Millennium Arches massacre breeds further security concerns
A follow-up to last week’s big story:
The victims, ten of whom had been reported missing to authorities, were seized and executed in the days leading up to November 24, when their bodies were deposited in three vans beside the bright yellow Arcos de Milenio. The site could have been chosen as a reference to the Milenio cartel, from which sprang La Resistencia, one of several criminal organizations vying for control of the city.
Various media outlets reported that the victims had been beaten, strangled, and shot in the head, with one of the corpses decapitated, while a threatening message was left with the bodies attributing the killings to Los Zetas.
Of the 26 bodies, 21 have so far been identified. They include 15 Guadalajara residents, two from Zapopan, three from Aguascalientes and one from Guanajuato. Six had criminal records: three for drug offenses and others for theft, fraud and damage to property.
The victims included a removal van driver, a laborer, a department store employee, a fruit seller, a pizza boy and the owner of a hamburger stall. The authorities have not yet determined whether they belonged to a criminal gang.
There was further violence in Guadalajara last Sunday, with six people murdered across the city in less than 21 hours, in cases believed to be linked to organized crime. The recent upturn in violence has also raised concerns about levels of impunity in Jalisco, where seven of every ten homicides never receive an official inquest.
Jalisco has averaged 90 murders per month this year, 53 percent of which were slayings linked to organized crime. The number of these execution-style killings in the state has risen by 3,000 percent from 2007 to October 2011.
There are currently 7,000 municipal police officers and 2,000 state police patrolling the metropolitan area. Throughout the Pan American Games in October they were joined by 10,000 federal police officers and Mexican soldiers.
In response to last week’s violence, Guadalajara Major Aristoteles Sandoval called for the return of the “security columns” which kept the city safe during the games.
“We cannot wait for more tragic incidents,” said Sandoval, urging greater coordination to ensure “that the police units in every municipality are working together, patrolling, protecting and strengthening security.”
Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez went further, calling for the Mexican Army to be deployed on Guadalajara’s streets: “If only they were here, I hope they come to liberate us.”
But Emilio Alvarez Icaza, a member of the peace movement headed by poet-turned-activist Javier Sicilia, said a greater police presence on Guadalajara’s streets would not make the city safer. This situation “requires investigation, intelligence and action against the causes” of the problem, Alvarez affirmed.
Protestors carrying the “No más sangre” (no more bloodshed) placards that have been adopted by peace activists up and down the country gathered this week outside the International Book Fair (FIL) at the Expo Guadalajara, just a few blocks from where the 26 bodies were dumped.
“The FIL is an international forum with a worldwide level of influence,” said Alfredo Menchaca, coordinator of the 28 de Mayo human rights group, explaining their presence at the event. “It is important that the world knows the climate of violence that Mexico is experiencing.”
The recent outbreaks of violence in Jalisco did not come as a shock to analysts of Mexico’s drug wars. Security expert Sam Logan, of U.S. think tank Southern Pulse, predicted a rise in violence in Guadalajara back on September 30.
The city “appears to be the next battleground between the Sinaloa Federation and Los Zetas,” he affirmed, having noted a series of armed confrontations between the two cartels in Chapala and Jardines del Bosque in the preceding months.
Logan foresaw a period of calm during the Pan American Games due to the heightened security measures, but warned that “when the games end, a large-scale criminal offensive could take shape from the beginning of November.”
The Sinaloa Cartel, headed by fugitive billionaire Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman, is believed to have initiated the conflict with the Zetas over the summer, when its Guadalajara-based allies the New Generation Jalisco Cartel (CJNG) dispatched a group called the “Matazetas,” (Zeta Killers) to wipe out their rivals in Veracruz.
The Matazetas released videos of masked gunmen promising to hunt down the Zetas in Veracruz and on September 20 dumped 35 corpses of alleged Zetas on a busy road in broad daylight.
In retaliation the Zetas have been moving westwards across the country into areas considered territory of the Sinaloa Cartel. This includes Guadalajara, which was controlled by Guzman’s ally Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel until he was killed in a shootout with federal police in July 2010.
The subsequent power vacuum has contributed to the current sense of anarchy, with the CJNG fighting against La Resistencia for control of the city. Despite originally struggling against the Zetas, the latter cartel is now believed to have formed an alliance with them against the Sinaloa Federation.
Huffington Post: Are Spurs now London’s strongest side?
Slightly unfortunate timing on the publishing of this one, coming as it does right after the 2-1 defeat to PAOK, but at least we don’t need to worry about the distraction of the Europa League now and can concentrate fully on a top-four spot.
