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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2008 
Mexican Minister Promises Speedy End to Jailed Canadian's Case
 Sheldon Alberts - Canwest News Service
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| | US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (C) listens to a question during a joint news conference with Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa Cantellano( L) and Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier at the State Department in Washington. (AFP/Yuri Gripas) | | |
Mexico's foreign minister on Tuesday promised a "final resolution" within weeks to the case of a Canadian woman who has been jailed in the country for more than two years without trial.
Following meetings here with Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier, Patricia Espinosa cited Brenda Martin's ability to freely contact Canadian media and government officials as evidence she is being treated fairly by Mexican authorities.
"The (legal) process has resumed and we are hoping that in the next weeks we will have a final resolution," Espinoza said.
Martin, 51, faces criminal charges in connection with a money laundering scheme involving her former boss, Alyn Waage.
Waage is serving a 20-year sentence in the U.S. for defrauding 15,000 investors of $60 million in an Internet mail scheme. He has sworn in an affidavit Martin, his one-time chef, was not involved in the operation.
The case burst into the headlines last month amid fears Martin could die in prison, prompting Prime Minister Stephen Harper to personally raise the case with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
In Washington, Espinosa said the Mexican government has urged justice officials in the state of Jalisco, where Martin is being held, to expedite her case.
"Of course, they are a separate power in Mexico, so we cannot really tell the judges exactly what they should do," she said. "But we have really encouraged them to resolve this case as fast as possible."
Late last month, Martin addressed supporters attending a Parliament Hill rally via telephone and has given numerous media interviews publicizing her case. Two Conservative MPs visited Martin in prison in mid-March.
"There has been very broad access to Ms. Martin, so broad that she has been able to give press conferences from where she is (to) Canada," Espinosa said.
Martin's lawyer, Guillermo Cruz Rico, last week said he expects a Mexican judge will hold a final hearing in her case within two weeks. The former Trenton, Ont., resident is reportedly facing one charge of knowingly accepting illicit funds.
Espinosa and Bernier were in Washington to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ahead of a trilateral summit between the leaders of Mexico, Canada and the U.S. later this month in New Orleans. |
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