Maggie's Madness Drug War Chronicles Baja California
A continuation of events surrounding the drug war and related social issues of Baja California and Mexico. Keeping an eye on Seig Heil Trump. We are still trying to restore all blogs from 2006 which were hacked by Linton Robinson and his team, famous for supporting the Baja Trump Towers on one of his real estate sites. Highlights of Paris-Simone's favorite music !!
I'm not really back, I had my leg wrapped again today (five more to go) and in office surgery on the other, at least I didn't have to go through the ordeal of last month...so I'm still basically hobbling around and drinking a lot of kombucha. Next week I'll be free to do the updates.
Has the Government shutdown got you down ? If you are part of the Trump base, of course not. I mentioned at another site that I was never an NBC/Russiagate cheerleader even though nothing would surprise me about Trump because he is such a gangster. But, this just might cheer the rest of you up:
Update/edit 01/19 @1:04am: I'm sticking with former Watergate Special Prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks take on the Mueller statement regarding BuzzFeed's report:
Are you prepared to sit back and be lied to again tonight by Trump and his address to the nation regarding a "national emergency"?
In lieu of the drug war stats - which the news agencies here have been religiously covering, another break on my part due to the impending Trump bullshit broadcast today and tomorrow I have to go back to San Diego to the wound clinic. BTW, there was no meeting between AMLO and Mayor Kevin Faulkner regarding the contamination coming from the Tijuana Rio channel.
Paris says hello and is now sharing her Barker bed with Daca Bob and Susan. I'll try to get a pic.
~~~~~
Update/edit @12:05am: Okay, let it be duly observed...the author was a former speech writer for George Bush; still, worth the read and lots of other great reports from...even though I could be tarred & feathered....
First of all wishing all of you out there a Happy and prosperous New Year ! We haven't signed up for a "Go-Fund-Me" page due to the Trump shut down, but clearly a trip to Hawaii is not in the cards. Mike is still working, but is not being paid. I still have eight more wound clinic trips to go and finally the Civil War Surgery is on the mend, but this has been a complete hassle.
Still, a heads up (as if you didn't already know): AMLO will be in Tijuana today. Of interest is his scheduled meeting with the Mayor of San Diego Kevin Faulkner to discuss the ocean pollution coming from the Tijuana River and affecting San Diego beaches. Locally, Baja Malibu, Playa Blanca and SADM are all designated contaminated and the untreated sewage from Tijuana is still coming down the barranca and is gross.
And although AMLO will be receiving praise for lowering the IVA and promoting the "Border Economic Zone" he will also be met by strong resistance to the migrante problem. Many are wondering why he agreed with Trump to allow the migrantes to stay here while their cases are pending - if nothing else, it is another method used by Trump to dissuade them from achieving asylum.
Further, it is unclear if this new policy will be challenged in the US courts. What is clear however, is that Mexico (especially Tijuana) is simply not equipped to deal with the sheer numbers of thousands descending on the city. We have not heard of future concessions to mitigate the care of the migrantes, perhaps this will be an issue of discussion in the near future.
- Currently Frontera reports the numbers of migrantes in Tijuana:
"Only
one thousand and 74 migrants from the Central American caravan remain
in El Barretal, as a large part of the more than five thousand who were
housed managed to cross into the United States through a humanitarian
asylum or by jumping over the border wall.
This was reported by Leonardo Neri, coordinator of the
inter-institutional actions of El Barretal, who also attributed the
decrease to the migrants who decided to return to their countries and
others who managed to settle in Baja California or other states.
So the closure of the temporary shelter will be determined by the
number of migrants who leave the place in the coming days, he added.
"The objective of this shelter was temporary, it was only to address
the migrant situation of the caravan, and is fulfilling all its
objectives," said Neri.
According to other authorities in El Barretal, another 492 migrants are
distributed in other shelters in the city, 150 in 'Contra Viento y
Marea' in the Northern Zone; and 17 at the National Migration Institute (INM).
Therefore, of the 6,162 migrants who arrived in the city, only 1,733 remain, including those from El Barretal.
The coordination
The coordinator highlighted the participation of civil society from
Tijuana and the United States for the operation of El Barretal, as well
as international organizations such as UNHCR, Unicef, World Vision,
among others.
He also highlighted the surveillance of the Federal Police, Beta Group,
Navy, Municipal Police, among other security authorities to mediate
conflicts between neighbors and migrants.
Take note • One thousand 74 migrants in the shelter of El Barretal • 492 Central Americans installed in other shelters • 150 in shelter 'Against Wind and Tide' of the North Zone • 17 at the National Institute of Migration (INM)"
~~~~~~
- Even with the reduced numbers, opposition to the migrantes has swelled and they will be demonstrating today:
"The
demonstration against the arrival of migrant caravans to the country,
to be held on January 6 during the visit of President Andrés Manuel
López Obrador to Tijuana, will gather between one thousand and two
thousand people, estimated Fidel Ernesto González Hernández, president
of the First Civil Association. Mexico.
He indicated that the day of protest for the "migratory disorder",
convened by this association and the social networks groups Por las
calles de Tijuana, Yellowjackets and Resist Tijuana, will begin at the
Tijuana airport, at 8:00 am.
Place where it is intended to deliver a written request to López
Obrador so that, according to Article 76 of the Constitution, he "tells"
the Senate that it does not know the Global Pact on Migration, adopted
by our country last December.
This, despite the fact that Article 49 of the Magna Carta indicates
that the Supreme Power of the Federation is divided for its exercise in
the Legislative, Executive and Judicial, and that two or more of these
Powers can not be united in a single person or corporation. . González Hernández, explained that those who can not go to the air terminal, will also meet at the Glorieta Cuauhtémoc.
"We hope to contact the president of the republic at the airport, if it
is not possible, at the Hotel Lucerna event," where at 2:30 p.m. the
president will start the program of the Border Economic Zone.
"We believe that there is a good disposition of the president of the
republic, but it seems to me that he has not been properly advised by
the people who touch on the specific issue," he said in an interview
with ZETA.
He added that the formal request that will be delivered also includes
reviewing and rejecting the agreement signed with the Central American
countries on December 1, considering that both international instruments
will continue to provoke "what we have experienced in 2015, with the
Haitians, and the end of the last year, with the Hondurans. What is the massive and indiscriminate entry of immigrant caravans ". Which will polarize societies, and "can exceed socially, culturally and economically," commented the interviewee;
for what was manifested in favor of legal and orderly migration, which
includes a passport, an immigration control for reasons of national
security."
~~~~~
- Speaking of chaos, the "Contra Viento `y Marco" (aka the Bodega) shelter in Tijuana was given notice to be shut down by the authorities on 01/04/19 due to sanitary conditions. And look who was on the the scene once again :
"Alleged
US activists complicated the eviction of Central American migrants from
the winery that functioned as a temporary shelter called "Contra tide,"
which is located near the Benito Juarez Sports Unit in the Northern
Zone.
