EUA

Ken Salazar.

Patrick O’Heffernan Ajijic (JAL)  US President Joe Biden has nominated Ken Salazar, a former U.S. Senator from Colorado, to serve as the next ambassador to Mexico. The nomination has to be approved by the full Senate after hearings.

Salazar, 66 and currently in private practice as a lawyer, served as  Secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama and in the U.S. Senate for a term. He has no prior diplomatic experience, but played an important role in negotiating the cross-border management of the Colorado River with Mexico.

Although a Latino-American and fluent in Spanish, his heritage traces directly to Spain, and not to Mexico.  His nomination was applauded in  most quarters, although his past associations with oil companies has drawn criticism from environmental organizations and his support for fracking contradicts Mexican policy against it. 

A Co-Chair of the President’s election campaign, will be the Biden’s point man in Mexico to move forward on a day-to-day basis the initiatives with Mexico launched by Vice President Harris in her meeting with AMLO last week , especially policies  to deal with an influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ghristopher Michael Kilough, missing from Jocotepec.

Patrick O’Heffernan, Ajijic.  Fifteen-year old Christopher Michael Kilough went to Oxxo at 8:20 am on April 4, 2021, a few blocks from his aunt’s house in Jocotepec and never returned. Since then there has been no word from him, no evidence of foul play or other indication of what happened to him – he simply vanished.  His disappearance followed a tumultuous two weeks in which his Expat mother and father fought constantly, his father died and his mother left Mexico for the US.

Cheryl Kilough at the interview with Laguna.

A huge effort has been launched to locate Christopher including posters, Amber alerts, t-shirts, videos, banners and social media posts and shares. As of our deadline on April 15, 2021, Kilpough’s granddaughter confirmed  to Laguna that there has been no word of or from him. There has been an outpouring of support and help on his behalf from both government and private parties .Note: the interview has been edited and condensed  in places for space and to protect privacy.

Laguna: When did your grandson go missing?

Cheryl Kilough:  April 4, 2021 at 8:21 in the morning walking to the store to get some milk.  He never returned.  I have heard nothing since them

Laguna:  Did you report him missing to the authorities?

Cheryl Kilough:  Yes.  We contacted the authorities  in Jocotepec at the police station and they refused to take a report. They sent us to the Chapala police

Laguna: Did they say why they did refused to take a report and send you to another country?

Cheryl Kilough:   No.  They said Chapala should make a police report.  This was Wednesday  two days after  he disappeared.  We reported to the Chapala police and the Embassy.  Both were very cooperative and very helpful, especially the Chapala Police.

Laguna:   What was the follow up from the authorities?

Cheryl Kilough:    The State  Police  came here and interviewed my son, Chris.  The Embassy contacted me, gathered information  and sent the report to three of their departments to follow up. All  of them have gotten back to me.  An Amber Alert was sent out.   The Polly Klass Foundation’s  Klaas Kids contacted us and are helping to find Chris.  An investigator was here yesterday to compile information that might be helpful.   And of course my two sons 

have been combing Lakeside to find him.

Laguna: What has the response bee when you ask people to post your flyers?

Cheryl Kilough: The most amazing thing has been the loving response.  Many of the businesses we approached to put our posters in knew Chris , since he has been here a while, and were very helpful.  There have been people who asked for flyers.  People have posted flyers in their cars.   I am very touched and gratified by the response to our outreach.

Laguna: How would you describe the response of the government agencies you talked with?

Cheryl Kilough: Well, here in Jocotepec the response has not been very good.  The response from Chapala has been very good.  They have come over here a couple of times to talk with us, they have helped us. They were simply amazing.

Laguna: Do you have any theories on what may have happened to your grandson?

Cheryl Kilough: The only parent my grandson Christopher  had was my son  Chris, who is now dead. When Christopher saw his dad lying on the floor he was screaming “Dad. Dad”. We called for help – the medics who came to the house  immediately tried to CPR but to no avail.  We took him to the hospital, but they were not helpful, they did nothing.  This impacted Christopher terribly.  Then his mother left – vanished to the US. Christopher was trying to cope with the death of his dad and abandonment by his mother.  So one theory is she is involved in his disappearance.  Another is that he is seeking justice for his father’s death in the US. 

Laguna: What other steps are you  taking to find him

Cheryl Kilough: I am continuing to work with authorities.  Amber Alert has been amazing -they are working to get the word out in Guadalajara.  We also talked to women who can work with phones to track people even if their phones are off., since we have had reports that people have seen him in Guadalajara and others who have seen him in Texas (although nothing concrete).  QWe will be putting up banners in Lakeside soon.

