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MEXICAN Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez today slammed US President George W. Bush's plan to send 6000 troops to secure the US-Mexico border and stanch the flow of illegal immigrants there, adding that Mexico has no plans to follow suit. Mr Derbez complained in a television interview that the move amounted to "militarising" the border, enabling US troops to detain people. Mr Bush said "very clearly" that 6000 National Guard troops will be stationed there to support border patrol operations, Mr Derbez said. The US president yesterday said that up to 6000 National Guard troops - part-time soldiers under the...

At stake is the revered headdress called the 'crown of Moctezuma' MEXICO CITY - For nearly 500 years, the jewel-encrusted, plumed headdress Mexicans revere as the "crown of Moctezuma" has been hidden away in the private collections of European royalty or behind bulletproof glass in a museum in Austria. Now Mexico wants it back. And Mexican officials said last month that they would formally petition Austria for the return of the relic, on display in the Ethnological Museum of Vienna. Many scholars think the headdress once belonged to the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II, who was defeated by the Spanish in...

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez has an interesting theory about the identity of those armed men in military fatigues who drove vehicles across the Rio Grande as part of a marijuana-smuggling operation. After a chase by Hudspeth County sheriff's deputies, DPS troopers and Border Patrol agents Jan. 23, the men and the vehicles retreated across the river to the Mexican side of the border. Countering accusations that members of the Mexican military are supporting drug-smuggling operations, Derbez suggested that it might, in fact, have been members of the American military dressed as Mexican soldiers who were toting guns with...

Mexico City, Oct 3 (EFE).- Mexico's foreign minister said here Monday that building walls or fences will not solve the problem of illegal immigration, because the causes of the exodus of workers to find better opportunities abroad run very deep. Luis Ernesto Derbez made his remarks at the opening ceremony for a conference of 11 Latin American and Caribbean nations with high rates of emigration. Derbez alluded to what occurred in recent days in Spain's North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, where hundreds of Subsaharan Africans tried to climb over the border fences and enter Spanish territory. "What happened...

Mexico City, Oct 3 (EFE).- Mexico's foreign minister said here Monday that building walls or fences will not solve the problem of illegal immigration, because the causes of the exodus of workers to find better opportunities abroad run very deep. Luis Ernesto Derbez made his remarks at the opening ceremony for a conference of 11 Latin American and Caribbean nations with high rates of emigration. Derbez alluded to what occurred in recent days in Spain's North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, where hundreds of Subsaharan Africans tried to climb over the border fences and enter Spanish territory. "What happened...

Church leaders to discuss role in immigration Leonard MartinezEl Paso Times A Catholic cardinal, 17 bishops from the United States and Mexico, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and the Mexican foreign minister will meet in El Paso next week in what is being described as a historic meeting about the church’s spiritual, moral and legal obligation toward immigrants. The conference, the first of its kind along the U.S.-Mexico border, will include 150 diocesan staff members from the two countries and will feature a variety of workshops on treating immigrants and fulfilling their religious needs. “As members of a universal church, we...

MEXICO CITY, June 15 (Reuters) - Mexico hit back on Wednesday at U.S. criticism of its drug war, accusing a senior Drug Enforcement Administration official who censured Mexico of talking nonsense. Anthony Placido, the DEA's assistant administrator for intelligence, told a House of Representatives subcommittee on Tuesday that U.S. efforts to slow the inflow of illegal drugs were being hampered by Mexican inefficiency and corruption.[Is it just me, or does the following paragraph sound like Baghdad Bob?] "It is worthwhile making it clear that we are not worried nor interested about his opinion, which is wrong, and what we have...

Fox haunted by comment about blacks MARK STEVENSON Associated Press MEXICO CITY - After a scolding from north of the border, President Vicente Fox said he regretted any hurt feelings over a comment he made about blacks in the United States. But many Mexicans insist Americans overreacted. In a speech Friday, Fox praised the dedication of Mexicans working in the United States, saying they're willing to take jobs that "even blacks" won't do. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher called the remark "very insensitive and inappropriate" and said the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City had raised the issue with the Mexican...

RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr. 29 - In a rebuff to the Bush administration's efforts to press Latin America to take a tougher stance on Cuba and Venezuela, a Chilean Socialist emerged Friday as the consensus choice to become secretary general of the Organization of American States. The O.A.S. is scheduled to convene in Washington on Monday to formally elect the Chilean, Interior Minister José Miguel Insulza, 62. His opponent, Luis Ernesto Derbez, the Mexican foreign minister and Washington's favored candidate, withdrew Friday afternoon after negotiations in Santiago, Chile, that involved Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and several of her South...

MIAMI -- The first regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States on U.S. soil in 30 years is occurring during a time of turmoil for the organization. It's not likely to be helped by a frosty welcome from its hosts. The city of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is suddenly displaying a cold shoulder, and some officials are regretting the invitation to the OAS. It's yet another problem for the organization, which is struggling to select its leader and at the same time is involved in a number of squabbles throughout the hemisphere. Fort Lauderdale is spending...

EDINBURG - Mexico’s Foreign Secretary told a group of Texas-Pan American students he envisions a day when Mexico and the United States are “integrated.” Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez Baustista spoke to students about the future of U.S.-Mexico relations. Despite his belief in integration, some students in attendance were not supportive of it.

When Mexico’s Foreign Secretary, Luis Ernesto Derbez made his threats against Arizona on behalf of the illegal aliens invading that state, it was no coincidence that his first plan of attack would involve America’s courts. Derbez thoroughly understands that Arizona’s new law resulted from a ballot initiative, Proposition 200, roundly supported by the voters. Thus it would be difficult to motivate the Arizona Legislature to act in a manner so blatantly in opposition to the will of the people. So Derbez is focusing on the latest and greatest method of thwarting that popular will, and if successful he will have...

By far the most dramatic menace to this nation’s future and safety emanates from the cauldrons of Islamist extremism. But Americans are also in danger of losing their country on another front. A far larger incursion into the American homeland is being carried out via its southern border. Though an ongoing problem for many years, its instigators now apparently believe they are ready to take their attack to the next level. During a January 28 radio interview, Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez has threatened the State of Arizona with legal action through the international courts in order to overturn...

07/03/2003 Press ReleaseSC/7682 NOTE: FOLLOWING ARE SUMMARIES OF STATEMENTS MADE TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING TODAY, 7 MARCH. A COMPLETE SUMMARY OF THE MEETING WILL APPEAR AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEETING AS PRESS RELEASE SC/7682. Background When the Security Council met this morning to consider the situation between Iraq and Kuwait, it had before it a note from the Secretary-General (document S/2003/232) transmitting the twelfth quarterly report of the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) in accordance with paragraph 12 of Security Council resolution 1284 (1999), covering UNMOVIC’s activities from 1 December 2002...