The eviction was scheduled at 12:00 noon yesterday, as the Institute of
Public Health Services of Baja California closed the place, because in
addition to the problem of overcrowding and lack of ventilation, a
person with chickenpox had been detected.
Before that time, the elements of the Federal Police visited the place
to inform the migrants of the eviction, but they responded with verbal
aggressions, since they alleged that they would leave until January 24.
"Nobody is going to leave. It is an injustice. Racists. First they put us into this warehouse voluntarily and now they are running us, "they shouted.
Presence of activists
The Central Americans said they would stay in the warehouse to avoid
being next to their compatriots in El Barretal or other shelters, so
they sought 'advice' from the alleged US activists, including the BAMN
group.
Juan Carlos Morán Quintero, commissioner of the Federal Police in Baja
California, advised them not to fall for the provocations of the alleged
activists, because they were violating Mexican laws and at the same
time risking the lives of the Central Americans themselves.
For his part, Héctor Gutiérrez, who introduced himself as a
collaborator of Senator Jaime Bonilla, also accused the Americans of
using migrants to generate chaos.
"Unfortunately the caravans have been manipulated and used by groups that have other interests. We have helped them obtain their humanitarian visa, but the Americans encourage them to cross in a ball, "he said.
He recalled that the place had been borrowed for a month for the
Central Americans to undo the camp they had installed outside the Benito
Juárez Sports Unit, which caused anger among neighbors and owners of
small businesses.
Few accept to leave
Of the 120 migrants from the winery, only 16 people voluntarily left
the place to go to the Christian association Ágape AC, located in the
Loma Bonita neighborhood.
Alberto Rivera Colón, pastor and president of the association, said he
has experience in migrant care, so they will keep the behavior of
Central Americans in order through talks and collaboration for chores.
Also, they will receive legal advice to obtain their regularization in
the country or help to process their humanitarian asylum in the United
States.
Rivera Colón opined that the migrants refuse to vacate the place
because they are afraid of being deported to their countries since they
will not receive attention from the authorities.
For his part, Leonardo Neri, coordinator of El Barretal, stated that
migrants accept the transfer there will have food and safe spaces, but
they must comply with the internal regulations, such as not taking
prohibited substances."
~~~~
- BAMN is more or less the defacto parent of ANTIFA. I think most of us deplore neo-fascism and nazis, but obviously BAMN and ANTIFA aren't getting the message that inciting the migrantes is actually bolstering the Trump agenda. Of all the coverage of New Years Day's early morning rush on the Border and the release of tear gas by USBP, I only saw this coverage of ANTIFA's involvement:
And no she did not resign, but she ain't going to be pleased with this development - she'll probably create another lie about it though....... tee hee, been wanting to use that pic for the longest time.
Locally there is grim news for the migrantes. Yesterday evening around 9:00pm Frontera reports a tear gas device was thrown into El Barretal from the outside:
" At approximately 9:00 pm at the shelter "El Barretal" a non-lethal chemical or device (tear gas) was thrown from the outside. According to the Federal Police, on the Calle Mariano Abasolo street at
the height of the medical service that is inside, the device was
apparently launched by two individuals who were traveling on the road.
Which spread tear gas in the periphery of the sheltered migrants, causing no physical or material damage.
Federal elements came to the place, cordoning off the area and guarding the area; proceeding to pack the clue for legal purposes.
Derived from the fact the Municipal Police conducted a patrol to the
surroundings to locate those responsible, however, no one was arrested."
" Around
21:00 hours on Tuesday, December 18, it was reported that a tear gas
bomb was thrown into the temporary shelter of El Barretal, with no
injuries on the spot.
Authorities informed that on the street Mariano Abasolo route, at the
height of the medical service that is inside the shelter, a non-lethal
device or chemical agent was thrown from the exterior to the interior,
apparently by two subjects who were walking on that street. The device fell on the upper floor, where it detonated and spread the tear gas on the periphery of the sheltered migrants.
After the report of the migrants themselves, elements of the Federal
Police who guard the shelter went to the scene where they located the
device, to pack the evidence and carry out the legal effects.
Added to this, elements of the Municipal Police went abroad to find the
aggressors, of which no further information was provided."
~~~~~
Over last weekend three Honduran migrantes were kidnapped, two of them murdered - their bodies thrown onto the street:
"Two
Honduran teenagers from the migrant caravan in Tijuana were murdered by
a group of men who deprived them of their liberty in a Central Zone
barracks in an attempt to rob them. A third minor managed to escape.
The Deputy Attorney General confirmed that these are the first
intentional homicides committed against the members of the caravan that
arrived in Tijuana in November.
The two bodies were found lying on the public road in the Central Zone
with traces of strangulation and in one of the cases, with a knife
wound.
Deputy Attorney Jorge Álvarez explained that on Saturday, December 15,
three teenagers between 16 and 17 years old walked from the shelter
where they lived to the Central Zone when they began to talk with some
young people.
During the conversation, the children told them that they would change a
check, which was not true, so the women invited them to their home to
have sex.
However, once inside the cuartería, one of the girls made a call and a
group of men arrived, who demanded the money and when they saw that the
migrants did not count on him, they murdered two of them. The third one managed to escape, but he has physical injuries and has an attempted strangulation mark. After murdering the two teenagers, the killers threw the bodies onto the public highway.
The deputy attorney discarded that the motive of the crime was for the
migrant status of the victims, but that it was a circumstantial crime,
since with the information gathered, it is understood that the murderers
sought to rob them. He added that the murderers were under the influence of a drug at the time of committing the crime."
Update 12/19/18: Three arrests have been made in this case, all agencias reporting:
: Two
men and one woman identified as Carlos, Francisco Javier and Esmeralda
were arrested for the murder of two Honduran teenagers, which occurred
on Saturday, December 15, and whose bodies were thrown into the street
in Tijuana.
The Deputy Attorney General of Tijuana Zone reported that ministerial
police completed an arrest warrant against the two men and one woman for
the crimes of qualified homicide with advantage, qualified injuries and
illegal deprivation of liberty.
The corpses of the 16 and 17 year olds were found strangled and with
puncture injuries in the Quintana Roo alley of the Central Zone in
Tijuana. According
to the Attorney General's Office, the victims, together with a third
adolescent, left a hostel in the city walking to the downtown area, when
they met some young women, who when they heard they had money, invited
them to a home.
Once in the place, a cuartería of the Central Zone, one of the women
made a cell phone call and Carlos and Francisco Javier arrived, who
threatened and subdued the young people, beat them and ended up
murdering them when they discovered that they had no money. The third teenager managed to escape from the place alive.
According to the bulletin sent by the State Attorney's Office (PGJE),
the arrest warrant, which was turned yesterday afternoon by a judge, was
completed last night. The detainees will be presented before a judge, who will determine if they are criminally prosecuted for these crimes."
