Posted on 01/31/2003 9:55:11 PM PST by FITZ
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico - The streets around the U.S. Consulate in this bustling border town usually teem on weekdays with Mexicans who want visas to cross the Rio Grande River and visit the United States.
But on Thursday, the well-worn sidewalks around the consulate were empty except for armed guards. The consulate's busy visa section has been closed amid evidence its workers illegally sold entry permits.
Thomas Armbruster, consul general in Nuevo Laredo, said the visa section, closed Wednesday, would remain closed at least through next week. The consulate's usual services for U.S. citizens were not affected, he said.
The roughly 30 Mexican citizens who work at the consulate are on administrative leave until Monday. Those workers have been interviewed by U.S. investigators from Washington, Mexico City and Monterrey.
``We felt that it was a problem that was bigger than something that we could identify all the facets of locally,'' said Armbruster, the consul here for more than two years.
He declined to specify what triggered suspicion within the consulate, how many people may be involved or how many illegal visas had been issued. The consulate typically interviews 300 to 400 visa applicants a day, Armbruster said.
While the visa office is closed, applicants are being sent to consulates in Monterrey and Matamoros.
Nuevo Laredo Mayor Jose Manuel Suarez Lopez said that the visa process was difficult even when people were able to do it close to home.
``When we get the consulate working on regular duties, we have a lot of problems,'' he said. ``Now without the consulate, it will be even worse.''
Bertha Diaz of Piedras Negras, 100 miles up the Rio Grande traveled for her visa appointment and was told she would have to go to Monterrey, 120 miles south, instead.
``I don't want to go to Monterrey,'' she said. ``It's too far for me.''
Armbruster said the consulate's U.S. staff expected to be briefed by investigators in the next few days. He said the probe by the State Department and the Justice Department had been under way for months.
It was unclear where prosecutions might take place.
The local newspaper El Manana quoted unnamed Mexican sources as saying five people -- two Mexicans and three Americans -- had been detained. Nancy Herrera, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney in Houston, said she was unaware of any charges.
Each day thousands of people drive or walk the three bridges over the Rio Grande linking Nuevo Laredo and Laredo, Texas.
Ramon Juarez, Laredo port director for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, said the visa shutdown had not had a noticeable effect on the number of people crossing from Mexico.
``But if it were to go on for quite some time, there might be an impact,'' he said.
Pathetic.
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