Mexico group brings help, discouragement to migrants to US

ByLeticia Pineda Agence France-PresseFirst Posted 10:53:00 08/03/2010

NOGALES, MexicoA letter written by a migrant before he died in the desert is one tool used by a Mexican group which tries to persuade its compatriots to think twice about crossing the border into Arizona.
"My name is Arturo Gomez. The people trafficker tricked us. He said he knew a lot but it wasn't true. There were 14 of us, we can't all endure this. Goodbye," read the crumpled letter found eight years ago near 14 bodies in the scorching desert between Arizona, in the United States, and the Mexican state of Sonora. The Beta Group also informs migrants of their rights and rescues wounded and lost people on the vast 2,000-mile (3,200kilometer) US-Mexico border. Mexico is the only country in the world to have government-backed groups to assist migrants, according to Enrique Enriquez, coordinator for the Beta Group in the border city of Nogales, one of 16 zones covered along northern and southern borders. The government set up the group 10 years ago, when migrants were increasingly moving toward the Sonora-Arizona crossing point into the United States after swathes of California and Texas were blocked by a border wall. Almost half a million people, mainly from Mexico and Central America, try to cross into the United States each year. In 2009, 182 Mexicans died trying to cross the border between Arizona and Sonora alone, an increase on the 169 deaths the previous year, according to official figures. Enriquez warned a group of migrants in the area that if they could not be dissuaded from crossing the border they should put their hands on their heads if they came across US Border Patrol agents who may shoot at them. "Don't split up because, afterwards, everyone runs when the 'migra' (Border Patrol) comes," Enriquez said, explaining it can take months for family members to reunite if they are deported. Along with the risks of traveling for days without provisions in the harsh climate or attacks from drug traffickers, a new Arizona immigration law also awaits migrants who cross illegally into the United States. The law did not go into effect last week, stripping police of powers to spot check the legal status of suspects but spreading fear through immigrant communities. A deployment of 1,200 National Guard troops to the US side of the border also starts this month to help the Mexican government's crackdown on smuggling and drug trafficking. Enriquez regularly scours the desert, following clothes and belongings dumped by migrants en route and seeking migrants in trouble. The group recovers dozens of dehydrated or wounded people each week, and also looks for and removes corpses.

Around 50 migrants pass through its offices per day in the summer, compared with up to 400 a day when the weather is cooler. They help them return home and show them Gomez's letter, in which he named the people trafficker who led him to his fate in a bid to warn others.

Filipina arrested for carrying illegal drugs at Bangkok airport

By Jerry E. Esplanada Philippine Daily InquirerFirst Posted 13:05:00 08/03/2010

MANILA, PhilippinesA Filipino woman was arrested sometime last weekend at the Bangkok International Airport for allegedly smuggling 4.16 kilos of cocaine into Thailand.
Reports reaching the Department of Foreign Affairs identified the suspected drug mule as Icoy Bethlehem Mamontong. Lieutenant General Atitep Panjamanon, head of the Thai Narcotics Suppression Bureau, held a news conference on Monday in the Thai capital to announce the arrest of Mamontong. The same reports also quoted the Bangkok-based The Nation newspaper as saying Mamontong was "arrested at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport upon arrival from Lima, Peru." Mamontong, 32, was allegedly "hired for $4,000 to deliver the drugs to someone in Vietnam," the same publication also said. As of this writing, the DFA has yet to comment on Mamontong's arrest. The foreign office has been warning Filipino travelers against acting as drug mules in exchange for huge sums of money from illegal drug syndicates. In February, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Administrative Order 279, which created the Anti-Drug Couriers Task Force to prevent Filipinos from being used as drug mules. The body, co-chaired by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the DFA, is tasked to develop programs to prevent the recruitment of Filipinos as drug couriers and to closely coordinate for the apprehension and prosecution of drug trafficking syndicates operating in the country. The task force also groups the Department of Labor and Employment, Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Customs, National Bureau of Investigation, Manila International Airport Authority, and the Philippine Tourism Authority as members. DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. earlier said the government is taking proactive measures to address the issue. Conejos reminded Filipino travelers to "be extra wary of accepting offers from individuals or groups to carry illegal drugs in their luggage when going abroad." "We warn our countrymen not to accept packages which they suspect are illegal drugs. If they are caught carrying illegal drugs, they will face very dire consequences," he said.

Conejos noted that in the People's Republic of China, drug trafficking of illegal drugs is punishable by jail terms of at least 15 years, life imprisonment, or death. On the other hand, the offense is punishable by death under the Shariah law in most Muslim countries. A check with the DFA disclosed that nearly 200 Filipinos cited in drug-related cases in China. At least six of them have been meted the death penalty without reprieve, 35 others face life imprisonment while 56 have been serving fixed jail terms.