~~~~
For some reason this is printing dark, unintentional and I can't fix it. This next report to me at least is actually good news for the migrantes. We've talked about the NGO's and extremist factions which motivated the migrantes to rush the border. One of these "leaders" was arrested today at El Barretal:
"Alfonso
Guerrero Ulloa, of Honduran nationality and who was self-appointed
leader of a group of migrants of the caravan, was arrested this morning
by elements of the Federal and Municipal Police, after a fight that was
part of the El Barretal hostel .
According to witnesses, today he intended to call a march to the sentry
box, the migrants in disagreement rejected his convocation and this
generated a confrontation since they intended to run it from the
shelter.
Authorities pointed out that the migrants themselves do not want it in
the facilities for disturbing the order with their comrades, which is
why he was arrested and presented with the municipal judge in turn, who
will send him to the Municipal District of Offenders.
Guerrero Ulloa is known to have headed last Tuesday, December 11, a
march to the United States Consulate in Tijuana, where they delivered a
petition requesting the free passage to the US territory or, where
appropriate, compensation of 50 dollars. thousand dollars for each one
to return to their countries.
Migrants who rejected him this day pointed out that with these
requests, this person has only been giving a bad image to the caravan,
of which he is not originally part, since he is at least 31 years old
outside his country and residing in Mexico, however, he joined the group
already in Tijuana."
Pasted: "Alfonso
Guerrero Ulloa, the man who asked for $ 50,000 for each Central
American migrant caravan in Tijuana, was arrested by elements of the
Municipal Public Security Secretariat on Tuesday morning.
Officially, the insurance was for the alteration of public order in the shelter of El Barreta l (east of Tijuana) and the person, being a foreigner, will be handed over to the National Migration Institute to determine their situation.
Guerrero Ulloa identified himself last week as one of the leaders of the caravan, he even delivered a letter to the US consulate in Tijuana
on behalf of the group, but later it transpired that he did not leave
this year with the caravan, but has lived for years in Mexico.
According to a petition on the change.org website, he is 31 years old outside of Honduras , where he was accused of an attack.
"My name is Alfonso Guerrero Ulloa, falsely accused of being a material
actor in the China Palace restaurant in the city of Comayagua,
Honduras, in 1987, where 6 Marines were injured from the Palmerola
military base, which led me to exile. years away from my homeland and
family, living miserably, I believe I have the right to fair
compensation and my return to my homeland, "explains the request of the
platform."
~~~~~
Meanwhile, the executions continue - I'll come back to those. A late congratulations to the Honduran couple:
"Not
everything is sadness and despair for the people who make up the
Central American migrant caravan, since Fide and Douglas united in
marriage before God in the Ambassadors of Jesus church.
The original couple from Honduras was moved and moved by swearing
eternal love while being away from their families and country.
Therefore, they also committed to fight together to get their
humanitarian asylum in the United States or settle in Tijuana, but
always together to overcome the poverty and lack of opportunities they
suffered in Honduras.
The Mass was officiated by Pastor Gustavo Aceves Banda, who dedicated
the union of marriage to respect and the right to migration.
Therefore, he asked the community settled in Tijuana to show his
friendly and respectful face to all foreigners of different
nationalities, as they did in 2016 with the arrival of the Haitian
caravan.
At present, Ambassadors of Jesus Church houses 76 people from the
current Central American migrant caravan, 10 Mexicans and 47 Haitians."
I'm still here, barely. I had my appointment at the Sharp-Reese Steely Wound Center yesterday and had a third compression bandage (uni-boot) applied to my leg. I have eight more appointments lined up until February, it is that bad. I'm still on antibiotics but no pain meds, although it hurts, a complete disaster and the Doc said today, "...wow, that's some shark bite."
Meanwhile on the trip back we heard on the San Diego radio news there was a problem at the Otay Mesa POE with the migrantes but searching around I could find no news, so we'll see if anything appears later today re the situation there. Regarding the several hundreds of migrantes who have been camped out on the street (Cinco de Mayo) next to the baseball field, a new alberque has been located for them:
- From Frontera: Please note Angeles sin Fronteras is a local pro-migante organization, completely not affiliated with Pueblos Sin Fronteras.
The new shelter for the Central American caravan that was left outside
the Benito Juárez Sports Unit will not represent any expense for the
Tijuana residents or the federal government.
This was announced by Gilberto Herrera, delegate of Morena of the
Integral Development Programs, during the opening of the shelter, which
will be for almost 400 migrants, including children, women and adults.
"The Tijuanenses will not cost a single peso. It is a space that was provided for one or two months as a temporary shelter in which normalizes the situation, "he reiterated.
Herrera stressed that the space was achieved by the efforts of father
and activist Alejandro Solalinde Guerra and Jaime Bonilla, delegate of
the federal government in Baja California.
Services
"Against all odds" is the name that the migrants gave to the space,
which has the capacity to receive 600 people along the 3 thousand 800
square meters, where it is prohibited the consumption of drugs and
alcohol.
There the Central Americans will have the service of dining room,
bathrooms, showers, in addition to the attention of the immigration and
health authorities.
Herrera said that the people who are currently housed in El Barretal
will not have access to the new space, since the migrants want to leave
them to maintain order.
In that sense, Lourdes Lizardi, activist and coordinator of the civil
association Ángeles Sin Frontera, and Celio Archaga, pastor of the
Christian church A Seed of Hope, of Honduras, will be in charge of the
control of the shelter.
"Is not easy. There is always a huge remnant that does not want to submit and they think they are in Honduras. Here we are in Tijuana and we must learn to respect the ground directly where it opens the doors for us, "he said.
Regarding the people who are reluctant to leave 5 de Mayo Street,
Gilberto Herrera said they risk being arrested for sleeping on the
roads."
I've noticed some US reports which have stated how horrible the conditions were at the baseball field (where the migrantes were dumped by the great revolutionaries) prior to them being moved to El Barretal which the report is saying itself is lacking medical care . Not according to El Sol:
" Dr.
Óscar Ginera Aparicio, head of the Health Services Jurisdiction number
2, indicated that all infected patients are under surveillance; however, they can not be restricted from contact with the rest of the population.
The cases increased in the course of eight days approximately, when
there were only eight cases, between adults and infants, for the
prevention of this virus 34 vaccines have been applied mostly to minors.
However, the work with the migrant caravan by the health services has
been one thousand 95 vaccines applied to more than a month of what will
arrive in the city. Of the total of vaccines applied, 400 biologicals are anti-influenza; 395, of tetanus; and 229, for the prevention of hepatitis B for adults.
Likewise, Dr. Óscar Ginera added that 27 vaccines against hepatitis B
were also applied, but for infants, as well as six triple viral
vaccines.
He specified that the attention to migrants located in "El Barretal" is
continued on a permanent basis, and in the warehouse to which the
Central Americans who were located in Benito Juarez moved, visits of
medical services are being scheduled.
Finally, it was reported that, in the mobile hospital enabled from the
first days of the arrival of the caravan, 94 different cases have been
attended of which only 15 have merited transfer to the general hospital
of the city."
