We have a thread dedicated to the USA, but racistly there is none for the USM - the United Mexican States. (The USA recently asked Mexico to change its name to be less similar to that of the USA, but Mexico proudly told the US .gov to fcuk off).
Some good news out of Mexico for once.
Mexico rescues 165 kidnapped migrants near US border
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22808369
The Mexican army says it has rescued 165 migrants kidnapped by a criminal gang at least two weeks ago.
The migrants were trying to cross to the US illegally but were taken hostage in northern Tamaulipas state by a gang who demanded cash from relatives.
Most of the victims were from Central American countries.
The migrants were probably betrayed by human trafficking gangs who were paid to get them into the US, a Mexican government spokesperson said.
Instead of taking the group across the border, they handed them over to another criminal organisation that operates in northern Mexico.
The kidnappers had been phoning relatives of the victims and demanding further money transfers, said government spokesman Eduardo Sanchez.
Pregnant women
The operation took place on Tuesday, in the municipality of Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, but has only now been reported.
The army was alerted to the presence of heavily armed men at a property in the area, said Mr Sanchez.
When it stormed the property, it found 165 people, including two pregnant women and seven children.
The victims are from El Salvador (77), Guatemala (50), Honduras (23), Mexico (14) and there is also a citizen from India.
"They said they had been kidnapped by an armed individual and that they had been deprived of their freedom in precarious, dirty and overcrowded conditions in the past two or three weeks," Mr Sanchez told journalists.
The migrants are all under the custody of immigration officials and will be transferred to Mexico City.
One person has been arrested, the army said. He was identified only as Juan "N".
Human rights organisations say migrants attempting to cross illegally into the United States are being increasingly targeted by criminal organisations.
Many are kidnapped and forced to work for the drug-trafficking cartels, such as Los Zetas.
In 2010, 72 migrants were massacred in another part of Tamaulipas and buried in shallow graves by Los Zetas.
The strategy of kidnapping migrants on their route north and then extorting their families in the US and in Central America is thought to be one of the gangs' most lucrative criminal enterprises alongside drug trafficking, says the BBC's Will Grant in northern Mexico.
Three held over disappearance from Mexico City bar
Police in Mexico have detained three people in connection with the disappearance on 26 May of a group of 12 revellers from a bar in Mexico City.
The youngsters' disappearance in broad daylight from a popular entertainment district in a central part of the capital has raised many questions.
Relatives say the police have turned a blind eye to the case because the missing come from a poor area.
Amnesty International says authorities are failing to prevent disappearances.
Inconclusive evidence
Police said they had arrested two waiters, who worked at the Heaven bar in the Zona Rosa district of Mexico City, and a woman, in connection with the 12 missing revellers.
Officers are still looking for the owner of the bar, who they say is now considered a fugitive, after searches of a number of premises he had listed as his addresses turned up nothing.
Malcolm Shabazz killing: Two suspects remanded
Two men suspected of killing Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of US political activist Malcolm X, have been remanded in custody in Mexico.
David Hernandez Cruz and Manuel Alejandro Perez de Jesus were waiters at a Mexico City nightclub where Mr Shabazz was beaten to death on 8 May.
A formal order was made for their custody on charges of robbery and aggravated homicide, officials said.
Malcolm Shabazz was the son of one of Malcolm X's six daughters, Qubilah.
He was found with fatal wounds at the Palace Club bar in Plaza Garibaldi, a popular tourist area packed with bars and restaurants, and taken to a Mexico City hospital, where he died of his injuries a day later.
An immigration activist travelling with Mr Shabazz said they had been invited to a bar by a woman, while on a trip to press for greater rights for Mexican construction workers in the United States.
After the bar owner demanded they pay $1,200 (£780) for drinks and female companionship, a fight broke out, the activist said.
Former president calls war against drugs a total failure
Fox says he will grow marijuana
http://thenews.com.mx/index.php/home...grow-marijuana
MEXICO CITY Former President Vicente Fox confirmed that if marijuana is legalized, he will cultivate and sell the drug.
Speaking at a youth forum at the Fox Center on Wednesday, the former president said that the legalization of drugs was a way for Mexico to escape its current cycle of violence. Forty years ago, U.S. President Richard Nixon began the war against drugs and it was a complete and total failure, he said. (Former) President Felipe Calderón launched the war against the cartels, and it was also a failure. Now we are presenting a new solution. (Legalization) would take millions of dollars out of the pockets of criminals and put it into the hands of businessmen.
He added that Mexico will be left out of the market if it does not take the lead on marijuana legalization. Once its legal, he said. I will be a grower.
Vicente Fox also appeared at a press conference in Seattle last Thursday where a former Microsoft executive announced plans to found what was described as the Starbucks of pot. Washington State, where Seattle is located, recently legalized marijuana, and the Washington State Liquor Control Board is expected to grant the first licenses for drug stores this fall. The proposed company would open a chain of stores in Washington, Colorado and California, the U.S. states where marijuana is legal or semi-legal.
