Free Republic

SummaryJudicial reform raises concerns over rule of law in Mexico Critics fear reform may increase organized crime influence Election agency could disqualify ineligible candidates after vote CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, May 24 (Reuters) - When residents in the state of Durango vote in Mexico's first judicial elections next weekend, Leopoldo Chavez will be on the ballot for federal judge - despite the nearly six years he served in a U.S. prison. Chavez was convicted on drug offenses: for smuggling over 4 kilograms of methamphetamines in 2015. Durango is part of Mexico's Golden Triangle, a cartel-controlled region growing marijuana and opium poppies....

Texas Farm Bureau offered several viable transportation and funding alternatives to the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) in meeting Texas’ future transportation needs during testimony before the Senate Transportation Committee. “Let me assure you, as an industry we absolutely support and recognize the need for building and maintaining roads in Texas,” said Texas Farm Bureau State Director Tom Paben. “We feel this can be accomplished within the current framework of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).” “However, there is a need for redirection, as well as a review of the current priorities of the agency,” Paben added, noting several concerns about...

A CARGO vessel thought to be the mother ship of an international drugs-smuggling operation was escorted in to Sydney last night after being boarded by the Royal Australian Navy in a high-seas raid. Police, navy personnel and customs officials went on board the North Korean- registered Pong Su about 70 miles off the central New South Wales coast after a chase through stormy seas to international waters. Surveillance teams were alerted last Wednesday, when 50 kilograms (110lb) of high-grade heroin believed to have come from Golden Triangle in South-East Asia was found on a beach at Lorne, on the coast...