Cozumel News October 1st, 2014

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The Cozumel Sun News October 1, 2014:  Headlines in Cozumel News September 23 – September 26, The Cozumel Prison Situation, Domestic Violence in Cozumel, Artificial Reefs in Cozumel´s Chankanaab Park at Testing phase, and a Complaint filed against Cozumel cruise ship “recruiters.” Aurita’s Corner features Cozumel Events for October and November 2014.

Headline Cozumel News September 23^rd September 26th

My apologies for the time span between issues of The Cozumel Sun. I did not want to turn the focus of the news that I report to statistics on the local economy and senseless crimes. Here are the headlines that ruled last week in Cozumel

September 23^rd: Madman Kills wife in front of two young children, and an Increase in hotel occupancy and in Public Security Presence. (The increase due to Ironman will quickly be a detail of decrease in tourist arrivals, sales, and hotel occupancy in later issues).

September 24^th: More on the lunatic, a motorcycle accident involving a mother and daughter and a truck that veered off the road.

September 25^th:  More on the lunatic, and the tragedy of a homeless man that was spotted floating by the passenger ferry drowned. The autopsy later revealed alcohol consumption. To the best of my knowledge, the body has not been identified nor claimed by anyone to date.

September 26^th-28th: Novedades reported it was National Adolescent Week in Mexico, and alas, something worth reporting,(Novedades) the Cozumel Prison Situation, (Por Esto) an article about domestic violence on the island,  Artificial Reefs in  Chankanaab at Testing phase, and complaint filed against cruise ship “recruiters.”

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Cozumel Prison Overcrowded

This article reported that the first stages of expansion of the Cozumel Prison had started, but the authorities had refused to give further details.

The Cozumel Prison was designed to hold up to 64 prisoners in 16 cells. That would be four prisoners sharing a cell. Currently there are 130 prisoners in 16 cells. The cells consist of concrete slabs for beds. Six of the 130 prisoners are women that together share one of the 16 cells. Because of the overcrowding, there is no separation between the thieves, murderers, and rapists. According to my calculations, that leaves over double the number of men in the remaining fifteen cells.

LESS THAN HALF OF THE SETENCED CRIMINALS SERVE TIME. The article stated only 30% are sentenced. I assume that the reason is the prison overcrowding.

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Domestic Violence in Cozumel

In the days following  the lunatic that brutally murdered his wife in front of his young children, attacked two policemen, then failed an attempt to kill himself, another domestic attempted murder and suicide was reported. (Thanks heavens, this other woman survived the attack) Por Esto interviewed Angel Vazquez, commander of the Judicial Police in Cozumel about the growing problem of violence against women in Cozumel.

The commander says that many attacks against women are because of economic, emotional, and stress is coupled with the consumption of alcohol and sometimes drugs. |The husband loses control and bullies the wife, and unfortunately, the children pay the price of watching their father abuse their mother.

He would not specify the number of domestic assaults handled in Cozumel every week. However, he did say that two of five assaults are against women. He describes the issue of alcoholism in Cozumel as, “a condiment of all dishes” because the arrest of persons who commit ordinary crimes such as assaults, robberies, and fights with injuries, due so under the influence of alcohol.

The authorities try to motivate people with alcoholism to join self-help groups to overcome their problems. He believes that the suffering from alcoholism or a high propensity to consume alcoholic beverages are a kind of time bomb because no one knows when they may become aggressive and react violently.

Before closing, he mentioned that there have been very unfortunate cases like Last Sunday, when the two children of a couple witnessed the violence that led to the death of their mother.

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Artificial Reefs in Chankanaab

Once again the artificial reefs are in the news. About $800,000 pesos will go to immerse artificial reef in Chankanaab Park.  The project is expected to receive the necessary permits from federal environmental authorities to allow immersion of at least 90 pieces that added to the natural reefs will give more life to the marine park environment considered crown jewel of the Foundation of Parks and Museums Cozumel (FPMC).

An Interview with Eduardo Novelo, President of the FPMC, confirmed that the project of almost five months has already submerged a part for testing. The part  is coated with marine flora and inhabited by species. He noted that the decisions rest with the federal authorities of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEA), and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) in order to realize the project.

Regarding economic issues, he established that the intention to invest the amount of 800,000 pesos is to use half of the resource for the construction of the reef and the other half for a special process to secure and anchor the pieces to the seabed  to avoid having them torn from the rock  in weather such as a hurricane.

While no concrete date has been set, he estimates that 90 blocks of stone in the form of coral just less than two meters tall will be placed in the park.

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Cozumel Leader files Complaint against Recruiters

The President of the Employers Confederation of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX) in Cozumel, Luis Alcérreca Balmes formally filed a complaint against the port recruiters before the Federal Consumer (PROFECO), and other appropriate bodies. The complaint is because cruise passenger recruiters who work for two different shipping lines, are stealing customers from local businesses to take them to commercial chain Jewelers, because supposedly these are “trustworthy” and the locals are not.

The advertising company that works for Carnival and its subsidiaries, PPI Group, has employees enter the port area to engage groups of cruisers and invite them out to the exclusive Jewelers where “ they give better prices and other benefits,”  thus leaving the people of that place without sales all day.

The other company is Royal Media, whose employees work for Royal Caribbean and its subsidiaries. They also perform the same action by convincing customers that they are better off  buying from a certain company gemstones and watch brands, concentrated in atleast five specific jewelers on Rafael E. Melgar Avenida.

Alcérreca Balmes said that upon learning of the complaint, he proceeded to notify the Cruise Committee and seek advice from Sara Ruiz Chavez,  the delegate of the Federal Consumer Protection (PROFECO) in Quintana Roo.

Aurita’s Corner

COZUMEL EVENTS CALENDAR 2014

ITU WORLD CUP COZUMEL OCTOBER 4TH – 5TH

DIA DE MUERTOS NOVEMBER 1 – 2ND

WARRIOR DASH COZUMEL 2014 NOVEMBER 1ST

Maya Road Race November 22, 7 p.m.Gran Mundo Maya Museum # 21k # 10k and 5k #

GRAN FONDO NY COZUMEL NOVEMBER 23RD

IRONMAN COZUMEL NOVEMBER 30TH

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