Mexico Trucker Online

A bus owned by Autobuses Lucano of Dallas Texas, traveling from San Luis Patosi, SLP to Houston Texas crashed 35 miles south of Nuevo Laredo Thursday morning, killing 2, including a pregnant 19 year old woman whose body was found under the bus and injuring 10.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Sabinas Hidalgo NL and Cruz Roja in Nuevo Laredo.

Juan Carlos Flores Sanchez, Commandander of Federal Police Highways, reported initial investigation and interviews with passengers suggested the driver fell asleep at the wheel shortly before the bus left the highway and overturned.

The driver left the scene and a warrant was issued with the Nuevo Leon State Police for his arrest and detention.

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The newest outrage against Mexico going around the blogosphere and on the rabid right wing talk shows and overnight conspiracy fests, is the story of personnel of the Mexican Army being involved in a home invasion and murder in Phoenix Arizona.

When I first heard this, I believe it was on Lou Dobbs nightly hatefest, I was incredulous at the stupidity of the report and that anyone with a lick of sense would believe it.

Now, KFYI in Phoenix is reporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement is saying,

mmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said three suspects arrested in a Monday morning Phoenix home invasion and homicide were not members of the Mexican Army.

“We have no indication whatsoever that any of the individuals were involved with formal military in Mexico,” said Vincent Picard of ICE.

That should be enough to put to rest the rumor mill, and heaven forbid, a retraction from those reporting to the contrary, but we know that hasn’t happened nor will it.

 

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Amid fierce U.S. government protests over the release of a suspect in the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, Mexico yesterday pledged close cooperation with U.S. authorities. But Mexican officials said they have yet to receive a request for his extradition or arrest.

Jesús Navarro Montes, who is suspected of drug smuggling, is accused by U.S. authorities of driving a sport utility vehicle over agent Luis Aguilar in January near the U.S.-Mexico border west of Yuma. Navarro was released from a Mexicali prison earlier this month after Judge Laura Serrano Alderete, of the Baja California 12th District, cleared him of an unrelated migrant-smuggling charge.

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MEXICO CITY (MTN) — A police raid on a crammed Mexico City nightclub turned into a deadly stampede that killed 12 people, including nine youths and three police, officials said.

Police entered the New Divine nightclub, where around 1,000 people had gathered to fete the end of the school year, on Friday to break up the illegal sale of alcohol to minors and a stampede ensued, said Joel Ortega, a local security official.

“Unfortunately, the person in charge of the nightclub took the microphone and announced a police operation was underway,” Ortega said, adding that his words “sparked a panic.”

People rushed to get out, causing a stampede. Cases of beer were blocking the emergency exit, officials said.

[/Bodies in the street]Seven youths — three of them young women — and three police died at the scene. An 18-year-old and a 15-year-old succumbed to injuries in the hospital, where around 20 others were rushed for treatment.

“The deaths were attributed to asphyxiation by suffocation,” said public prosecutor Rodolfo Felix.

The raid took place around 6:30 pm (2330 GMT), about an hour and a half after the gathering kicked off.

A ticket to enter the party cost 30 pesos (three dollars), and the two-story, 20 square meter (215 square feet) space quickly filled beyond capacity.

The capital’s main nightly newscast broadcast a brief video that was taken by police at the moment when officers entered the premises.

In the video, a cloud of smoke appears on the dark premises, youths can be heard shouting and a disc jockey says in a calm voice over a loudspeaker: “We are going to evacuate the place, there is a police raid.”

People were continuing to line up outside the club in the hopes of entering as the raid was announced.

Police arrested three nightclub employees, including the DJ, and 39 other people on charges of disturbing the peace. Authorities said there was no exchange of gunfire and denied using tear gas on the crowd.

Abandoned shoes lay scattered outside the entrance to the discotheque, and a group of youths briefly returned to the scene to throw stones at a hundred or so police officers who remained outside.

