbouring Zacatecas state.

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Mexico arrests over lawmaker murder

Mexico troops held over June killing

26 September 2014 Last updated at 18:43 Most of the bodies from the incident were found close to the walls of this warehouse in the village of San Pedro Limon Eight Mexican soldiers have been arrested over the killing of 22 alleged gang members in a shooting incident in June in the south-west of the country.

The seven soldiers and their commander are charged with military disobedience and breach of duty.

The arrests came after a witness said most of the victims were killed in cold blood.

The army had said they died in a firefight, but suspicions were later raised as only one soldier was injured.

The confrontation happened on 30 June in the village of San Pedro Limon in the municipality of Tlatlaya, about 240km (150 miles) south-west of the capital, Mexico City.

At the time, the authorities said the victims were probably members of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel.

But some of the bodies appeared to show bullet wounds at chest level, suggesting they had not been killed in a shootout.

Witnesses then said only one person died in the initial confrontation – the others were killed after surrendering to soldiers, our reporter says.

Last week, Mexico’s federal attorney-general’s office said it had not found evidence to corroborate that account.

Drug gang activities have led to an increase in violence across Mexico over the past decade

Criminal organisations are known to operate in the area, in the southern part of Mexico state. La Familia Michoacana is active in neighbouring Michoacan and Guerrero states.

‘War on drugs’

President Enrique Pena Nieto has promised to review the war on drugs policy of his predecessor, Felipe Calderon.

Critics said Mr Calderon’s decision to deploy the armed forces to combat the powerful drug cartels in December 2006 had led to a sharp increase in violence.

At least 60,000 people are estimated to have been killed in drug-related violence during his six-year term.

Despite that criticism, Mr Pena Nieto’s government has continued to fight the gangs.

In February, it managed to arrest Mexico’s most wanted drug lord – Joaquin Shorty Guzman – who had evaded justice for more than a decade.

Correction: A version of this story published earlier on 26 September said a soldier had been killed in the June incident. He was in fact wounded.

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Mexico troops held over June killing

The Netherlands reach quarter-finals with dramatic come from behind 2-1 win over Mexico

By Patrick R. Anderson

The Flying Dutchmen left it late.

But they demonstrated their pedigree with a gutsy performance at the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza, with a capacity 58,817 crowd cheering wildly in the baking sunlight, by defeating Mexico 2-1 in a heartbreaker for CONCACAF.

With Mexico showing a greater zest in midfield with their 5-3-2 formation, Netherlands were seemingly in wonderland for most of the first half. Only Arjen Robben seemed to trouble the Mexicans with his darting runs, although the Mexicans countered tactically by keeping Robben close to the touchlines and double teaming him when he got there.

Guardado, Salcido, Herrera and Peralta made life difficult for the Dutch, controlling the midfield and distributing the passes with disdain in the Sunday afternoon heat which sweltered around the shoulders of the Dutchmen.

At the half it was 0-0.

Three minutes into the second half, Mexico broke through with a deserved goal, which was made on the sheer brilliance of Giovanni Dos Santos. From 25 yards away on the left channel, Dos Santos received a pass under pressure from two defenders manning the defensive zones. But Dos Santos surprised the Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, by driving a left footed shot to his leftside, leaving  him without a prayer.

Mexico 1, Netherlands 0.

Mexico turned up the heat on the Dutch with some exciting gallery play and touch football, and although slowing down considerably as the match wore on, and the Dutch starting to run even more, the Mexicans’ concentration waned at the wrong time. From a corner kick, a loose ball found Wesley Sneijder, 23 yards on the left side, and he drove a ferocious right footed shot past the brilliant Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who didn’t even move as the ball zipped past him to his right.

Mexico 1, Netherlands 1.

Sneijder’s goal came in the 88th minute. The Dutch by this time were not done and went for the winner. Coach Louis Van Gaal took out a tired and listless Robin Van Persie in the 76th minute and replaced him with Klaas Jan Huntelaar. And it was Huntelaar who would be the hero, despite the Dutch getting a wake up call with a tough and pesky Mexican team.

Robben entered the penalty box and ended up on the right byline, where skipper Rafael Marquez’s right boot tripped Robben and the decision by Portuguese referee Pedro Proenca was clear.

A penalty.

And Huntelaar stepped up in the 90th  + 3mins added on to send Ochoa the wrong way for the winning goal. And the Netherlands were through to the last eight on July 5. They had pulled off a great escape similar to Brasil’s on Saturday versus Chile. The  Netherlands won 2-1.

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The Netherlands reach quarter-finals with dramatic come from behind 2-1 win over Mexico

Mexico Pacific castaway seeks return

3 February 2014 Last updated at 03:26 ET Jose Ivan steps off a patrol vessel in Majuro with the help of a nurse after a 22-hour boat ride from the isolated Ebon Atoll A Mexican castaway, who says he spent more than a year adrift in the Pacific, has pleaded to be taken home after washing up in the Marshall Islands.

“I want to get back to Mexico,” Jose Ivan reportedly said as he was taken to the islands’ capital, Majuro, for a medical examination.

