Displaying items by tag: Mexico

It is reported that 4,799 Africans were apprehended in Mexico between January and July, a fourfold increase over the same period in 2018. Between 1,500 and 3,000 Africans are currently camping in tents outside the Mexican city of Tapachula. They have been there for months after fleeing conflict-ridden countries like Cameroon and DR Congo. Most flew to Brazil, then made the dangerous journey north through road-less swathes of jungle into Mexico, hoping finally to reach the USA to claim asylum. They can’t leave Tapachula without a permit, but these are scarce since Mexico agreed to help President Trump to limit numbers crossing the border. Now Trump intends to bar people from applying for asylum if they haven’t first applied in the countries they crossed - Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Migrants could be deported back to ‘safe third countries’, which are not safe and would put many at renewed risk.

Pastor Cruz Canseco was in the pulpit of his church when he was shot at point-blank range. His attacker was prevented from escaping, and was subsequently handed over to the authorities. The pastor died on the way to hospital. His murder follows a series of attacks targeting religious leaders, including the kidnapping of Pastor Méndez Ruiz, who had prevented Cuban migrants from being abducted from a shelter on 3 August. The expansion of violent criminal groups and the pervading climate of impunity surrounding such crimes has led to increased violence against religious leaders. Criminals view church leaders as a threat to their power, so they are threatened, kidnapped and killed. Lack of proper investigation means perpetrators are not brought to justice. Pray for the family and congregation of Pastor Cruz Canseco and for the wellbeing and return of Pastor Ruiz .

Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela have colossal crime rates which undermine growth, threaten human welfare, and impede social development, according to the UN and World Bank. The region registers 40% of the world’s murders despite having only 9% of the global population. One in four Latin Americans was assaulted and robbed in 2018. Wealthy Brazilians have to provide their own security. Pray for the church and the police to bring security and peace to Brazil’s vulnerable population. Massive street marches in Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil protesting against violence have made it difficult for politicians to avoid dealing with the issue and, in many countries, tackling crime is a central theme in political party platforms across the region. Pray for God to raise up strong, wise men and women with God’s anointing to lead the countries back to His purposes.

China, Mexico and Russia are just some of the countries represented at this year’s G20 summit which are failing to enforce their laws and promises against corruption, and in particular foreign bribery. International bribery is one of the many ways in which corruption heavily impacts sustainable development and economic growth. It hinders fair access to markets as well as progress on today’s most pressing issues like education, healthcare, gender equality and the climate crisis. To make economic development work for all, anti-corruption should be mainstreamed into every decision and policy. G20 governments must enable clean contracting provisions, publish open registers of beneficial owners of companies, and create strong whistle-blower protection. G20 leaders must focus on implementing their commitments and not feel tempted just to keep making more promises.

Despite President Trump’s stepped-up law enforcement at the Mexican border, arrests have nearly doubled since last year. ‘We are in a full-blown emergency, and I cannot say this more strongly - the system is broken’, said a border protection spokesperson. In May agents apprehended 144,000+ migrants. Now Homeland Security has uncovered an IS plot to send fighters from Syria to the USA by way of migrant routes across the porous border. Mexico is taking ‘decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organisations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks’, by deploying thousands of national guards to control migrant flow. On 8 June, the State Department promised to expand a programme that returns asylum-seekers to Mexico while their claims are adjudicated. Mexico will offer them jobs, healthcare and education. See

An international Christian delegation went to the Mexico-US border and witnessed first-hand the situation being faced by those seeking asylum and refuge. They are now calling for the dismantling of walls, borders and facilities that contribute to dehumanisation, exclusion, isolation and victimisation of people. They want nations to enact laws that account for human dignity, human rights, righteousness and compassion. The delegates will take their message to Washington, where they will join other Christians at an ecumenical advocacy event. Meanwhile a group of Mexican churches, together with the Theological Community of Mexico, are providing pastoral and psychological support to the people who make a stop in Mexico City. Churches in the USA are providing legal counsel to those seeking sanctuary and asylum, and offering their houses of worship as sanctuaries. Pray for radical reforms that address the causes of migration and the way in which migrants are treated on their journey.

President Trump calls the ‘migrant caravan’ an invasion of the USA. . A desperate 2,600-mile walk from Honduras with children and a few possessions is an odd invasion. Honduras has suffered much since President Hernández’s fraud-marred re-election in 2017. As resistance to him persists, scores are killed by government security forces. Also gangs and drug trafficking cause one of the highest rates of homicide. Some are fleeing not because of crime or political oppression, but because of economic inequity and lack of opportunity. Scripture says we should care for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. Pope Francis said, ‘It is hypocrisy to call yourself Christian and chase away refugees, those seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty. If I say I am Christian, but do these things, I am a hypocrite.’

Donald Trump is prepared to prolong the current government shutdown because the ‘humanitarian and national security crisis on the southern border’ necessitates funding a wall. This plan is popular with his fanbase, but most Americans oppose it by a 10-to-20 point margin. Trump has Republican support, but Democrats feel they have public support; so the standoff about the shutdown continues. Also, before signing an anti-human trafficking measure on 9 January, Trump said, ‘Israel put up a wall to protect them, and they don’t have a problem any more’. He seems to equate Hezbollah terrorists, Hamas, IS, and the Palestinian ‘second intifada’ attacks with a few thousand migrant families at the Mexican border. See

On 10 December over two hundred faith leaders from different traditions will converge on the US-Mexico border in support of the migrant caravans and all those who seek refuge in the US. The event, organised by a Quaker organisation which has worked with migrants and refugees for over a hundred years, will begin a nation-wide week of mass action called Love Knows No Borders, between Human Rights Day (10 December) and International Migrants’ Day (18 December). Participants are calling on the US government to end the detention and deportation of immigrants, respect the human right to migrate, and end the militarisation of border communities. A volunteer helping the migrants said, ‘I met a Mexican family so scared for their lives that they took the next bus out of town, leaving everything else behind.’ The majority of people were fleeing violence or wanting to earn enough to care for their children. See

In June Ocampo’s entire police force was arrested: see Now, in Acapulco, three senior police officers have been arrested, and all the police have been disarmed and replaced by the military while investigations are made into infiltration by drug gangs. With low pay and little training, police are easy targets for cartels. Last year there were 30,000+ murders involving bloodthirsty drug cartel rivalries. Two of the senior police officers arrested are accused of murder. There has been a military-led campaign to battle the cartels for over ten years. The decision to act in Acapulco was the consequence of increased crime and lack of action by police to deal with it. The port city of Acapulco, once a glamorous beach resort, has been transformed by deep-rooted drug crime into one of the most murderous cities in the world. The area is a hub for opium poppy production.