With a third of the season gone, Tottenham Hotspur sit in third place, two points adrift of the champions and with a game in hand on all of those around them.
Talk of Spurs winning the title is unrealistic given the strength and experience of City and United respectively, but they do have a strong chance of finishing as London’s highest placed side for the first time since 1995.
The club’s rise has coincided with the decline of the capital’s two most dominant teams – Arsenal and Chelsea. The latter have made their worst start to the season since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003. Very much a side in transition, Chelsea’s aging squad has lost the aura of invincibility cultivated in the Jose Mourinho era.
Abramovich will surely bring in reinforcements again in January, having splashed over £70 million on Fernando Torres and David Luiz last winter in an effort to overcome his team’s mid-season slump in form. Yet a quick check of said pair’s form demonstrates that such panic buys are not always effective.
Whatsmore, whether manager Andres Villas-Boas will even be there to welcome any new recruits is a question of the Russian billionaire’s patience – not a quality for which he is renowned.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have recovered well from their own nightmare start to the season – including the humiliating 8-2 drubbing at Old Trafford – but Saturday’s draw at home to Fulham offered a reminder of the side’s current frailty.
Of biggest concern to the Gunners is their dependency on the extraordinary form of Robin Van Persie. An injury to the Dutch forward, who has scored an incredible 17 of their 35 goals in the Premier League and Champions League so far this season, could see their campaign swiftly unravel.
That then leaves Tottenham with an opening as London’s dominant club. Few considered such a transition possible when Spurs made an equally poor start to the season, losing 3-0 away to Manchester United and 5-1 at home to City.
Injuries, the unsettling transfer speculation surrounding Luka Modric, and even the London riots (which led to the cancelation of Spurs’ opening fixture at home to Everton), all conspired against the team, who had faded disappointingly toward the end of last season after a dazzling debut campaign in the Champions League.
Yet since acquiring Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor at the close of the transfer window, Spurs have won nine league games from ten, dropping just two points from 30 in a tough away tie at in-form Newcastle.
The astute acquisition of veteran goalkeeper Brad Friedel and the welcome return to something approaching full fitness for captain Ledley King have also been instrumental to Tottenham’s progress, bringing an unprecedented steeliness to the defence.
Tottenham’s players have even been at the heart of the England national team’s modest upturn in form. Scott Parker was named man of the match in England’s recent victory over world champions Spain, while Kyle Walker earned the same distinction days later on his debut start against Sweden.
After making the quarter-finals of last year’s Champions League, Tottenham’s players are now beginning to show they can play at the highest levels of world football.
Over the years Spurs have often been imaginatively and embarrassingly linked with megastars who were well out of the club’s league. An indication of how things have changed came last week when Barcelona President Sandro Rosell admitted his interest in Spurs’ 22-year-old Welsh winger Gareth Bale. Now it is the best sides in the world who are eyeing up White Hart Lane’s finest talents.
But this summer Spurs showed they are no longer a feeder club for the elite. Chairman Daniel Levy’s refusal to sell Modric to Chelsea for £40m was as admiral as it has been instrumental to Tottenham’s current run of form. With an improved contract in the works and a superior league position, the Croatian midfielder may now be counting his blessings on missing out on a transfer to Stamford Bridge.
Like their North London neighbours Arsenal, Tottenham’s progress is all the more impressive given that it has been achieved by playing attractive, attacking football, without substantial expenditure compared to the likes of City and Chelsea.
Tottenham’s preferred midfield and forward line of Gareth Bale (£7m), Luka Modric (£16.5m), Scott Parker (£5.5m), Aaron Lennon (£1m), Rafael Van der Vaart (£7m) and Emmanuel Adebayor (free) were acquired for a total of £37 million.
In comparison, Andy Carroll cost Liverpool £35 million.
Thanks to Levy, Spurs are a well run club with a sensible wage structure and a new stadium in the works, meaning the current progress is financially sustainable.
But other factors make this a pivotal season for Tottenham. Between his recent health problems, the dubious allure of the England job and January’s court case for tax evasion charges, Harry Redknapp may not be managing the club for much longer.
Moreover, with European giants circling like vultures, failure to qualify for the Champions League this season would surely see the likes of Bale and Modric depart in the summer. Such a development would reverse the recent progress, with Spurs slipping back into mediocrity and normal order resuming in London.
On the other hand, finishing above their London rivals would aid Tottenham to retain their top players and might just convince Redknapp that his heart would fare better if he resists the perils of managing England.
If Spurs can continue the form that has made this their best start to the league since the double-winning season of 1960-61 then this will be the year they establish themselves as the top team in London.