" The
migrant caravan is divided, it has lost strength and now it has been
submerged in a deep crisis to which they have not been able to respond.Contrary
to seeking alternatives, Central Americans have become vulnerable to
the stalking of alleged leaders who have taken unusual actions and have
tarnished the credibility of the movement.The Mexican government says it has solved the problem, while activists warn that the problems are just beginning
A month after the arrival of the first contingent of the migrant
caravan to Tijuana, the crisis within Tijuana has generated division
among Central Americans, who are taking decisions "out of context".
The request of a group of migrants to speed up the reception of asylum
applications in the United States and another group that requires them
to provide free transit to the neighboring country, or in their case an
economic compensation of 50 thousand dollars to each of them to return
to their places of origin, are examples of the "crazy" actions that have
taken place.
I request a blanket request, increase to 300 the daily receptions of asylum requests in San Ysidro sentry boxes.
This has not only startled the activists or citizens, but the US
authorities themselves for the "outdated" of the matter, but because it
seemed a "kind of threat" that does not fall within any of the
possibilities that the government could accept at the time. headed by
Donald Trump, who has shown his total rejection not only to the caravan,
but to every Central American and even Mexican migrant, whom on several
occasions he has labeled as "criminals", responding with a resounding
"no" to his requests.
On the other hand, federal authorities announced that the migration
crisis in Tijuana ended, and that in just five days of the new
government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador it could be resolved,
something that activists do not agree with, because as has been seen ,
the lack of knowledge and the "malleability" to which the vast majority
of migrants are exposed, is causing alleged leaders to take advantage of
the situation.
"The lack of certainty has also divided us," said Milton Hernández, a
Honduran migrant who participated with the group that made the request
for financial compensation, because "we are not very in agreement with
other leaders."
EVERYONE BY THEIR SIDE;"LEADERS CONTINUE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE"
On Tuesday, December 11, two different groups of migrants - unknown to
each other - marched each on their own to the facilities of the US
Consulate in Tijuana, to deliver petitions to the authority of that
country. The first group, led by the Honduran Alfonso Guerrero Ulloa, highlighted among their requests:
Allow free entry to all members of the exodus to US territory
Put a stop to US economic, political and military intervention in territory
Central American, withdrawing the 13 military bases and all extractive companies.
If they do not want the entry of migrants into the United States, take
Juan Orlando Hernández out of Honduras and give them 50,000 dollars so
that each of the migrants can return to their countries.
The second group, headed by Irineo Mujica, of Pueblos Sin Fronteras,
only requested an immediate increase in the number of asylum seekers
processed to at least 300 people a day and through the San Ysidro sentry
boxes, measured on the basis that only about 50 are received. up to
date. Situations both that caused confusions between one and another groups; The first was made known thanks to a Change.org
petition, which the alleged leader Guerrero Ulloa does not belong to
the migrant caravan and has at least 30 years out of his country, due to
an accusation of terrorism in 1987.
The petition mentions that Alfonso Guerrero Ulloa was "falsely" accused
of being a material actor in an attack that took place at the China Palace restaurant in the city of Comayagua, Honduras, where six Marines from the Palmerola Military Base were injured.
"It took me into exile, they are already 30 years away from my homeland and family, living miserably. I believe I have the right to fair compensation and my return to my country, "says the accused.
Migrants consulted said they did not know anything about that situation
and trusted that their new leader would take them forward "as others
have not," said Jorge Yamil, who participated in the march. THEY DISCONNECT BETWEEN GROUPS
Xóchitl Castillo, originally from Nicaragua and a member of the group
led by Pueblos Sin Fronteras, did not know the group that made the
request of 50 thousand dollars for each of them and even claimed to have
no idea why or how such a group emerged, in the understanding that they
are part of an exodus and the requests are made together.
He clarified that all they want is to "expedite the procedures", but
when asked if there is a division within the caravan, regarding the
different leaders that have been emerging, he did not answer, because
"here we are an exodus and I do not really know what is happening, we
just like you are surprised at that. "
For José María García Lara, director of the Youth Hostel 2000 and
coordinator of the Migrant Alliance, this is part of the division that
has been generated within the caravan due to the crisis in which
migrants are taking into account.
For several weeks, inside the lodge enabled in the El Barretal
property, the Central Americans have been dividing by "department", that
is, the Hondurans by regions of origin; Salvadorans, Nicaraguans and Guatemalans, being minority, also grouped together.
This began to be carried out in a strategic way to request groceries in
the shelter, but little by little they have gained a sense of
organization thanks to the fact that in them the alleged leaders have
seen spaces to "malign them".
"This does not add more than a little more to the bad image that the caravan that has been asking for asylum already has;
asking for money is very unfortunate, because they deteriorate the
image of people who are asking for asylum and want to enter the United
States in a good way, "said the activist.
FEDERATION MINIMIZES THE CRISIS;US DENIES FREE ENTRY AND INDEMNIFICATION
A day after these "crazy" measures were presented, the new Interior
Minister, Olga Sánchez Cordero, shared that the current government had
resolved in just five days the humanitarian crisis of the migrant
caravan in the shelters of the city. The federal official noted via Twitter : "In 5 days we have resolved the migration crisis that was in Tijuana, Baja California. We install health centers, dining rooms, bedrooms and children's activities. "
Statements with which activists were not totally in agreement, because
although they recognize that control has already been maintained and the
situation is calmer, the problem at the border persists and "there is
still a lot of work to be done".
José María García Lara is one of those who recognizes that things go
"on the right track", but disagrees in the sense that persists the
problem about the insertion of people to jobs, active working life and
the community itself.
Added to that there is a group of 400 migrants who subsist outside of
the "Benito Juárez" Sports Unit in the open and without attention,
waiting for a resolution on their cases, so it is important to focus on
what they will do with them, since there is Complete families with women
and children.
During a visit to Tijuana on Saturday, December 8, the priest and
activist Alejandro Solalinde offered to be an intermediary in the work
of convincing this contingent, so that he can move to Barretal and other
hostels, but it would have to be the authority that allows those
actions, of which no response has been given.
At the close of this edition, it was reported that a winery a few
meters from the camp would be able to house the 550 migrants who
remained on the street."
* Note in Zeta's report, Pueblos Sin Fronteras are mentioned as bearers of part of the rental of the new alberque - neither Frontera or El Sol has mentioned this...and this information is from "activists". Frontera names Los Angeles de Frontera as part of the directorship of this new care center - so maybe there is a misprint in Zeta's article. Unless there has been a truce between Pueblos Sin Fronteras and Padre Solalinde, but I think we would have heard a lot about that and we have not.
Municipality lied about the number of migrants in the city: Bonilla
Jaime Bonilla, current state delegate of the Government of Mexico and
who served as head of the Commission on Border and Migratory Affairs of
the Senate of the Republic, said that it was a lie of the municipal
authorities to have said that it was 12 thousand and then 9 thousand
migrants who would arrive in Tijuana, since "there has never been that
amount".
