Carrie Kahn

Mass Kidnapping Puts Mexican Legal System On Trial

Carrie Kahn — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:52:00 +0000

Josephina Garcia Rodriguez and Leticia Ponce Ramos sip coffee and console each other at a restaurant in front of Mexico City's prosecutor's office. They're about to head into a meeting with the lead investigator in the case of their kidnapped sons.

"We're going on three weeks since they were kidnapped," Garcia says. "It's been some difficult days, really hard for us mothers. We just want our sons back home with us."

Garcia's 19-year-old son, Said, was taken from the Heaven bar at about 11 a.m. on May 26.

Honduras Claims Unwanted Title Of World's Murder Capital

Carrie Kahn — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 07:26:00 +0000

Latin America is riddled with crime, and no place is more violent than Honduras. It has just 8 million people, but with as many as 20 people killed there every day, it now has the highest murder rate in the world.

It would be easy to blame drug trafficking. Honduras and its Central American neighbors have long served as a favored smuggling corridor for South American cocaine headed north to the U.S.

But there are a number of factors that have contributed to Honduras' out-of-control killings.

Extortion Common For Latin American Businesses

Carrie Kahn — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 10:32:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Latin America has some of the highest crime rates in the world. And that includes extortion, which doesn't just terrorize but also takes a huge economic toll on ordinary citizens. In many Latin American countries, it's costing billions of dollars and hindering development. As part of our series on violence in Latin America, NPR's Carrie Kahn takes us to Mexico, where some estimates say extortion costs more than $30 billion a year.

Catholic Church Moderates Ceasefire Between Honduran Gangs

Carrie Kahn — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:15:00 +0000

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

In Honduras today, the nation's two most powerful gangs announced a cease-fire. The Roman Catholic Church mediated the agreement. And the announcement took place inside a prison, in what's considered the world's deadliest city, San Pedro Sula. NPR's Carrie Kahn is there, and she joins me now. And, Carrie, describe the scene at the cease-fire announcement today in prison.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Oh, I have to say, Melissa, it is the strangest press conference that I've ever been to. It was held inside the prison.

As Stigma Eases, Single Motherhood In Mexico Is On The Rise

Carrie Kahn — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:15:00 +0000

On her daily route delivering laundry in her working-class neighborhood in southern Mexico City, Maria Carlotta Santa Maria, or Mari, as she is known, seems to know everyone: the mailman, the woman on the corner selling salty nuts, and her favorite greetings are for the guys at the corner gas station.

Mari is the kind of person that can make this inhospitable and overwhelming megacity seem almost small and friendly.

Former Guatemalan Dictator Found Guilty Of Genocide

Carrie Kahn — Fri, 10 May 2013 23:23:00 +0000

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity, that's the verdict today against Efrain Rios Montt, a former dictator of Guatemala. The general ruled the Central American nation in the early 1980s, one of the bloodiest periods of its 36-year-long civil war. Rios Montt, now 86 years old, was found responsible for atrocities committed against the Maya Ixil indigenous group.

Violence, Hardship Fuels Central American Immigration To U.S.

Carrie Kahn — Sun, 05 May 2013 09:24:00 +0000

William Ordonez and his wife, Carolia, thought that starting a new business in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, was a great idea.

But just two weeks after they started selling chips, candy and soda, gang members showed up and ordered them to pay about $25 a week.

"We tried explaining to them that we just opened, we aren't making that much, we can't pay you," Ordonez says.

The men didn't care, so Ordonez went to the police. He says instead of helping, the police told the gang that Ordonez and his wife had complained.

On Mexico Trip, Obama Maintains Economic Focus

Carrie Kahn — Sat, 04 May 2013 09:51:00 +0000

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. President Obama is in Costa Rica today. He's talking with leaders of Central American nations about security and economic trade. Yesterday, the president wrapped up a two-day visit in Mexico, where he tried to steer the focus away from contentious issues like immigration and drug violence.

Obama Encourages U.S., Mexico To Focus On Economic Relationship

Carrie Kahn — Fri, 03 May 2013 08:29:00 +0000

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene. President Obama says it is time to focus on the strong economic relationship between the United States and Mexico and not get bogged down on more contentious issues like cooperation on the war on the drugs.

Obama made his comments yesterday as he began a two-day visit to Mexico. He flies on to Costa Rica later today.

