January 2009 Archives
5:46 AM Tue, Jan 27, 2009 | Permalink
Angela Kocherga
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I was in Houston recently for a visit and many people asked me the same two questions about covering Mexico's drug violence. Is it really that dangerous? And are you afraid? Yes, it is dangerous-- but those most at risk are journalists who work for the Mexican media. And to protect themselves reporters in Mexico have had to develop some survival skills.
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8:14 PM Thu, Jan 22, 2009 | Permalink
Angela Kocherga
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Conditions might be ripe for the rise of vigilantes in this Mexican border city but it's not at all clear the threat emailed by a group calling itself the Citizens Commando is real. The Mayor of Juarez dismisses the CCJ but not the danger of such groups emerging in his city.
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12:41 PM Wed, Jan 21, 2009 | Permalink
Angela Kocherga
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The rampant killings, kidnappings, and extortion in the Mexican border city Juarez has given rise to the risk of vigilates. A group calling itself the Citizens Commando of Juarez issued a "manifesto" declaring "war on thieves, kidnappers and extortionists and promises to kill a criimnal every 24 hours if government authorities do not restore order.
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4:54 PM Mon, Jan 19, 2009 | Permalink
Angela Kocherga
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In his final act of clemency President Bush commuted the prison sentences of two agent's whose cause was championed by conservatives across the country. Critics argued the sentences were too harsh for men they called "heroes." The agents were convicted of shooting a drug smuggler in the buttocks as he fled and then trying to hide the evidence.
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6:33 PM Thu, Jan 15, 2009 | Permalink
Angela Kocherga
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While kidnappings rampant in Mexico especially on the border and families fleeing to the U.S. side will the kidnappers also follow? A private investigator in El Paso says it's happening now.
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4:42 PM Wed, Jan 14, 2009 | Permalink
Angela Kocherga
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The border fence is nearly complete but the fight is far from over. No one expects the newly constructed fence to come down but critics do want the U.S. Supreme court to take a look at the power granted the Department of homeland security to build the fence in the first place.
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5:59 PM Tue, Jan 13, 2009 | Permalink
Angela Kocherga
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A divided City Council in El Paso failed to override the mayor's veto. It was a tie 4-4 but not the required majority so that's the end of the debate over calling on the federal government to begin a "serious debate" about legalizing or "decriminalizing" drugs.
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4:10 PM Wed, Jan 07, 2009 | Permalink
Angela Kocherga
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With violence at unprecedented levels in Juarez, El Paso's City Council took a controversial vote and publically called on the U.S. federal government to start a "serious debate" on legalizing drugs. It came as an amendment to a resolution drafted by the city's border relations committee.
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4:52 PM Fri, Jan 02, 2009 | Permalink
Angela Kocherga
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The economic downturn is as strong a deterrent to illegal immigration as border enforcement. New figures by Mexico's central bank confirm what many Mexican workers and their families know: the U.S. recession reaches across the border.
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