In a press conference, he affirmed that the numbers of the total of
migrants "have been exaggerated", and that of the 100 million pesos that
the mayor Juan Manuel Gastélum asked to attend such a large number of
people, "it is an outrage, they are going to deliver, "at least not for
that matter," much less if we are seeing the alchemy that is thrown up
here and that resources disappear, because less will be given to it,
"Bonilla reiterated.
As a Federation, the issue will be addressed, so now the Government of
Mexico has a control and they are really seeing the numbers, which they
estimated at around 4,100 migrants in Baja California.
According to Jaime Bonilla, the lie of the local authorities generated
"much panic" among the citizens, but in reality "there have not been as
many" migrants as was mentioned from the beginning.
"Yes there were conflicts, but we can not say as the mayor said, it was
not possible for a Honduran to have murdered a Haitian, when he has two
thousand and a fraction of murders and has never made that expression; you can not exaggerate an incident to point out a Honduran, when here we have thousands of deaths every day, "said Moreno.
As the first authority, "it is not valid" to take that position because
it is "discriminating, it is arrogant in many ways, but at the end of
the day it is not correct (...) the municipal presidency has lost a lot
of credibility, has invented many lies," he concluded.
According to information from activists, the rent of the place will be
borne by Pueblos sin Fronteras, Father Alejandro Solalinde and the
Government of Mexico, through Jaime Bonilla.
In that sense, he considered "totally good" that in legal terms the
situation has been resolved, but it is still necessary to see how they
will be integrated into the Tijuana community, in the case of those who
decide to stay in Mexico, taking into account that The United States
responded with a strong "no" to the requests of the migrants.
Through a statement, Katie Waldman, spokesperson for the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS, for its acronym in English), shared that it will
not be possible to accept the requirement that the American Union pay
50 thousand dollars for migrants to return to your country of origin.
As secretary Kirstjen Michele Nielsen has repeatedly stated, "being a
member of a caravan does not grant special rights to enter this
country," in addition, that the vast majority of members "are not
legitimate asylum seekers," and if they were, they would seek refuge in
the first safe country they entered.
"However, as expected, they rejected the generous offer of Mexico in
search of economic opportunities or family reunification in the United
States. Economic opportunity or family reincorporation is not a basis for asylum under any system, "he said.
Finally, he shared that it seems that some of the migrants have
understood this situation and the commitment of the Donald Trump
administration to "enforce the rule of law", which means a strong
message that "they must return home."
* Note: From the same Zeta article, but this is not what I have been reading from some US reports (and you have to wonder if they are promoters for the NGO's. ) These reports from the US are saying there is no work available for the migrantes in Tijuana, that they can find nothing, they cannot find a job no matter how hard they try. A different story from Zeta:
Hondurans are opting for humanitarian visas
Alden Rivera, Ambassador of Honduras in Mexico, highlighted that in
Tijuana, more than 1,200 people from that country are already applying
to obtain a humanitarian visa, in order to work; or, they already have a job in the city.
Thousand 500 people have registered in the book to apply for asylum in
the United States, but there are still 800 people who do not make a
decision regarding asylum in Mexico or the United States.
According to information from Manuel Marín, subdelegate of the National
Institute of Migration, to date more than 700 voluntary returns have
been submitted to their countries of origin, in addition to 300 assisted
returns, for reasons that some authority made them available to the
Institute. for having broken the Law.
Added to this, there have been 2,500 procedures for humanitarian visas
and 25 requests for refuge of people held at the migrant station in
Tijuana.
From November 12 to date, more than 3,000 Central Americans have
surrendered by skipping the border fence, reported the United States
Border Patrol."
~~~~~
Then of coursethere is always the drug war, here are the latest stats for Tijuana from Zeta:
"In
the last 48 hours in Tijuana, 22 people have been deprived of life in
different events, so the number of intentional homicides amounts to 131
victims so far in December.
The morning of Saturday, December 15, in a vacant lot located on the
Xicoténcatl avenue of the Camino Verde colony, Delegación Sánchez
Taboada, was found a lifeless male with puncturing injuries.
Then a human body wrapped in a white blanket was found in the street
Colorines of the Jardines de la Mesa colony, in the Los Pinos
subdelegation. In the Santiago alley of the Buena Vista neighborhood, the corpse of a man wrapped in a blue canvas was found. The victim had injuries by firearm. Next to the body was a white cardboard with a legend, which until now is unknown. Alexis Rodolfo de La Cruz Castro died in the General Hospital, after being shot. On the dirt road of the Federal Electricity Commission in the Lomas de Matamoros neighborhood, human remains were found. Inside the canalization of the Tijuana River in the Center area was reported the corpse of a male with puncturing injuries. Two men were located without life inside an address on Bahía Magdalena street in Colonia Ejido Francisco Villa. The victims had injuries caused by firearms. The corpses of two men were found in the Quintana Roo alley of the Central Zone. One of them died from strangulation and the other from puncture injuries.
With gunshot wounds in the neck, the corpse of a male person was
located on Avenida de las Américas in the El Laurel subdivision.
A body wrapped in plastic and cinnamon-colored adhesive tape in the
cephalic region was located on a neighborhood road near a maquiladora in
the Rural Dam delegation.
Yesterday, Sunday December 16, nine people were killed in different
points: first a double shooting was recorded in Privada Dalia in the San
Pedro Valley subdivision. One of the victims was identified as José Guadalupe Sánchez Pasillas, 45, the other remains as a stranger.
Later, a man without life was located in a neighborhood road to the
Laurel subdivision of the second section, in the Rural Dam Delegation. The cause of death is still unknown.
Later on the old road to Tecate in the colony Ejido Rojo Gómez, in the
Rural Reservoir, a shootout broke out between a group of delinquents and
municipal police, leaving as a result a dead agent identified as César
Gallardo Rodríguez and two alleged dead hit men.
The burnt corpse of a stranger was located in a neighborhood road in the Palma Real subdivision
Juan Antonio Peraza Guardado died in the General Hospital after the injuries caused by a firearm projectile. A stranger was shot dead when he was on Avenida Benito Juarez in Colonia Centro.
Finally, on the morning of this Monday, December 17, a severed human
head was located inside the Tijuana River Canalization, and meters away
on the East Fast Track, at the height of the Guadalupe Victoria colony,
the decapitated body was found. So far this year in Tijuana have been killed 2 thousand 416 people."
~~~~~
Zeta adds this report on the six police attacked en Tijuana in one weeks time:
" Agents of the Municipal Police of Tijuana have suffered six attacks, four of them armed, from Monday 10 to Sunday 16 December.
In one case, one policeman was killed and another was shot, while in a
field fight a district chief was hit with a severe blow to the head.
For the head of the Municipal Public Security Secretariat (SSPM), Marco
Antonio Sotomayor Amezcua, these attacks are not direct attacks, but
the reactions of the criminals in routine interventions carried out by
the police.
