Peso trades at 10.11: Mexico's peso closed the week at 10.11 per dollar, and some expect it to break past the psychological level of 10 pesos per dollar soon. The peso traded at 11 pesos to the dollar a year ago. It last traded below 10 pesos to the dollar in 2002.
Prison director killed: Gunmen killed a state prison director in Ciudad Juarez. City police spokesman Jaime Torres said prison chief Salvador Barreno was shot Thursday as he drove in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. His bodyguard also was killed.
Teacher posts sold: The president of the national teachers union, Elba Esther Gordillo, said some teaching posts in Mexico were being bought and sold. “We don't sell the positions; the union's national committee does not authorize it, but teachers have told me that they have been charged 50,000, 60,000, 20,000 or 30,000 pesos” – sometimes even selling their bodies, she said. The sums she mentioned range from U.S. $2,000 to $6,000.
Canadian languishes in jail: The family of a Canadian businessman detained in Mexico is pleading with Canada's government to intervene on his behalf and bring him home. Pavel Kulisek, 43, has been in jail since he was arrested March 11 in Los Barriles in Baja California Sur. He was charged June 16 with drug trafficking. His lawyers and family say the charges are unfounded and that the North Vancouver man was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kulisek, his wife and their two daughters, ages 4 and 6, had been living in Los Barriles since October and met a man who called himself Carlos Herrera. Herrera actually is Gustavo Rivera Martinez, a suspected leader of the Arellano Félix drug cartel. When police swooped in on Rivera having dinner in March, Kulisek was there and also was arrested. Kulisek's family has since returned to the Vancouver area.
Airlines drop routes: Two Mexican airlines have canceled 11 routes to low-profit destinations this year due to rising fuel costs. Aeromexico has canceled eight flights – including three to Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, Texas – to offset soaring fuel prices. Aviacsa, which operates only one international flight, to Las Vegas, has halted service to three domestic destinations.
Repatriation program: The United States and Mexico resumed the Interior Repatriation Program to return illegal immigrants to their places of origin in the interior of Mexico. The first repatriation flight took off Monday from Tucson with 115 Mexicans who volunteered to be repatriated. The program continues until Sept. 28. July, August and September present the most severe climate conditions for crossing the Arizona-Sonora desert.
Maná video: A new video by the Mexican rock group Maná called “Arde el Cielo” (The Sky Burns) shows images of President Bush and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez as examples of people who do not respect human dignity. The group said it backs Democrat Barack Obama for president.
Compiled from news reports by Foreign Editor David Gaddis Smith: (619) 293-2211; david.smith@uniontrib.com
