MUST-WIN SHOWDOWN
SATURDAY DECEMBER 23, 2017
FREE
ELLIOTT BACK AS DALLAS MEETS SEAHAWKS WITH PLAYOFF HOPES ON THE LINE, A7
DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY
TO 4,000 HOMES
A HEARST PUBLICATION
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
MILITARY VETERAN
MEXICO
Military policing law OK’d John Gibbins / AP
Honorably discharged Marine Marco Chavez pulls a wagon with his belongings through Tijuana, Mexico, to get to the U.S. border on Thursday in San Diego. Chavez, who was deported to Mexico 15 years ago for his conviction on a minor offense returned to the U.S. on Thursday after winning his battle to regain permanent residency. Pedro Pardo / AFP/Getty Images
People protest the approval of an Internal Security Law that grants surveillance powers to the army in Mexico City. Mexico approved the new security law which provides a legal framework for military deployment.
FORMER MARINE WINS HIS BATTLE
Objections from human rights groups ignored By Peter Orsi
Deported 15 years ago to Mexico, Chavez returns to US By Julie Watson A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
A former Marine who was deported to his birth country of Mexico 15 years ago because of a conviction for a minor offense returned to the United States on Thursday after winning his battle to regain permanent U.S. residency. Marco Chavez said he felt speechless when he walked into the United States. “I was in disbelief,” he told reporters gathered
outside a McDonald’s several feet from the border crossing. “I believe it now that I am over here.” He said it will be an unforgettable Christmas because he will spend it with his family. “I’ll be able to wake up Christmas morning, hug them and let them know I’m home,” Chavez said, his father standing by his side. His father, Antonio Chavez, told reporters in English and Spanish that he was grateful to have his
son finally home. “I’m very thankful and happy,” said Chavez, his voice quivering. His son then hugged him. The return gives hope to hundreds of other deported U.S. military veterans, said Nathan Fletcher, a Marine combat veteran whose organization lobbied on Chavez’s behalf. “For those of us who have served and fought for this country, we can’t rest until they all come home,” said Fletcher, among the first to welcome Marco
Chavez back with a big hug. Fletcher, a former California state lawmaker, founded the Honorably Discharged/Dishonorably Deported Coalition. “We are here today because a group of people said if you are willing to die for a country, that country would not leave you behind, that country would not let you be deported,” he said. Earlier this year at the request of Fletcher’s orgaVeteran continues on A8
ASSOCIATED PRE SS
MEXICO CITY — President Enrique Peña Nieto enacted a controversial bill Thursday giving the military a legal framework to operate as police on Mexican soil over widespread objections from human rights groups. The Interior Security Law was passed by congress last week before going to Peña Nieto’s desk for his signature. With its publication in the country’s official gazette, it takes effect Friday. The president said that he was aware the measure is “especially sensitive for public life in the country,” and that he would therefore hold off on decreeing military deployments under the law until Mexico’s high court determines its constitutionality. “The nation’s Supreme Court will be the constitutionally legitimized arbiter to make a Military continues on A8
LA PAZ, LOS CABOS, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR
6 killed in northern Mexico Violence threatens tourists’ vacation beach destinations By Christopher Sherman A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
MEXICO CITY — Authorities are investigating the murders of six people, four of whom were hung from highway overpasses, near the twin beach destinations of Los Cabos in Baja California Sur state, which has seen an explo-
sion of violence this year. The state’s murder rate of 50 per 100,000 residents now ranks third in Mexico, trailing only Colima and Guerrero. Violence has surged over the past three years as the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels battle for territory in the state. The bodies were found early Wednesday hanging
from three overpasses, two of which were above highways running to the airports in La Paz and Los Cabos, raising the question of whether organized crime was specifically trying to hurt the tourism sector, which generates about 90 percent of the economic activity in Los Cabos. These were the first known cases of bodies hung from bridges, a public terror tactic seen in other cities such as Nuevo Laredo and Mexico City.
The killings raised fears that cartel violence could affect tourism as it has to devastating effect in Acapulco in Guerrero state. On Thursday, Rodrigo Esponda, managing director of Los Cabos Tourism Board, tried to allay those fears saying that the public and private sectors have invested heavily in security. “We are confident that the destination will remain safe,” Esponda said. He outlined several Violence continues on A8
Francisco Robles / AFP/Getty Images
The corpse of a man found wrapped in black plastic tied by the hands and with signs of torture lies on the highway at the municipality of "Los Organos de Juan R. Escudero" in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico. Grisly killings that were once rare in the country's tourism hotspots have risen in recent years as organized crime has grown.