Ahead Of Obama Trip, Mexico Alters Cooperation Agreements

Carrie Kahn — Thu, 02 May 2013 08:41:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne. Mexico's agonizing war on its drug cartels is about to change and President Obama is about to hear it personally from Mexico's new president. On a trip to Mexico that begins today, Mr. Obama will also focus on trade and economic opportunities between the two countries.

But the trip comes at a time when Mexico is altering its cooperation agreements with the U.S. on the fight against drug trafficking.

Guatemala's First Female Attorney General Takes On Country's Biggest Criminals

Carrie Kahn — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:33:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Guatemala has seen its share of misery from the 36-year-long armed conflict that killed more than 200,000 people, to the current wave of drug crime. Well, Guatemala is now one of the most violent countries in the world, but there are also signs of progress.

U.S. Men's Soccer Team Ties With Mexico

Carrie Kahn — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 08:40:00 +0000

Brad Guzan swatted away shot after shot and the U.S. team hung on for a 0-0 draw with Mexico Tuesday night. The U.S. earned only its second point in a World Cup qualifier at Azteca Stadium.

Sellout Crowd To Watch U.S., Mexico Play Soccer

Carrie Kahn — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:39:00 +0000

The U.S. and Mexico have a long rivalry on the soccer field. They take the field again Tuesday in a game that holds political, cultural and competitive importance. It's a World Cup qualifier.

Three Decades On, Ex-Guatemalan Leader Faces Genocide Charges

Carrie Kahn — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:20:00 +0000

In a Guatemalan courtroom Tuesday, prosecutors will present their case against a former military dictator who ruled during one of the bloodiest periods in the Central American nation's 36-year civil war.

Efrain Rios Montt is accused of genocide in the murder of tens of thousands of Guatemala's Indians.

Venezuelan Oil Subsidies Still Buoy Neighbors, For Now

Carrie Kahn — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 10:40:00 +0000

Venezuela's late president, Hugo Chavez, was a tremendous supporter of Latin American countries, especially those sympathetic to his socialist ideals.

The country's vast oil reserves are a key source of economic aid, but the Chavez didn't just help out his ideological peers like Cuba and Nicaragua. He was also a great benefactor to key U.S.

The Pope Emeritus' New Shoes And The Mexican Man Who Makes Them

Carrie Kahn — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:33:00 +0000

As Pope Benedict XVI left the Vatican and his papacy, he slipped out of his trademark red shoes and put on a pair of Mexican leather loafers. The shoes, actually three pairs, two burgundy and one brown, were a gift to the Pope during his trip last year to Mexico.

Armando Martin Dueñas is the Catholic cobbler who made the pope's new favorite footwear. Martin Dueñas hails from the Mexican city of Leon, which has a 400-year history of shoe making. His great grandfather started the family tradition.

Head Of Mexico's Teachers Union Behind Bars

Carrie Kahn — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:06:00 +0000

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Here's a signal that the newly elected president of Mexico may be ready to start cleaning house. The longtime boss of Mexico's teachers union is in jail on charges of embezzling more than $160 million in union funds. Prosecutors say the money went to maintain a luxurious lifestyle, as NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: There aren't many people more despised in Mexico than the head of the powerful teachers union. Elba Esther Gordillo, known as The Teacher, has long been accused of using the union's large coffers for personal gain.

Mexico's 'Crisis Of Disappearance': Families Seek Answers

Carrie Kahn — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Maximina Hernandez says she begged her 23-year old son, Dionicio, to give up his job as a police officer in a suburb of Monterrey. Rival drug cartels have been battling in the northern Mexican city for years.

But he told her being a police officer was in his blood, a family tradition. He was detailed to guard the town's mayor.

In May 2007, on his way to work, two men wearing police uniforms stopped Dionicio on a busy street, pulled him from his car and drove him away. That same day, the mayor's other two bodyguards were also abducted.

Mexico Tries To Rein In Billionaire Carlos Slim

Carrie Kahn — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:39:00 +0000

Regulators in Mexico are struggling to rein in what they say are grave and repeat monopolistic practices by the richest man in the world. Carlos Slim Helu, the owner of Mexico's telephone company, just received another multimillion-dollar fine from the country's fledgling anti-corruption regulatory agency. Slim has successfully appealed or fought previous fines. But lawmakers say they are determined to make him play fairly and by the rules.

The Mexico-Canada Guest Worker Program: A Model For The U.S.?

Carrie Kahn — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 22:59:00 +0000

In the U.S., farmers and farm workers alike say the current system to import temporary workers, especially in agriculture, is slow and fraught with abuses.