Laguna: If he did leave the country to seek retribution for his father’s death, could he get very far?

Cheryl Kilough: We don’t know.  He only had $100 – no credit cards and no visa cards. It won’t be easy. I am providing the Embassy information on his mother so they can contact her in the US to see he has made contact.

Laguna: Has this story been covered in the US, since his mother fled to the US and he may be there?

Cheryl Kilough: No.  Laguna is the only media to talk with us. We will keep getting the word out every way we can.

Christopher Michael Kilough (also known as Christopher Remington) was last seen near central Jocotepec wearing a red flannel shirt and dark blue jeans and carrying a backpack.  He is 15 years old and an  American citizen and does not speak Spanish.   Anyone with information on the whereabouts of should contact Cheryl Kilough t 33 3030 4949  

Amber Alert for Kristopher Kilough

Pueblo de Ajijic.

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.).- Los organizadores de los eventos de Jaripeos Ajijic –realizados en los Estados Unidos-, se han organizado para apoyar económicamente a los enfermos de gravedad del poblado y en tiempos de pandemia, pese a no haber eventos, buscan brindar ayuda a las familias ajijitecas afectadas por el COVID.

Sus principales beneficiarios son las familias nativas en las que hay algún enfermo de gravedad o necesitado de intervenciones médicas costosas y tienen escasos recursos. Los encargados de coordinar los eventos y enviar el dinero a quienes lo necesitan, son tres nativos de Ajijic radicados en Estados Unidos: Carlos Pérez, Francisco “Araña” Yáñez y Óscar Mata, quienes en conjunto con Juan Daniel “Jambo” Corona y el delegado de Ajijic, Juan Ramón Flores, juntan y reparten los donativos.

El logo de Jaripeos Ajijic.

“La lista de las familias que recibirán apoyo este año ya está hecha; igualmente ya se recibió el dinero y seguimos repartiendo. Normalmente, se reparte entre necesitados de procedimientos médicos, pero esta vez es un apoyo a familias que se han visto muy afectadas por la presencia del COVID en sus hogares”, comentó Jambo, quien no dio a conocer el monto recaudado. 

El entrevistado platicó que este 2021 fue un poco complicado, ya que en el 2020 no se realizó el evento, por lo que los apoyos de este año son los recursos que se tenían del año antepasado para realizar el evento. “Cada año se hace un evento, de ahí lo dividen entre el dinero para los enfermos y otra parte se queda guardada para volver a hacer el evento el año siguiente. Este año las donaciones fueron ese dinero.”

Asevera que, al repartir el dinero, suele tomar fotos o entrevistar a la familia para que quede evidenciado que la cantidad llega a quien corresponde, aunque esta vez no se hará así, ya que se ha manejado con discreción, por petición de los perjudicados.

“Seremos muy discretos esta vez. Quizá les tomen fotos, pero solo para evidenciar y se van directo a quienes mandan los apoyos, porque las familias no quieren decir quiénes son y se entiende, por las agresiones y aislamiento que han sufrido algunos afectados”, comenta.

Juan Daniel “Jambo” Corona, ayuda a repartir los donativos a las familias beneficiadas.

Jambo finalizó diciendo que se espera que próximamente se pueda realizar un jaripeo, si la situación mejora, para seguir con la tradición que lleva realizándose desde el 2018, en los Estados Unidos, para seguir apoyando a quien lo necesite.

Para saber: Jaripeos Ajijic es una organización benéfica, conformada principalmente por tres nativos radicados en Estados Unidos, que desde el 2018  realizan  eventos de jaripeo con bandas, donde los ingresos obtenidos, se utilizan para financiar tratamientos médicos de gente de bajos recursos en Ajijic.

Juan Daniel “Jambo” Corona y el actual delegado de Ajijic, Juan Ramón Flores, son quienes se encargan de repartir los apoyos. 

El Chapo se encuentra preso en EUA.

Redacción.- Emma Coronel, ex reina de belleza y esposa de Joaquín “El Chapo Guzmán” fue detenida en el aeropuerto de Aeropuerto Internacional Dulles en Virginia -cerca de Washington- por conspiración para distribuir heroína, cocaína, marihuana y metanfetaminas por importación ilegal al país, según un comunicado del Departamento de Justicia emitido este lunes 22 de febrero.

