‘Empty’ truck yields million-dollar bust

Drug busts at the border are common but Tuesday’s seizure of marijuana worth more than a million dollars stands out. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, alerted by a one of their trained dogs, detected the drug in a tractor-trailer at the Otay Mesa cargo crossing, the agency announced Thursday. The Freightliner truck was pulling […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:18 AM PDT

Suspect in TV star’s murder arrested

Salazar Vega had already been detained once in Tijuana in February of 2002, charged with kidnapping an alleged drug trafficker, José Velázquez Martínez, from Sinaloa. Two years later, Salazar Vega escaped from the La Mesa state prison, the general said. At the two houses Tuesday night, the military seized weapons, police equipment and three vehicles. […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:18 AM PDT

Bone fragments, teeth unearthed

Tijuana.- Federal investigators found nearly 30 human bone fragments and 40 teeth Tuesday, the third day of excavating a clandestine grave in an eastern neighborhood, a victims' advocate said. Fernando Ocegueda said the remains were found in the grave at an uninhabited property in Loma Bonita, where the investigators have been looking since Sunday for […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:17 AM PDT

Washing machine had special load

Imperial Valley.- U.S. border authorities seized drugs valued at $344,000 hidden in several articles over the weekend, including a washing machine. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents working at the Andrade crossing, using a trained dog, detected illegal drugs in a Dodge Ram pickup on Friday. The agents found 72 pounds of marijuana in 40 […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:17 AM PDT

Office in San Diego to expedite passports quickly

San Diego County residents will no longer have to travel to Los Angeles for urgent U.S.-passport services. The U.S. State Department has opened a passport office in downtown San Diego that will expedite services for U.S. citizens who plan to travel within 14 days or who have a life or death emergency. The San Diego […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:16 AM PDT

Two U.S. citizens killed in Tijuana

Tijuana – Two U.S. citizens were shot to death before dawn Monday as they waited in line to cross the border in their car near San Ysidro, the State Attorney General’s Office announced. Authorities identified the victims as Sergio Salcido Luna, 25, and Kevin Joel Romero, 28, who carried their U.S. passports with them. The […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:16 AM PDT

Drop in migration hits labor market

According to the state official, despite that pressure, Baja California has an unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent, "the lowest on the northern border and southern United States." By way comparison, the state's unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in January of 2010. Those statistics are meaningless to the people struggling every day to find a […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:15 AM PDT

The reel deal is downtown

For Rosa Dávalos, 53, another homemaker who has been shopping in the district for 30 years, the district's greatest virtue is the products' freshness, because the fish does not lose its flavor or nutritional value by being frozen. Horacio Aguilar is a distributor from the coastal town of San Ignacio, in Baja California Sur, who […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:14 AM PDT

The roots of Juarez’s nightmare

The former mayor of Mexico's most violent city, speaking at UCSD on Saturday, said the breakdown in Ciudad Juárez can be attributed largely to a lack of educational opportunities for young people. "Juárez is the city with the largest dropout rate in junior high school in the country," said ex-Mayor José Reyes Ferriz during a […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:14 AM PDT

Major blow against drug traffickers

TIJUANA – The Mexican army led an operation Friday that netted the crime boss in Mexicali of the Sinaloa cartel and a large arsenal that included grenade launchers and grenades, the Secretary of National Defense announced. The crime leader was identified as Jesús Raúl Ochoa Zazueta, a former state investigator. He was arrested along with […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:14 AM PDT

Surprising teams to battle it out

They haven't made much noise in the mainstream but they have found a way to become two of the most successful and entertaining teams this season. UANL Tigres and Atlante are on pace to qualify for the "liguilla," or playoffs, and both teams meet Saturday in Week 12 of the Mexican Clausura tournament match-up. The […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:14 AM PDT

City pays tribute to fallen officer

Rosarito Beach . – The scene has now become familiar. Funeral services being held for law enforcement officials who were killed. On Friday, the ceremony was for José Carlos Ventura Isada, 39, commander of the Primo Tapia district of the Rosarito Beach Police Department. He became the 65th officer killed in Tijuana and Rosarito Beach […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:13 AM PDT

Nervous crosser rolls into trouble

Border authorities stopped a man’s efforts to roll drugs into the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the San Ysidro border crossing seized five pounds of marijuana hidden in a wheelchair, according to an announcement issued Friday. The incident occurred Monday night, at around 11:30, when a 19-year-old man in a wheelchair […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:13 AM PDT

Mayor proposes ‘realistic plan’

TIJUANA – Mayor Carlos Bustamante presented his three-year plan for his administration four months after beginning his term. Based in part on comments from more than 9,000 residents, the plan is divided into eight themes, said the director of planning, Manuel Guevara. They include development, public safety, public transit, neighborhood streets, public services, economy and […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:13 AM PDT

March supports ‘most vulnerable’

It was a day of action in San Diego Thursday. It was Cesar Chavez Day. More than 1,500 pro-union demonstrators – many blue- and white-collar workers – marched through downtown San Diego on a hot sunny day to pay tribute to the late farm labor leader and humanitarian on his state birthday holiday. Marchers, many […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:13 AM PDT

Alarming calls likely are scams

Berta Aldrete of San Diego made the mistake of thinking the man who called her was a relative who lives in Mexico. He was actually an impostor trying to cheat her out of money. Phone scams targeting Spanish-speakers in San Diego County are on the rise, according to one local law enforcement official. "Are you […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:12 AM PDT

Boxer shot to death at gym

Tijuana.- A prominent boxer was shot to death at a gym Tuesday evening after arguing with his promoter, allegedly over a woman, according to the municipal police department. Humberto Tapia, 25, was well known in the boxing community because he had fought since he was 12 years old, participating in amateur tournaments and even representing […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:11 AM PDT

San Diegan gets national honors

Growing up in El Centro, Nadia Bermudez looked up to her father "who worked very hard in his profession." Salvador Bermudez was an ironworker. She is a lawyer and her dedication to her profession was recently recognized. The Hispanic National Bar Association named Bermudez, 34, as one of its five "Top Lawyers under 40" award […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:11 AM PDT

Another fiesta fit for ‘home’ team

Qualcomm Stadium is home to two teams. The Chargers and San Diego State Aztecs football team. But there just might be another home team at the "Q." Mexico. As in "El Tri." Not the U.S. national soccer team. At least that's what a veteran local English-language newspaper writer wrote a few years back. Some locals […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:11 AM PDT

Party time for the faithful at game

The soccer game Tuesday night between the teams of Mexico and Venezuela was not exactly a final in the World Cup but don't tell that to the 60,808 fans who turned out to Qualcomm Stadium. The "green wave," as the followers of Mexico's team are called, know how to throw a party before a big […]

April 13, 2017 at 4:11 AM PDT