Asked if police took adequate precautions to avoid the tragedy, Ortega answered: “Many plans are made ahead of time, but a lot depends on the attitude of the people inside and how the group behaves.”
Mexico City Police raid on Club Devine
UPDATED

17 Mexico City Cops fired for participation in raid that killed 12

MEXICO CITY — Police officials on Tuesday fired 17 officers here in connection with a botched raid on a bar last week that triggered a stampede, leaving a dozen people dead.

The firings came as newly released video footage showed police officers blocking exits as hundreds of young patrons tried to flee. The bar’s owners were suspected of serving alcohol to minors.

The incident, at a bar called News Divine in a gritty section of northern Mexico City, has been the talk of the capital for days and spurred a flurry of finger-pointing.

Family members of the deceased have gathered in front of the bar to demand punishment for police and borough officials involved in the raid.

Some politicians have called upon Police Chief Joel Ortega to resign. But he has remained, promising to punish any officers found to have acted improperly.

The city’s popular left-wing mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, denounced the raid in harsh language, vowing a thorough investigation and swift corrective measures. The incident represents the first serious political crisis for Ebrard since he was elected mayor in 2006.

The dead included nine patrons and three of the officers who took part in the operation. Police arrested the owner, Alfonso Maya Ortiz.

The legal drinking age in Mexico is 18.

Hundreds of young revelers, many of them celebrating the end of the school year, were packed inside the 1,100-square-foot bar by the time police arrived late Friday afternoon.

The owner announced the raid over a loudspeaker and asked everyone to leave, promising free entrance the following week. But witnesses said they quickly found themselves trapped amid stifling heat.

“The police told us they were not going to let us leave and closed the doors,” 16-year-old Rebeca Mohzo, told the Televisa network. “Everyone was desperate because there was no air.”

Police videotape of the scene showed pandemonium as patrons were pressed against the exits, many screeching in fear. They were shown fanning themselves in the heat and could be heard pounding on the locked doors.

The footage, broadcast repeatedly Tuesday on television, also showed a tumultuous scene outside the bar as police attempted to revive those who had collapsed, including a police officer.

Separate footage, apparently shot by an onlooker and posted on YouTube, showed helmeted police using their shields to strike some of the escaping patrons.

Mexico media reported that prosecutors were considering charges against the operation commander, Guillermo Zayas. He was fired immediately after the raid.

Among the 17 officers fired Tuesday was one who had been honored previously as officer of the year.

There has been much talk lately in the news and on the radio and TV shows about Americans heading to Mexico to partake of the cheaper fuels available there.

This quote from The Sanctuary gave me a chuckle and went on to explain why the fuels are so much cheaper in Mexico.

As nativists continue to falsely claim that “illegal aliens are stealing from U.S. taxpayers”, it looks as if U.S. citizens have found a way to steal from Mexican taxpayers.

Here in Mexico, gasoline is about a dollar cheaper per gallon than in the US because the Mexican government subsidizes it’s national oil monopoly PEMEX. In Monterrey last weekend, Regualr gas was selling for $7.99 pesos per liter ($3.30 US) with premium gas or Magna selling at $8.99 pesos per liter $(3.65 US per gallon).

Gasoline prices in Mexico are set by law. In addition, low sulphur diesel (500ppm) and Ultra Low Sulphur diesel (15ppm) which is largely imported from the US is selling at $5.95 pesos per liter ($2.40 US per gallon) Mexican further subsidizes dieself to it’s commercial fleet with a 20% discount on direct billing.

Because of low refinery capacity, Mexico imports approximately 40% of it’s gasoline and diesel from the US or sends it’s crude to US refineries along the Gulf Coast for refining.

So is crossing the border for a fill up worth the money saved versus the time and trouble involved?

Consider border wait times now that can be more than two hours and major crossings. The cost of the toll to cross back into the US. The hassle of being treated like a criminal by your own government, all to save a few bucks? You decide!

We’re hearing unsubstantiated rumors of Americans going into Mexico and filling up gas cans and containers to take back across the border, and frankly, while it might be attempted, they are asking for more trouble than the money being saved.

For instance, when asked about the legality of importing fuels from Mexico, the Customs and Border Protection responded with this press release.