Además, se alega que Coronel Aispuro conspiró con otros para ayudar a Guzmán en su escape del Altiplano el 11 de julio de 2015, prisión ubicada en Almoloya de Juárez, México. Después de que Guzmán fuera arrestado nuevamente en México en enero de 2016, según lo que se señaló en un comunicado de autoridades estadounidenses.

Emma Coronel Aispuro, de 31 años, tiene programada una comparecencia inicial ante un tribunal federal en el distrito de Columbia, a través de videoconferencia, esto se tiene planeado que suceda durante el 23 de febrero.

Photo: Courtesy.

Patrick O’Heffernan, Ajijic. Effective January 26, all airline passengers – either citizens or foreign nationals – must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within three calendar days of boarding a flight to the US. Travelers may also provide documentation from a licensed health care provider documenting recovery from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel if they have been previously infected. 

This requirement does not currently apply to travelers entering the United States by land or sea or to children under two years of age.   No quarantine is mandated after entry into the US but the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends a 7-day quarantine or stay at home period for travelers arriving by air even if they have tested negative for Covid.

The non-mandatory quarantine recommendation is a result of the Executive Order signed by President Biden last week that tasked U.S. federal agencies to “…identify agencies’ tools and mechanisms to assist travelers in complying with such policy” within two weeks. However, CDC spokeswoman Caitlin Shockey told the Washington Post that current rules are not “a mandatory quarantine” requirement, but rather “just a recommendation.”

 In response, several hotel chains and airlines, including Volaris and AeroMexico, are offering Covid tests at reduced prices to visitors returning to the United States from tourist destinations. Aero Mexico has agreements with Lapi Laboratorio Medico and Laboratorio Medico del Chopo to provide discounts for travelers with a valid reservation with Aero Mexico or partner Delta Air Lines. 

Despite the availability of discounted testing and the lack of mandatory quarantine regulations in the US, many passengers have cancelled reservations for return travel to the US, causing flights from Mexico City and tourist destinations to take off with few passengers or be cancelled altogether.  

Persons who wish to return to the US from Lakeside via Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport should obtain a test at one of the local laboratories three days before travel and bring it to the airport.  Passengers with reservations on Delta or AeroMexico should check the airline’s website  (https://www.aeromexico.com/en-us/actions-covid19/laboratory-alliances) for laboratories offering discounted tests.

Biden signs executive order stopping border wall construction. VOA photo

Patrick O’Heffernan, Ajijic. The United States has a new President.  So what will this mean for Mexico, and how much can we trust the Biden Administration to do what the Biden campaign promised? 

By the end of Inauguration Day, President Biden signed 6 Executive Orders impacting Mexico and US-Mexican relations.  Four of the  Orders began changes in Trump immigration policies that have vexed Mexican society and the economy, imposed hardships on Tijuana, and been a topic of constant irritation to the Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) Administration.

Biden signed an Order that  strengthened the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals  (DACA)program that protects immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation and provides a path to citizenship for them, ending the potential for 800,000 people being deported to Mexico, many who have no connection to the country.

Another Order revokes Trump’s plan to exclude noncitizens from the census count, which will ultimately give Latinos more clout in US elections  presumably resulting in more Mexico-friendly policies.  Given that the Democrats lost ground with Latino voters in the 2020 election, there are no guarantees.

Biden also  ended Trump’s attempt to find and deport unauthorized immigrants anywhere in the country,  and  he ordered an immediate stop to all border wall construction, both sore points between the US and Mexico.  However, while  Biden also ordered a release of the Latino children held in cages and an acceleration of family reunification, he did not rescind the rule that forces 30,000 asylum seekers to remain in Mexico – mostly in Tijuana – another sore point that will continue to fester.

The fifth and sixth Orders brought the US back into the Paris Climate Accord and cancelled the XL Pipeline, mandating a complete Federal review of regulations as part of Biden’s push for a carbon-reduced economy.  AMLO has actively sought to close down solar and other non-carbon energy sources, so this too will lead to friction.

Another  flashpoint will be the labor requirements of the  USMCA –also called T-MEC – which the Mexican government has been very slow to enforce.  Biden campaign spokespeople said the new Administration will insist on compliance. Give that US annual trade represents 76% of Mexican exports, plus an  estimated $5 billion in remittances, , this will be delicate and controversial in the precarious Mexican economy.