Mr Ivan said he left Mexico with a friend for a trip in a fibre-glass boat in December 2012.

He was found by people living on the island of Ebon Atoll on Thursday.

‘Bad shape’ Continue reading the main story

When we got there we first found his boat, which was… grown over with shells and other sea animals”

End Quote Ola Fjeldstad Norwegian student on Ebon Atoll Emaciated and wearing only ragged underpants, Mr Ivan washed ashore when his boat floated onto a reef at the small, isolated island.

He apparently survived the 5,000-mile (8,000km) ordeal by catching fish, birds and turtles with his bare hands.

He said his travelling companion died at sea many months ago.

No details have emerged about how the 24ft (7m) boat ran into trouble or how his companion died.

Ola Fjeldstad, a Norwegian anthropology student on Ebon Atoll, told the BBC how the castaway was apparently discovered: “A group of us got into the boat… and went over to meet him.

“And when we got there we first found his boat, which was… grown over with shells and other sea animals. It had a live baby bird, a dead turtle, some turtle shells, and fish leftovers inside.

“He was in really bad shape in terms of strength and in terms of mental health.”

As he boarded a Marshall Islands patrol vessel to Majuro on Sunday, he said: “I feel bad. I am so far away. I don’t know where I am or what happened.”

Mr Ivan, who only speaks Spanish, had been communicating with Ione deBrum, Ebon Atoll’s mayor, by drawing pictures, the AFP news agency reported.

Three Mexican fishermen were rescued off the Marshall Islands in August 2006 after what they said was about nine months drifting across the Pacific Ocean.

They survived on rain water, sea birds and fish.

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Mexico Pacific castaway seeks return

VIDEO: Mexico anger at "Cartel Princess"

There’s been widespread anger in Mexico with the daughter of a drug cartel leader, after she posted pictures of herself on Instagram.

Melissa Plancarte, who is also a singer, posed in an outfit covered in the insignia of her father’s gang, The Knights Templar. Her father Enrique is one of seven leaders of the group, who control many areas of the embattled Michoacán in western Mexico.

These images have caused anger because “vigilante” groups have began fighting the cartels on the ground, and they are also now waging a social media campaign campaign against cartel leaders and their families. Mexico has a fascination with the culture associated with drug trafficking, but the pictures of the “cartel kids” showing the fruits of violence and drugs have caused anger.

Produced by Benjamin Zand

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VIDEO: Mexico anger at "Cartel Princess"

Jamaica lose to Mexico 89-100 in FIBA Champs

CARACAS, Venezuela — Jamaica, playing without key member Samardo Samuels, were defeated 89-100 by Central Americans giants Mexico in Saturday’s FIBA Americas Championship second round clash at the Poliedro de Caracas.

The Sam Vincent-coached players, who are virtually eliminated from the tournament, close their second round campaign against  hosts Venezuela on Sunday.The four semi-finalists at the FIBA Americas Championship automatically advance to the 2014 basketball World Cup in Spain.The JamrockerZ, who created history in a beating of champions Argentina on Friday, matched the Mexicans for most of the game, but could not sustain the challenge in the fourth quarter.Jamaica’s centre Jerome Jordan was impressive while scoring 24 points and hauling down six rebounds. Hector Hernandez starred for Mexico with 25 points. With the one point awarded for a loss, Jamaica, joined Argentina on seven points. After the two points obtained for the victory, Mexico provisionally moved into top position with 10 points, while Puerto Rico follow on nine.Canada, Dominican Republic and Venezuela are all locked on eight. Uruguay are in last place with six points. With three matches still to be played today, the standings will change based on the final results. Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Jamaica lose to Mexico 89-100 in FIBA Champs

Mexico sack coach de la Torre

Sport

Sunday, September 08, 2013

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Jose Manuel ‘Chepo’ de la Torre was sacked as manager of Mexico yesterday, hours after his side’s embarrassing home defeat by Honduras in a World Cup qualifier.The 2-1 defeat on Friday night — which marked just the second time Mexico had lost a World Cup qualifier at home — saw El Tri slip to fourth in the six-nation North and Central America and Caribbean final qualifying group, with only the top three teams earning direct entry to the finals in Brazil next year.The fourth-placed team will play New Zealand for a berth.A brief statement from the Mexican Football Federation in the early hours of yesterday morning said only that president Justino Compean had taken the decision to make a change.Luis Fernando Tena, an experienced assistant to de la Torre, will take over.Tena comes in as Mexico face a critical match against the United States in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday.The USA will be keen to get back on track after falling 3-1 in Costa Rica on Friday to slip to second in the group behind the Ticos.Calls of “Chepo Out” had echoed through the Azteca Friday night, but De la Torre had insisted immediately after the match he wouldn’t resign.“Quitting now would be a failure,” he said.Mexican coach Jose Manuel de la Torre as he addresses the media at the Mexican High Performance Centre in Mexico City, in February. (PHOTO: GARFIELD ROBINSON)

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Mexico sack coach de la Torre