LA Times Today: Families flock to Mexican murder ranch, hoping for signs of loved ones
L.A. Times Mexico City bureau chief Patrick McDonnell joined Lisa McRee with the story of the ranch that Mexican newspapers have called the 'Mexican Auschwitz.'
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Guatemala grants temporary status to 161 Mexicans fleeing organized crime
GUATEMALA CITY -- GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala on Wednesday granted temporary humanitarian status to 161 Mexicans who fled their country last week seeking refuge from organized crime, even as Mexican officials denied that anyone had been displaced. The Guatemalan Immigration Institute said that 39 families, including 69 children, from the Mexican municipality of Frontera Comalapa would be allowed temporarily to remain legally in the country. The families were staying in rented homes, with relatives or in temporary shelters in the Guatemalan border town of La Mesilla. But Eduardo Ramírez, governor of the Mexican border state of Chiapas, said Wednesday on X that those who went to Guatemala have relatives who have been arrested and are facing charges in Mexico, a claim he made without providing evidence. 'The organized crime that operates in the neighboring country of Guatemala wants to discredit our public safety strategy that has given tranquility and social peace in Chiapas' by saying people have been forcibly displaced by crime, Ramírez wrote. 'I categorically deny that fact.' It was not the first time that Mexicans crossed the border to escape violence. In July of last year, nearly 600 crossed at another point on the border. Two of Mexico's most powerful cartels from the northern states of Sinaloa and Jalisco have been battling for control of smuggling routes in the area of southern Mexico in recent years causing multiple displacements. In June, Chiapas state police pursued suspects into Guatemala and engaged in a shootout.
Yahoo
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Thirteen arrested over murders of Mexico City officials
Thirteen people were arrested on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in the murders of two close aides to Mexico City's mayor three months ago, Mayor Clara Brugada said. Brugada's personal secretary Ximena Guzman and advisor Jose "Pepe" Munoz were gunned down during rush hour on a busy avenue in the Mexican capital on May 20. Among the 13 arrested were "three people who participated directly" in the attack, as well as "others linked to the logistical preparation," Brugada told a press conference. The arrests were made at dawn as part of a joint operation between local and federal authorities as well as the army. Despite the apparent hallmarks of a gang hit, Brugada did not speak about a motive. After the murders, public prosecutor Bertha Alcalde Lujan said it was "a direct attack with a significant degree of planning, and those who carried it out had prior experience." Guzman and Munoz were both members of President Claudia Sheinbaum's Morena party, which also governs Mexico City. Brugada is a close ally of Sheinbaum, who has condemned the attack as "deplorable." While Mexico City has been spared the worst of the country's raging criminal violence, it is not the first high-profile attack targeting public officials in the capital. In June 2020, the city's then security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch survived an attack by heavily armed gunmen who killed two of his bodyguards and a passerby. Garcia Harfuch, who is now Sheinbaum's national security minister, was wounded in the shooting, which he blamed on the powerful drug trafficking group Jalisco New Generation Cartel. sem/axm/dl/acb
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Stockton man thrust into national spotlight after fatal collision in Florida
Aug. 20—A long-haul truck driver accused of killing three people in a Florida traffic collision was arrested in San Joaquin County over the weekend. Newsweek reported on Monday that 28-year-old Stockton resident Harjinder Singh was arrested by U.S. Marshals on suspicion of three counts of vehicular homicide. He was booked into San Joaquin County Jail on Saturday, and appeared for arraignment Tuesday, according to inmate records. The Miami Herald reported that the Aug. 12 crash occurred when Singh attempted to make a U-turn in his 18-wheeler at an "official use only" area of the Florida Turnpike 19 miles north of Fort Pierce. The truck was blocking all the northbound lanes as a 2015 black Chrysler Town & Country minivan approached in the middle lane and slammed into the 18-wheeler, killing its three occupants. Two passengers in the minivan — a 37-year-old woman from Pompano Beach and a 54-year-old man from Miami — died at the scene. The driver, a 30-year-old man from Florida City, later died at a hospital, according to the Herald. Neither Singh or as his passenger, 25-year-old Harneet Singh of Yuba City, were injured in the collision. The pair flew to Sacramento on Aug. 13, as law enforcement does not make an arrest at the scene of vehicle crashes, the Herald reported. Vehicular homicide is punishable by as much as 15 years in prison in that state. According to Newsweek, federal immigration authorities have issued a detainer which could lead to deportation proceedings once the criminal case is concluded, reports state. In his monthly address to the public posted on social media, San Joaquin County Sheriff Pat Withrow said he was not able to hold Singh, an undocumented immigrant, on an ICE hold due to California law. "He's from out of the country, and he's here illegally, but California does not allow me to honor the ICE hold because he has committed no prior crimes," Withrow said. "We don't know if this was gross negligence or an intentional act." The Florida Highway Patrol told the Herald that Singh, who has a commercial driver's license in California, entered the United States illegally in 2018 through the Mexican border. It's unclear how he obtained a commercial driver's license, as California law requires applicants to show proof they are in the U.S. legally, among other requirements, according to the California Commercial Driver's Handbook. California's AB 60 allows undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver's license if they can provide proof of identity and residency. These licenses are marked "not for federal identification." Singh had been linked online to a 2019 crash in Arkansas that destroyed a historic bridge, but officials confirmed to Newsweek Monday he wasn't involved in that accident. That driver, also named Harjinder Singh, was fired by the US Citylink Corporation following the crash, reports state. News of the Florida crash went national, the Herald reported, with Singh being at the center of several social media posts by the Trump administration on Sunday and Monday, prompting a response from Gov. Gavin Newsom. In one post, Newsom's press office said the federal government issued Singh an employment authorization document during Trump's first term, which allows foreign nationals to work legally in the U.S. In response, Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said Singh's work authorization was rejected in 2020 while Trump was in office and approved the following year under the Biden administration, the Herald reported. San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas filed a petition for a fugitive warrant against Singh on Tuesday. Singh agreed to waive extradition and awaiting transport to Florida. "Public safety depends on strong collaboration between states," Freitas said. "Our office has fulfilled its role in this matter, and Harjinder Singh will now face consequences in Florida."