The signals are mixed.  After weeks of delay, AMLO sent President Biden a congratulatory letter, but it was late and contained a warning to stay out of Mexico’s internal affairs — not a great start.  But José Medina Mora Icaza, head of the powerful Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) announced that he saw the new US administration as an opportunity to strengthen the  High Level Economic Dialogue (DEAN) which had fallen into disuse under Trump, and a way to build up trade under T-Mec.

So what now?  At the top of the agenda is immigration, both because of huge pressure from domestic US organizations like Voto Latino , and pressure from the AMLO government to relieve the refugee camps along the northern border and better handle the caravans now moving to the southern Mexican border.

It will be very tough.  GOP  “immigration hawks” in Congress will oppose any legislation to ease immigration restrictions and close Mexican refugee camps.    The immigration prison  industry  collects over $4 billionUS a year from the government – some of which is recycled into campaigns  of the “immigration hawks” to block reform and keep the prisons filled, reinforcing and underwriting opposition.  

All of this means  President Biden will have to be tough and determined as well as smart to solve the immigration puzzles, overcome the GOP and  prison lobbyists, and navigate a new trade and political relationship with AMLO — while he stops Covid, repairs the economy, fights global warming, and outmaneuvers the obstructionist GOP minority in the Senate. 

Will he stay the course?

In 2014 then Vice President Biden gave the keynote address at the Netroots Nation Progressive Convention in Detroit.  During his speech he was heckled by Latino activists opposed to Obama’s deportation policies.  He handled them with courtesy and respect.  As Chairman of Netroots Nation, I met the Vice President afterward and complimented him on his deft handling of the hecklers.  He thanked me and then looked me in the eye with steely determination as he shook my hand and said they were right – we have to do better on immigration. 

He has already begun.  I think he will find a way to make Mexico – and Mexicans – great partners.

President elect Joseph Biden.

Patrick O’Heffernan, Ajijic. “We must do this and we must do this now” president elect Joseph Biden told a worldwide audience Thursday night as he announced his $1.9 trillion Coronavirus relief plan, which will include $1400US stimulus payments to every American, including Expats living abroad. The major address comes barely a week before he is inaugurated and a day after the US House impeached President Trump for the second time. 

The stimulus plan also calls for  increasing  supplemental unemployment benefits to $400 per week through September, raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, plus extending moratoriums on eviction and foreclosure on Federally-guaranteed mortgages to Sept. 30. Small landlords would receive additional small business help.  The plans also calls for massive payments to state and local governments and to schools, especially for projects to limit Coronavirus spread. Biden also said he will release all available doses of vaccines after coming into office on Jan. 20.

Donald Trump, presidente de EUA.

Abigail Angélica Correa Cisneros.- Durante todo su mandato, el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, polarizó a su país y disgustó a varios líderes mundiales por sus actitudes prepotentes, infantiles e incoherentes. A escasos días de que deje el cargo ya se habla de un segundo procedimiento de juicio político para su destitución, lo que convierte a Donald Trump en el primer jefe de Estado del país al que se le aplica dos veces el mismo proceso.

La primera ocasión se debió a un chantaje con el fin de afectar al presidente electo de EE.UU. En agosto de 2019, hubo una denuncia ante el Congreso sobre que Donald Trump presionó en una llamada telefónica del 25 de julio de 2019 a Volodímir Zelenski, presidente de Ucrania, para que iniciara una investigación en contra de los negocios energéticos que la familia de Joe Biden tiene en ese país, de lo contrario negaría apoyo financiero y militar.

Pese a que la Cámara de Representantes, entonces dominada por demócratas, impulsó lo necesario para aplicar el “impeachment” contra Trump, el Senado, entonces dominado por republicanos, uso su mayoría y detuvo el juicio político en favor del mandatario. Pero tras el desastre que se vivió la semana pasada en el Capitolio, esta vez será difícil que el presidente se vuelva a ufanar del apoyo de su partido.

Cada vez está más solo. Únicamente sus simpatizantes, quienes destacan por su violencia, racismo e ignorancia, parecen apoyarlo; sin embargo, lo perjudican más porque dejan claro que el presidente de su país es incapaz de seguir gobernando, vio como último recurso la incitación a la violencia.

Este martes acudió al muro fronterizo en Texas y agradeció al presidente de México, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, su colaboración para frenar la llegada de miles de latinoamericanos. Una vez más reafirmó su discurso de odio en contra de los extranjeros y se vanaglorió de las políticas de su administración, claramente violadoras de los derechos humanos.