But the shape of a new guest-worker program is still being hashed out. Some say the U.S. should import temporary workers the same way Canada does. For nearly four decades, the governments of Canada and Mexico have cooperated to fill agriculture jobs that Canadian citizens won't do, and that Mexicans are clamoring to get.

On a recent day, the line outside the state labor office in downtown Puebla, Mexico, is long.

'Sick And Tired,' Residents In Southern Mexico Defend Themselves

Carrie Kahn — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 10:31:00 +0000

On the main road into the Mexican town of Ayutla, about 75 miles southeast of Acapulco, about a dozen men cradling shotguns and rusted machetes stand guard on a street corner.

Mexico Wants U.S. To See Its Prosperity Not Violence

Carrie Kahn — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:33:00 +0000

As President Obama prepares to start another term next week, Morning Edition has asked NPR's international correspondents to gauge worldwide expectations for the president's next four years. We begin in Mexico, where Mexicans hope to change the conversation between the two countries from drugs and violence to economics and prosperity.

Buyback Program Gets Some Guns Off Mexican Streets

Carrie Kahn — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 22:29:00 +0000

In Mexico, a country plagued by drug cartel violence, the mayor of the capital city is offering residents cash, new bikes and computers in exchange for their guns. He says the buyback program will get dangerous weapons out of the hands of residents and make the streets safer.

But not all mayors in Mexico — where it's extremely difficult to legally buy a gun — are rushing to replicate the program.

Modern Day Maya Struggle To Live Amid Poverty

Carrie Kahn — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 09:34:00 +0000

The Mayan people of Mexico and Central America received quite a bit of attention this month thanks to a misinterpretation of their calendar. Word spread all over the globe that the ancient culture had predicted the world would end on Dec. 21.

The news attracted tens of thousands of tourists, who flocked to Mayan sites to await the prophecy. Since the world didn't end, the tourists went home.

Maya Enjoy Tourism Boost From 'End Of The World' Travelers

Carrie Kahn — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:06:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

If you're listening to me say this then you've already figured out the world did not end today. It's been widely rumored that on December 21st, 2012, the world would seize to exist. Many point to a mistake in interpretation of the ancient Mayan calendar as a source of that apocalyptic prediction that then caught fire on the internet. Modern day Maya scoff at such doomsday interpretations.

Software Pioneer John McAfee To Be Deported To U.S.

Carrie Kahn — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:22:00 +0000

Guatemala says it will deport software pioneer John McAfee to the United States. McAfee is wanted for questioning in Belize over the murder of one of his neighbors. Carrie Kahn talks with Audie Cornish on the latest.

Software Pioneer John McAfee Arrested In Guatemala

Carrie Kahn — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:12:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm David Greene. Good morning.

Software pioneer John McAfee has been arrested in Guatemala, where he said yesterday that he would ask for political asylum. He's charged with entering Guatemala illegally. He has been on a highly publicized flight from his home in Belize since the murder of his neighbor. McAfee is an eccentric millionaire who founded the anti-virus computer software that still bears his name.

High Expectations Welcome Mexico's New President

Carrie Kahn — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 11:28:00 +0000

It's Inauguration Day in Mexico, and President Enrique Pena Nieto inherits a country with a mixed record.

Most of Mexico is embroiled in a deadly drug war that has claimed the lives of as many as 50,000 people, but Pena Nieto is also taking over an economy that is doing surprisingly well — thanks, many say, to the outgoing head of state.

Calderon's Violent Legacy

In his final days in office, now-former President Felipe Calderon kept a low profile.

Azerbaijan Leader's Statue In Mexico City Draws Protests

Carrie Kahn — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:47:00 +0000

In Mexico City's most prominent tree-lined park, you can find statues to such international heroes as Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King and now Heydar Aliyev. He's the Soviet-era autocrat of Azerbaijan. Its government paid for the park's latest statue and restoration of a nearby plaza. The gilded gift has upset many in the capital and is causing headaches for Mexico City's outgoing mayor.

Pot Legalization Could Cut Deeply Into Cartel Profits

Carrie Kahn — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:21:00 +0000

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

As Barb mentioned, this week, Colorado and Washington State passed measures legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. We're going to hear reaction now from the country where much of America's pot is grown, Mexico. The sale, growth, and use of marijuana there remains illegal. And Mexico's incoming government fears these new laws will force them to rethink how they fight cross-border pot smuggling.