After seeing a spike in extra tanks and containers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection published an advisory telling people that anything not in their vehicle’s gas tank qualifies as a commercial import and must be brought in and documented through commercial lanes.

“We’re not stopping people who are coming in with just one diesel tank, but we’re looking at people who are coming in with several of them,” CBP spokeswoman Mucia Dovalina told Mexico Trucker Online.

In a phone interview Thursday, Dovalina said the advisory applied to “anything that is not in actual use or that is not fitting to the vehicle that is in operation of the vehicle.”

Pemex has traditionally been a great source of national pride, making Mexico one of the world’s top oil producers and producing about a third of the government’s revenue.

But its proven oil reserves are shrinking, and it lacks refining capacity, particularly for low-sulfur diesel being phased in under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

So even while the nation still exports crude oil, it imports about 40 percent of its fuel.

“Mexico currently is a net exporter of hydrocarbons. Local refining is not sufficient to meet local demand, so Mexico imports petroleum products to make up the balance,” said Mariano Gurfinkel of the Center of Energy Economics at the University of Texas at Austin. “In practice, some of the Mexican oil is refined in the Gulf Coast refineries and petroleum products are sent to Mexico. … There might be some targeted subsidies, but that’s a sovereign decision of Mexico.”

While Mexico is the biggest importer of U.S refined product, In the overall scheme of things, it’s not a huge number.

Pemex in 1993 invested $1 billion in Shell Oil Co.’s Deer Park refinery to help process its oil.

I have not found breakdowns of which refineries export how much to Mexico, but the most recent data, from March, showed 100,000 barrels of U.S.-refined gasoline per day going to Mexico — roughly 1 percent of the 9 million per day consumed in the United States.

Diesel exports to Mexico were 46,000 barrels per day, compared with 4 million per day consumed here.

As a side note, I was listening to the Fucking Bozo, Dale Sommers this afternoon coming across the border and he was talking about the poor quality of Mexican fuels. Telling his listeners they would need decontaminants and such. Who believes his bullshit anymore. It is obvious he knows nothing about what he talks about. With the statistics at hand, he is also condemning US refined and exported fuels. That sort of set the record straight once again about Mr Sommers and company.

I’m due a filter change on my Volkswagon Jetta TDI, that is a diesel Jetta for those who don’t know. With 45,000 miles on the motor and the original fuel filter on it, we’ll see how “dirty” Mexican diesel is. I would imagine that probably 80% of the fuel burned in that car has been bought at the pumps in Mexico, the other 20% coming out of the tanks of my big rig. I get around to it, I’ll publish photos of the contents. We’ll see how dirty the fuel is.

The annual three-day inspection blitz known as Roadcheck takes place this week at more than 1,000 inspection locations at weigh stations and roadside checkpoints across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The annual event sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is Tuesday through Thursday, June 3-5, and will involve tens of thousands of inspections by federal, state, provincial and local inspectors.

For Mexico Trucker, it will be the first time in almost 20 years I’ve worked during this event. Why? Well, my 10 year old Mexican owned Classic XL passed a Level I inspection in Louisiana last week so in theory, I won’t be subjected to the hassles of the event. According to Louisiana State Troopers Chesne at the St Martin scales, mine was the only truck in 72 hours which he put a sticker on. For me, it’s the hassle factor. They say it is for safety but in reality, safety takes a back seat to revenue enhancement.

Mexico began their participation yesterday. As I was returning from the house in Monterrey to the border to begin another work week, I encountered no less than 8 Federal Police units with Mexican big rigs on the side in pull offs undergoing inspection.

I can’t find any statistics for Mexico’s participation in Roadcheck 2007, but OOIDA is reporting,

CVSA reported that Mexican officials conducted just 139 inspections with 10 trucks being placed OOS and no driver violations.

I can’t find these figure anywhere on CVSA website so I would assume it is more of OOIDA spreading misinformation about Mexico and it’s trucking industry.

It will be an interesting day as I travel the border route from Laredo to El Paso and on to Denver tomorrow afternoon to see just how intensive this “blitz” is. In the past, it seems to have been, as Willy P. Shakesphere once said, “Much a doo doo over nada”!