En los cuatro años de su gobierno denigró siempre a los migrantes, no solo a los que huyen de la pobreza y violencia de sus países de origen, sino también a quienes preparados académicamente llegaron a Estados Unidos por crecimiento laboral. Cerró las puertas al parejo.

Igualmente, sostuvo un discurso de odio contra la gente de raza negra. Su bandera fue el muro. Insistió una y otra vez con quitar la protección otorgada a los dreamers (soñadores) a través del DACA, programa impulsado por Barack Obama que ayuda a los jóvenes estudiantes a seguir con su educación sin temor a la deportación. Trump creo cárceles para niños y los separó de sus padres.

Para el siguiente gobierno ya se habla de nuevas políticas. En una entrevista, Kamala Harris, vicepresidenta electa de Estados Unidos, adelantó que Joe Biden, «tiene planeado» presentar al Congreso un proyecto de reforma migratoria. Adelantó que el programa que protege a los dreamers se extenderá.

Temporal (TPS), quienes podrían obtener automáticamente tarjetas de residencia. Y subrayó que el nuevo gobierno va a «reconocer y agradecer a los más de 200 mil dreamers que han sido trabajadores fundamentales durante la pandemia de covid-19».

DESDE EL CENTRO

Pasaron décadas para volver a ver una especie desaparecida en Coahuila y al reinsertarla cazadores comienzan el asedio. Qué indignación al ver la imagen de un bisonte asesinado y que además mucha gente justificara la caza con el argumento de que fue en un rancho que se dedica a su reproducción y por lo tanto estaría permitida esta actividad. Afortunadamente, la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Semarnat) informó que a través de la Dirección General de Vida Silvestre no se ha autorizado ningún permiso para cazar Bisonte Americano al rancho Buena Vista, ojalá que sea verdad… Esta semana sucedió una nevada inédita en Madrid, España. La gente la disfrutó a pesar de la amenaza de la pandemia. Salieron a las calles en trineos, a trotar, a jugar. La tormenta también causó problemas en las vías de comunicación. Pero no se compara con lo que se espera a causa del cambio climático. En México, por ejemplo, el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN), reportó un aumento de 179 por ciento de sequía en solo cinco meses. Los estados más afectados son Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa y Durango. Abicorrea79@hotmail.com

PEGGY CHILTON ALBUM COVER.

Patrick O’Heffernan, Ajijic. Lakeside resident and former film and television and singing celebrity Peggy Lord Chilton will be the star of the Lakeside Little Theater’s Legacy video series this month.  Chilton has a long career including acting in 17 films – several shot in Mexico, numerous television shows, a popular folk  singer opening for Peter Paul and Mary and the Kingston Trio, and a tour of Playboy Clubs across the nation as a singing comedian.  She moved to Lakeside in 2009 and has directed or appeared in numerous LLT productions, including Pajama Game and Nunsense, and plans to stay involved as a director or actress.

In a pre-interview conversation, Chilton  – once known as “the Lusty, Trusty, Buster” – described parties at the Playboy Mansion, meeting Phyllis Diller  for gossip in an alley between nightclubs, how her pet ocelot protected her, and being told early in her career by one club owner he hoped she was better that the previous singer, someone named Barbara Streisand.  

Produced by JeanMarie Harmon, and filmed and edited by Jim Jack, the Lakeside Little Theater Legacy Project is a YouTube video series featuring some of the legacy talent in Lakeside to give a quick peek at their lives before and during their time at LLT. Currently, the series is featuring Broadway dancer, actress and choreographer Barbara Clippinger at www.lakesidelittletheatre.com/

Photo: Courtesy.

Patrick O’Heffernan, Ajijic. After being told by President Trump to go to the Capitol, a rally turned into a mob of an estimated 10,000 that stormed the US Capitol, breaching the barriers around the Capitol, breaking windows in the Capitol, overwhelming police and invading the US Congress , occupying the Senate Chamber, stopping the certification of the votes from the Presidential election.  The Vice President and the Speaker of the House were evacuated and Members of Congress were told to shelter under the desks in their offices. 

Photo: Courtesy.

National Guard, FBI  and SWAT teams cleared the building with teargas and in one case, gunfire which injured a member of the mob who was attacking police.  The mob was pushed out of the building by 5 pm, according to observers inside the Congress.  President-elect Biden called upon President Trump to g o national television to call for and end to the violence, but Trump demurred, waiting several hours to tweet two lukewarm calls to his supporters to respect the police, and not be violent. 

Photo: Courtesy.

Photo: Courtesy.

Photo: Courtesy.

Photo: Courtesy.