In the most recent case, which occurred on Sunday, a clash between
police and a group of armed men who had deprived a man of freedom in the
eastern part of the city left six civilians injured, one policeman
killed, another wounded, two criminals killed and one more responsible
with bullet wounds.
During the morning, two officers aboard a patrol observed a convoy
consisting of a Ford F250 pick-up truck, a Jeep Cherokee truck and a
Chevrolet Blazer with armed individuals parked in the middle of an
overrun market installed between the colonies. Child and Ejido Rojo
Gómez. Before they were approached by the agents, the men fired on the police with long weapons, who repelled the aggression.
At that time, the officers asked for support and when the criminals
fled the site, they informed via radio that they were following the
three vehicles.
The attackers advanced to the Hacienda de las Delicias and Las Rosas
streets in the Terrazas del Valle neighborhood, where they descended
from the vehicles again to continue firing.
It was there that Officer César Gallardo Rodríguez was executed and his
partner, Jesus Guillermo Lavenant Martínez, 48, was injured.
However, two criminals wearing bulletproof vests and three more men
identified as Juan Luis were also killed, Enrique and Uriel were
detained for the events.
About the facts, in a press conference offered this day, the Public
Security Secretary extended his condolences to the relatives of the
fallen officer, but also condemned the actions of the criminals, who
shot in the midst of a large number of people.
Of the six collateral victims, one is 11 years old and with the
exception of one person, the others were discharged yesterday with minor
injuries.
"The criminals did not care about the lives of civilians, they fired
everywhere, six injured ... it is a very unfortunate issue, we have to
redouble the fight against crime, this type of events can not be left
like this," said the official. municipal.
About the man who was deprived of freedom by the convoy, unofficial
sources confirmed that he was the member of a rival gang of detainees,
who were identified as members of the Sinaloa Cartel. Along with them, five caliber 223 weapons were found. "Besides the deprivation of freedom of this person, surely there was another objective," said Sotomayor Amezcua.
He added "the work of the comrades of the Municipal Police was a very
good reaction, unfortunately we lost the life of Officer Gallardo, but
two were shot down, two more were arrested and five assault rifles were
taken from the streets."
"We will see where the investigation takes us, under orders of who
acted, who was the one who motivated them, we do not want the loss of
the life of the partner to go unpunished and, in addition to the
material authors, that the investigation be followed up until we reach
the intellectual authors, "he declared. Of the injured officer, the holder of the SSPM reported that he is out of danger after being hospitalized.
On this and the five most recorded attacks against policemen in the
last week alone, the secretary said that in four firearms were used
against the agents and two more were physical attacks.
"They have to do with the fact that the Municipal Police is the first
respondent, these are issues that are part of the preventive patrol
scheme.
It has to do with the issue of firearms, any criminal takes firearms,
is the risk facing the police and the citizens of Tijuana, "he added.
Sotomayor Amezcua said that it is very common for police to meet with
armed criminals, but "we will continue to face them, there are 14
thousand detainees in the last two years, more than 1,800 firearms and
it is part of the risk as a police officer". Officer Gallardo Rodríguez joined the SSPM on September 3, 2012, his last commission was in the La Presa delegation as agent.
About the rest of the attacks, one arose on Monday, December 10, when
officers responded to a report of gun detonations, when they reached the
Mirador stream in the Hacienda Las Delicias neighborhood, they observed
men shooting beer bottles. When trying to address them, the men fired at the officers.
Three men identified as Jesus Raymundo, Manuel Enrique and Francisco
"Chavita" were arrested, two in possession of pistols and one with a
long caliber 223 gun.
The next day, on Tuesday, December 11, policemen who were traveling on
the Altiplano boulevard of the colony of the same name, ran into a
Renault Logan vehicle at excessive speed, so they mark the stop, but
instead of stopping, the crew increases the speed and shoots from inside
the vehicle impacting the patrol. Those responsible were arrested.
On Wednesday, December 12, agents of the Municipal Police went to a
report of people who disturbed the order in Emiliano Zapata street in
the Ejido Matamoros neighborhood.
Upon arrival, the subjects, who were drinking, tried to disarm the
police, which led to a riot that left five policemen with injuries,
including the district chief of La Presa.
While on Friday, December 14, in the Ejido Chilpancingo neighborhood, a
man who had entered an address without authorization, upon being
persecuted by the police, tried to take the weapon from one of the
agents, the other officer repelled the attack and left without life the
delinquent.
That same day, in the afternoon in the Centenario neighborhood, police
reported the arrest of three men identified as Brayan Alexis, Álvaro
Gabriel and Juan Ángel, the latter was injured after police shot him
when the young man pointed to the police with a gun of fire. The men were driving in a vehicle with tinted windows and tried to flee when the officers marked them with discharge. They carried with them two 40-gauge and 45-super guns, as well as 24 doses of glass. "The criminal will try to achieve his goal at all costs.
These criminals have no respect for human life, but in the vast
majority of these armed attacks, who takes the worst part are the
criminals, "said Sotomayor Amezcua on the armed confrontations between
criminals and police.
Finally, he said "any criminal who raises the weapon, will immediately
be neutralized, we will not risk the comrades of the Municipal Police
and we will support them in their actions".
Since December 1, 2016, the date on which the current municipal
administration began, six officers have been killed in the line of duty
and three more in traffic accidents."
Sorry I am late. The civil war surgery on my leg turned south, we had to return to the hospital today because my foot and calf were both swollen like watermelons and I still couldn't walk. Turns out there is an infection and I have to go back again tomorrow to be fitted for something called a uni-boot and then again on Friday for a re-check; the only good thing was that Paris was dropped off at Pet-Co for a bathers, but everything else is a disaster.
If you have been following the links since the last blog you might have thought - like me - that there seemed to be some positive changes since a large measure (over 2,000)of the migrantes were moved to El Barretal. Even though it isn't the Ritz, at least the migrantes were out of the freezing inclement weather. One civilian volunteer group, World Central Kitchen has set up kitchens and have been working around the clock preparing decent food for them, the Marinos were back in action with their food stations, some migrantes have set up kitchens themselves and some of these said they wanted to stay in TIJ and open up diners, the city was providing Nurses and Doctors to treat the rash of illnesses which had broken out, showers and latrines have been provided offering more privacy, AMLO has offered them jobs here in Tijuana and other parts of Mexico, stations were created to at least start their paperwork process by the Mexican government, Padre Solalinde was in town and still is working the crowds (and trying to persuade those still camped out by the baseball field and the PRI building to move over to Barretal and encouraging local authorities to be honest with the migrantes, and hundreds of Tijuana and US citizens have been showing up with much needed supplies.
Still, what we are hearing is that many hundreds of the migrantes refuse to go to Barretal which is not good news because health rules prohibit them from camping out on the streets and they have to move, the US is moving too slow on the asylum requests, some people are wondering what happened to the reported 3,000 migrantes reported unaccounted for (or if in fact there really are that many unaccounted for), the food lines are long and everyone is wondering will any of them receive asylum - if so, will they be held or are we back to catch and release?
