Latin America: Week in Review, Mexico
Border Patrol Will No Longer Fly Deportees to Mexico From Arizona
September 11, 2012 By Staff
Top Story — The U.S. Border Patrol will stop flying deportees back to Mexico from Arizona, according to the Associated Press. The controversial program flew more than 125,000 people since 2004 into the interior of Mexico, after they were caught crossing into the United States illegally.
But with border arrests dropping to a 40-year low as fewer people make the dangerous trek across the desert into Arizona, it became difficult for officials to fill the planes. The Mexican government rejected a U.S. proposal to mix immigrants apprehended for illegal entry with convicted criminals on the same return planes.
Moving forward, U.S. authorities intend to use tougher punishments against immigrants who cross illegally.
Read more at the Associated Press.
Headlines from the Western Hemisphere
North America
- Mexico’s President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto plans to propose a constitutional reform that would tackle government corruption.
- Police found 16 dead bodies in a vehicle on Monday in Mexican state of Guerrero.
Caribbean
- Cuban artist Ismael Espinosa died of heart failure on Sept. 4 in a Kendall Baptist Hospital at 92.
- Prominent Cuban dissident Martha Beatriz Roque declared a hunger strike on Monday.
Central America
- A U.S.-based NGO criticized Honduras‘ investigation of a fatal shooting allegedly involving police.
- Costa Rica’s finance minister presented to Congress the country’s 2013 budget proposal, which makes cuts to infrastructure, but not the public payroll.
Andes
- Venezuelan presidential candidate Henrique Capriles questioned on Monday if Hugo Chávez’s government is really socialist.
- Fundamedios, an Ecuadoran non-governmental organization, filed a lawsuit against President Rafael Correa on Monday to challenge an order that bans public officials from giving interviews to privately-owned media companies.
- A deserter from Colombia’s National Liberation Army, a guerrilla group, led an Ecuadoran hostage to freedom on Monday.
Southern Cone
- Government officials in Argentina said Monday that floods have caused millions of dollars in losses for farmers and ranchers.
- The Financial Times asks if Brazil can contain its booming crack cocaine business.
Image: Jonathan McIntosh @ Flickr.
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