Latin America Roundup -- April 28
Mystery surrounds Tijuana drug shootings
On Sunday, following one of the bloodiest days in Tijuana's history, authorities held no news conferences. The death toll in the gangland-style shootings early Saturday between rival drug traffickers increased to 15 from 13, after two men died of their injuries. But not even the names of the dead were released, writes Héctor Tobar from Mexico City.
Photo: Shoppers pass a bullet-shattered window along Boulevard Insurgentes in Tijuana. Although President Calderon's efforts have reduced drug-related slayings in central Mexico, violence is up in border areas. Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Truck carrying migrants crashes in Arizona; 4 dead
A truck jammed with as many as 60 illegal immigrants crashed and rolled in a remote part of central Arizona this morning, killing four and injuring many, authorities said.
The truck was carrying possibly 50 to 60 people, many of whom ran into the desert, said Vanessa White, spokeswoman for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office. The driver is believed to be among them. Read the Associated Press story here.
Draining the basin that's Mexico City
The enormous expanse of concrete and asphalt known as Mexico City was once a lake. And each year, starting about this time, it seems hellbent on becoming one again, writes Ken Ellingwood. The rainy season, which begins in earnest soon, offers an annual reminder to the 20 million residents of the metropolitan area that they inhabit a big tub with no natural drain.
Whale sightings off Chile raise hope
In Chile, whales appear to be making a comeback in the waters where they were once hunted to near-extinction, writes Patrick McDonnell.
Photo: A humpback whale shows its tail in the Strait of Magellan, where biologists have identified a group of about 100 to 150 seasonally resident animals. Conservationists say it's too early to celebrate a comeback by whales; they could be remnants of older populations. Liliana Nieto del Rio / For the Los Angeles Times
Indian enclave at risk if Duroville closes
The desert trailer park Duroville, in Mecca, Calif., a few miles from the Salton Sea, is an outpost of the Purépechas, indigenous people from Mexico, writes David Kelly. "They are the poorest of the poor," says a nun who works with them.
Photo: Araceli Jimenez, 8, kisses her brother Esteban at home with their mother, Elvia, in Duroville, a mobile home park in Thermal. In the Coachella Valley, where the chasm between rich and poor is wide and stark, the Jimenez family occupies the lowest rung of the economic ladder. They are Purépecha, an indigenous people from the Mexican state of Michoacan. Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City