The Marches:
December 10, 2018
- From Zeta: see report for pics.
Lideres Religiosos Protestan En La Frontera Contra El Gobierno de EU Por No Recibir Solicitudes de Asilo a Migrantes Por, Manuel Ayala Pasted: "Hundreds
of pro-immigrant activists and religious leaders demonstrated this
afternoon at the border between San Diego and Tijuana, to set
his displeasure towards the migratory policies of the United States
that at the moment has been denying the requests of asylum of the
Central American migrants that from the past 11 November arrived at this
city.
On the US side, the religious leaders conducted a peaceful walk of
"civil disobedience", as well as discontent with the treatment they have
given to the migrants themselves and the ways in which they were
received with gas bombs and rubber bullets, in addition to the null
speed to attend their cases.
The walk arrived to the wall adjacent to Playas de Tijuana, where a
barricade of elements of the US Border Patrol stopped them, so they
would not get close to the border, where on the Mexican side they were
also expected by religious leaders and activists who work in Tijuana.
In their attempt to get close to the wall, several of the activists on
the US side were stopped by the Border Patrol, who were loaded into
trucks and taken with authority.
Father Patricio Murphy, director of the Casa del Migrante in Tijuana,
said that more than 400 religious leaders participated in this
demonstration to show solidarity with migrants on this side. A demonstration on the occasion of Human Rights Day to carry out a moment of prayer for all the members of the migrant caravan.
"It is also a way to push the government, to awaken it with these
images so that it looks for other solutions so that people can enter
faster because 40 or 50 per day is nothing and the people who are here
are going to last for months in a hostel that is not very worthy for
children and women, "he said.
For her part, Mary Galván, social worker of the Madre Asunta Institute,
said that as associations in Tijuana their participation was in
solidarity with these leaders because part of their work is also to
sensitize a part of the American community that "does not want to
understand yet" the migrant situation. "(They come) to tell the United States that what they are doing is
wrong, that a lot of the people who are on the move and trying to reach
the neighboring country, are because they have a great need to seek a
better living condition."
Finally he said that this was only a sample between groups on both
sides of the border that "we are not alone", because on both sides
"there are still good people who believe in God's love" and so they will
always be manifesting.
~~~~~~
"In
two different marches carried out this morning and afternoon in
Tijuana, groups of migrants and activists requested the United States
Consulate in the city, to speed up the reception of asylum applications
from Central American migrants.
Considering that the great majority are families with children and
women, the first group of approximately 150 Honduran migrants left the
shelter of El Barretal in the morning, in the direction of the US
consulate, where they delivered a request list with three highlights: 1.- Free entry to all members of the Central American exodus.
2.- That the United States take away the 12 military bases they have in
Honduras and that is what causes so much violence in the country.
3 .- That if they do not want to let them in, they compensate them with
a payment of 50 thousand dollars to each one of the migrants, so that
they can return to their countries.
This group of migrants put the Consulate within 72 hours to receive a
response, which, according to spokesperson Alfonso Guerrero Ulloa, is
expected to be "positive" mainly with the granting of asylum; After presenting the document, the group of migrants returned to the shelter.
Later, another group of migrants, together with Pueblos Sin Fronteras
activists, gathered at the facilities of the National Migration
Institute (INM), to request information about the deportations they have
made to members of the caravan and other legal aspects.
Xóchitl Castillo, originally from Nicaragua, shared that the
sub-delegate of that institution, Manuel Marín, provided them with
figures that to date had more than 700 voluntary returns, 300 returns
assisted or deported because they were made available by some authority.
In addition, 25 asylum seekers are detained in the immigration station
in Tijuana, by those who requested their immediate release and those who
let them know that a mechanism is established not to deport people who
are waiting to seek asylum in the neighboring country.
Subsequently, the contingent also traveled to the US Consulate in
Tijuana, where they entered to present also a request list in which the
only precision is to speed up asylum applications and that of 50 they
are receiving daily , receive at least 300 a day in the San Ysidro
sentry boxes.
Alex Martinez, a Honduran migrant, reported that this march was mainly
due to a way to close the hunger strike that they held near El Chaparral
facilities for 14 days.
The Hunger Strike with which they also asked for the asylum process to be
expedited and for the Federal Police not to collaborate with the INM in
order to stop and subsequently deport the migrants."
"The
rejection of the United States, the aggressions of a sector of the
Tijuana society, the uncertainty, the bad conditions of the shelters,
deficient distribution of provisions and even the inclemency of the
climate, are some of the factors that have caused the migrant caravan to
have lost strength as a group and now is segregating.Activists and researchers agree that much of it is because the authorities do not want to have them in Tijuana.
The rejection of a sector of the Tijuana society, the bad conditions of
the first shelter, the distance from the second, the recurrent
criminalization and sectorization of the municipal authorities and the
State, have generated a dispersion of the migrant caravan throughout the
city. "It has lost its essence, it has been taken away," said the migrant named Milson Martínez.
Some are separating themselves from the rest to stay close to the
sentry boxes, others have looked for places to rent or work with their
families, some more are waiting to ask for asylum in the neighboring
country, others are jumping the wall and the least have asked to be
returned to their places of origin.
"We are not staying other than to look on our own, the strength of the caravan is over.
We must think of ourselves, of those who have children, to know well
what we are going to decide now, because we already see that it will not
be possible in a group and that the authorities in Tijuana do not like
us very much, "shared the young Honduran.
To all this, the rainy season has started in Tijuana with its freezing
temperatures, climatic conditions that still have not become accustomed
and that have aggravated the health of many migrants.
The donations that are coming from civil society are retained at the
entrance of El Barretal, where there are only 2,122 members of the more
than 6,700 that had been counted by the Municipality in the Sports Unit
"Benito Juárez". And they are not distributed in the best way.
The remoteness of workplaces or the El Chaparral Garita, where they
have to be constantly going to know their turn to apply for asylum to
the US government, are factors that some activists have considered
strategic to contribute to the dissolution of the caravan and the
persuasion that they desist from their path to the American Union.
"They do not want them in Tijuana either," said Soraya Vázquez,
coordinator of the Strategic Committee for Humanitarian Aid (CEAH), who
considers the attitude of the authority to be "perverse, in the sense of
generating the worst conditions (for migrants) just to achieve that the
majority left the city, regardless of the risks to their safety and
physical integrity, what to say about violations of due process, as well
as each and every one of their human rights. "
MISSING IN THE CARAVAN
The overcrowding in the shelter of the "Benito Juárez" Sports Unit, in
the Northern Zone, and the unhealthy conditions generated by the rain
that fell on Thursday, November 29 in the city, exceeded the attention
capacities of the municipal and state authorities, propitiating a lack
of control and chaos in the organization of the caravan itself.
In a hasty manner and without any protocol, between the afternoon and
night of that day the authorities began to move the migrants to a new
space in El Barretal, a former entertainment center of the Mariano
Matamoros neighborhood in the Eastern Zone, which did not have
electricity or sanitation services.