Mexico clashes with Canada over visas and extradition
Mexican legislators ask Canadian counterparts to scrap visa requirement
The possibility of lifting the visa requirement for Mexican citizens visiting Canada was the main topic of discussion at the 18th inter-parliamentary meeting in Ottawa this week.
The Canada-Mexico Parliamentary Friendship Group, which works on issues of joint concern to the two countries, is comprised of Mexican federal legislators and Canadian members of parliament. During the meeting Mexican legislators called for the elimination of the visa requirement, a move they say would provide a significant boost to bilateral relations.
Senate leader Jose Gonzalez Morfin described it as a “persistent issue that has not been properly assimilated or understood in Mexico,” while Mexico’s ambassador to Canada Francisco Barrio Terrazas said he hoped it could still be resolved during President Felipe Calderon’s term in office.
The Canadian government introduced the visa requirement in July 2009, following a significant rise in the number of Mexicans applying for refugee status.
Canada demands visas from citizens of countries not exempted under their rules of immigration and refugee protection. Mexico was formerly exempted but in 2009 the Canadian government said Mexico failed to comply with the exemption criteria, having become the main applicants for refugee status, with requests tripling between 2005 and 2009.
In 2008, for example, Mexicans filed over 9,400 refugee applications to Canada, representing 25 percent of those received. Many Mexicans were also among the immigrants who violated the conditions of their stay.
As a short-term measure, introducing the visa requirement proved easier for the Canadian government than reforming refugee laws.
The Mexican ambassador noted progress has been made in the application procedure, with the time it takes to obtain a visa having decreased over the past year. Barrio said that a refugee claim which previously took between three and four years now takes just three or four months.
Furthermore, the proportion of Mexican applicants denied a visa has dropped from 25 percent to under six percent, while complaints have also decreased considerably. However, Barrio did concede that a reform of Canada’s refugee law would likely be necessary for the current visa requirement to be eliminated.
Canada, meanwhile, had its own agenda for the meeting. Ahead of this week’s meeting, John Weston, the inter-parliamentary committee chairman, took part in a briefing from Canadian Foreign Affairs officials on the status of business, tourism, investment, security and criminal justice issues that affect relations between the two countries.
“While there are lots of business and tourism reasons for me to step up Canada’s relations with Mexico, I was especially spurred to act by the challenge of extricating innocent Canadians detained in Mexican jails,” Weston said in a news release.
“I look forward to pursuing paths to increase the number of tourists from Mexico. 1.6 million Canadians go there each year; 2,500 Canadian companies have invested about five billion, so there’s much to discuss.”
Canada reluctant to extradite union boss
Feted abroad but wanted on corruption charges in his homeland, an exiled Mexican union leader known as ‘Napo’ continues to be a thorn in the side of Mexican-Canadian relations.
Speaking at a press conference in Toronto after the inter-parliamentary meeting, Mexico’s ambassador to Canada Francisco Barrio said it remains unlikely that Napoleon Gomez Urrutia will be extradited to Mexico in the immediate future, despite requests made by the Mexican government.
The secretary general of Mexico’s National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Allied Workers, Gomez has lived in Vancouver since 2006, having claimed asylum after the Mexican government filed numerous corruption charges against him.
Accused of misappropriating about 55 million dollars in union funds, Gomez continues to run the union from exile having been deemed innocent by his supporters and re-elected to a six-year term in May 2008.
Gomez upset the Mexican government in the aftermath of a mine explosion that killed 65 miners in February 2006, when he publicly accused the Vicente Fox administration of committing “industrial homicide.”
Prior to the explosion at Grupo Mexico’s Pasta de Conchos coal mine, warnings by union officials of serious safety concerns were repeatedly ignored. Then, days after the explosion, the government declared the rescue operation futile and ordered the mine to be closed and sealed, leaving the 65 bodies entombed within.
When Gomez spoke out, the government went after him and his union, freezing its bank accounts and declaring strikes to be illegal, even sending in federal troops to break them up.
The criminal charges against Gomez have been dismissed as baseless by Mexican and international human rights and labor groups, but the government remains insistent that he is guilty of large-scale fraud and corruption.
Last week, the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation, awarded Gomez its 2011 George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award in Washington, D.C. Gomez’s wife had to accept the award because the U.S. State Department refused to grant him a visa for the ceremony, for reasons that are “confidential.”
In a press release, the AFL-CIO described Gomez as a “truly courageous man who has shown us how difficult and important it is to be an independent leader of a democratic union.”