Some good news out of Mexico for once.
Mexico rescues 165 kidnapped migrants near US border
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22808369
The Mexican army says it has rescued 165 migrants kidnapped by a criminal gang at least two weeks ago.
The migrants were trying to cross to the US illegally but were taken hostage in northern Tamaulipas state by a gang who demanded cash from relatives.
Most of the victims were from Central American countries.
The migrants were probably betrayed by human trafficking gangs who were paid to get them into the US, a Mexican government spokesperson said.
Instead of taking the group across the border, they handed them over to another criminal organisation that operates in northern Mexico.
The kidnappers had been phoning relatives of the victims and demanding further money transfers, said government spokesman Eduardo Sanchez.
Pregnant women
The operation took place on Tuesday, in the municipality of Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, but has only now been reported.
The army was alerted to the presence of heavily armed men at a property in the area, said Mr Sanchez.
When it stormed the property, it found 165 people, including two pregnant women and seven children.
The victims are from El Salvador (77), Guatemala (50), Honduras (23), Mexico (14) and there is also a citizen from India.
"They said they had been kidnapped by an armed individual and that they had been deprived of their freedom in precarious, dirty and overcrowded conditions in the past two or three weeks," Mr Sanchez told journalists.
The migrants are all under the custody of immigration officials and will be transferred to Mexico City.
One person has been arrested, the army said. He was identified only as Juan "N".
Human rights organisations say migrants attempting to cross illegally into the United States are being increasingly targeted by criminal organisations.
Many are kidnapped and forced to work for the drug-trafficking cartels, such as Los Zetas.
In 2010, 72 migrants were massacred in another part of Tamaulipas and buried in shallow graves by Los Zetas.
The strategy of kidnapping migrants on their route north and then extorting their families in the US and in Central America is thought to be one of the gangs' most lucrative criminal enterprises alongside drug trafficking, says the BBC's Will Grant in northern Mexico.
Three held over disappearance from Mexico City bar
Police in Mexico have detained three people in connection with the disappearance on 26 May of a group of 12 revellers from a bar in Mexico City.
The youngsters' disappearance in broad daylight from a popular entertainment district in a central part of the capital has raised many questions.
Relatives say the police have turned a blind eye to the case because the missing come from a poor area.
Amnesty International says authorities are failing to prevent disappearances.
Inconclusive evidence
Police said they had arrested two waiters, who worked at the Heaven bar in the Zona Rosa district of Mexico City, and a woman, in connection with the 12 missing revellers.
Officers are still looking for the owner of the bar, who they say is now considered a fugitive, after searches of a number of premises he had listed as his addresses turned up nothing.
Malcolm Shabazz killing: Two suspects remanded
Two men suspected of killing Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of US political activist Malcolm X, have been remanded in custody in Mexico.
David Hernandez Cruz and Manuel Alejandro Perez de Jesus were waiters at a Mexico City nightclub where Mr Shabazz was beaten to death on 8 May.
A formal order was made for their custody on charges of robbery and aggravated homicide, officials said.
Malcolm Shabazz was the son of one of Malcolm X's six daughters, Qubilah.
He was found with fatal wounds at the Palace Club bar in Plaza Garibaldi, a popular tourist area packed with bars and restaurants, and taken to a Mexico City hospital, where he died of his injuries a day later.
An immigration activist travelling with Mr Shabazz said they had been invited to a bar by a woman, while on a trip to press for greater rights for Mexican construction workers in the United States.
After the bar owner demanded they pay $1,200 (£780) for drinks and female companionship, a fight broke out, the activist said.
Former president calls war against drugs a total failure
Fox says he will grow marijuana
http://thenews.com.mx/index.php/home...grow-marijuana
MEXICO CITY Former President Vicente Fox confirmed that if marijuana is legalized, he will cultivate and sell the drug.
Speaking at a youth forum at the Fox Center on Wednesday, the former president said that the legalization of drugs was a way for Mexico to escape its current cycle of violence. Forty years ago, U.S. President Richard Nixon began the war against drugs and it was a complete and total failure, he said. (Former) President Felipe Calderón launched the war against the cartels, and it was also a failure. Now we are presenting a new solution. (Legalization) would take millions of dollars out of the pockets of criminals and put it into the hands of businessmen.
He added that Mexico will be left out of the market if it does not take the lead on marijuana legalization. Once its legal, he said. I will be a grower.
Vicente Fox also appeared at a press conference in Seattle last Thursday where a former Microsoft executive announced plans to found what was described as the Starbucks of pot. Washington State, where Seattle is located, recently legalized marijuana, and the Washington State Liquor Control Board is expected to grant the first licenses for drug stores this fall. The proposed company would open a chain of stores in Washington, Colorado and California, the U.S. states where marijuana is legal or semi-legal.