The sudden displacement generated uncertainty and fear among the
members of the caravan, who spread the rumor that they would be moved
out of the city, or to the immigration offices to be deported
immediately. This caused fear among the migrants, some of whom refused to move.
The sports unit was completely closed on Saturday, December 1 and an
approximate of 700 occupants decided to camp on the street where the one
that was their shelter was located.
On Sunday, December 2, the municipal authorities only accounted for
2,122 migrants in El Barretal, out of the more than 6,700 migrants who
had joined before the transfer. Mario Osuna Giménez, secretary of Municipal Social Development, said that the whereabouts of around 3,000 migrants are unknown.
Additionally, in his weekly report, on December 3, the Secretary of
Municipal Public Security of Tijuana, Marco Antonio Sotomayor, referred
to another 144 migrants located in different shelters of civil society,
and the shortage of 3 thousand Central Americans.
Both officials agreed that they ended up leaving on their own to ask
for assisted returns, to go and take shelter with a family member, seek
asylum in the United States, those who have been jumping over the wall
to surrender to the US authorities , or those who simply decided to stay
in the city or any other part of the region.
"We know that suddenly some ventured to throw themselves on the wall,
others maybe they went back, but I do not think so many have done it,
that's why it generates uncertainty, because it may be that.
Housewives and peasants, most of the members of the migrant caravan
A diagnosis made by researchers from El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
(El Colef) showed that the vast majority of the people who make up the
migrant caravan said they dedicate themselves to agriculture and
livestock in the case of men; and in that of women, at home or as domestic workers.
Another of the results that were shared on Tuesday, December 4, at the
facilities of this institution, was that most of the respondents have on
average between 18 and 29 years of age, and have only completed the
primary level, although some of them have with doctorates.
On their expectations, the survey that was conducted while the migrants
were in the "Benito Juárez" Sports Unit, showed that the vast majority
wanted to cross to the United States by any means, others to request
asylum through legal channels and a small part to stay in Tijuana. 81 percent comes from Honduras, 9% from El Salvador and 8% from Guatemala;
the vast majority comes with one or up to four relatives, mainly women
with children, and another large percentage are men who come alone.
WAYS TO DISPERSE THE CARAVAN;THEY WILL SEARCH FOR CROSSING BY DESERT AND MOUNTAINS Activists and specialists consulted by ZETA
, agree that moving and moving migrants away from the city center, from
the sentry boxes and the crossing area to the United States, was a way
to contribute to the dispersion of the caravan itself, to reduce its
force through uncertainty and fear of what might happen.
The fact that there are also 3,000 unlocated migrants is attributed to a
form of speculation among the members of the caravan, so they can take
immediate measures such as voluntarily surrendering or leaving the
country.
Soraya Vázquez, of the Strategic Committee, believes that to square the
numbers that had been mentioned, "the key" is to know the real and
objective figure of the total number of people who were housed in the
"Benito Juárez" Sports Unit, which has not been done public authority,
hence "the suspicion that the figures were inflated for the City to
victimize even more, and to obtain more resources."
Option that other activists who reserved their name seconded, who
argued that from the beginning it was impossible that in a space such as
the sports unit could concentrate more than 6 thousand people, and even
less "credible", that now be almost 3 thousand that are "disappeared",
since there is something that "does not fit.
Guillermo Alonso, researcher at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (El
Colef), specialized in clandestine border crossing, said in an interview
that, considering that this is a population that does not have money to
pay for " polleros ", it is more likely that that flow that is not localized are young "able to cross the walls and walk the hills".
"They were not going to stay in El Barretal with their arms crossed, waiting for their turn to come;
they will not be where the authorities want either, they did not walk
more than 4 thousand kilometers to be asking for asylum, when every day
the only signal they give is that they will be given if they do it for
good (...) Most are scattered, hidden, planning how to cross to the other side ".
Caravan figures
* More than 5,000 migrants who arrived before the caravan and those who
are now on the waiting list to apply for political asylum in the United
States * More than 600 have been repatriated voluntarily to their countries of origin * Around 2 thousand 500 have been linked labor to companies of various sectors of the State * More than 300 have been delivered to US immigration authorities, jumping the wall
"We do not want to stay in Mexico, we fear for our lives"
Yanired Hernández, originally from Sonsonate, El Salvador, is the
migrant woman who, at approximately 4:30 in the afternoon of November
30, was run down along with her cousin Nelson Armando -who died at the time-
one block from El Barretal , where it is currently housed.
She is one of the people who is already "terrified" by all the
situations that "unfortunately" she has had to live throughout her
journey in Mexico and wants to leave as soon as possible the country in
which, also highlights, she has touched " too many good people "that has
also helped him along the way.
Together with her husband Carlos Hernández, her cousin and two friends,
they left their country of their own free will and after joining the
caravan in Huixtla, Chiapas, from there they began their group journey
"without any problem", a path in which they recognize Many Mexicans
helped them with food, drink and clothes.
They arrived at the shelter installed in the "Benito Juárez" Sports
Unit, from where they had to leave almost fleeing the day the rain fell,
as they lost everything due to weather conditions and left for El
Barretal, where their "odyssey" began.
Arriving at the site they found out that one of the friends who were
accompanying them, named Lázaro Daniel, was one of the migrants who died
in the repair work of a rainwater network in Antonio Nava street in
Acatlán of the Mariano Matamoros Norte neighborhood, Wednesday, November
28. He explained that he had already found work in the contractor company Pacific Specialized Constructions, who were in charge of carrying out the work, and his desire was to stay in Tijuana to make his life here.
On several occasions, the leaders of the caravan were informing them
that there were threats that armed groups would "shoot" those who
remained in the Northern Zone, so they chose to stay in El Barretal.
But on Friday, November 30, when they returned from having gone to eat
near the shelter, a drunken person who was on board their van ran over
them, she was caught by her husband's jacket and only received a blow to
the hip. who sent her against the wall, resulting in a wound on her
head.
However, his cousin died instantly, which caused him "a very great
pain" that has caused him "fear and terror" to continue in the city, he
does not even want to stay in Mexico and is waiting for his turn to
request the asylum, the one who waits for him to be granted because they
left their country after the death threats and an attempt of homicide
on the part of the Mara Salvatrucha towards her husband.
On his medical expenses, a private doctor from the Mariano Matamoros
colony daily attends to follow up, Grupo Beta provided the first
medications and a US association has been providing him with the other
medications he requires.
On the body of his cousin, the Consulate of El Salvador, in
coordination with his relatives, are taking charge of the transfer,
which will take place in coming days to his homeland.
"My dream was to get to the United States to get my two children
forward, we wanted to improve ourselves as people, work and make you
want, at some point we thought about staying in Tijuana, I had plans to
stay here, I had job offers and I had asked the humanitarian visa. We were happy that we were going to work together, but with this that happened to me, I definitely do not stay here; I fear for my life, I am afraid, "concluded the lady."
