Canada’s Brenda Martin in Mexico
March 28th, 2008 by Mike
I realize that internationally Canada isn’t exactly what you would call an “international powerhouse.” While it’s true that we’re a huge country in terms of space, we rank somewhat further down the scale when it comes to other global issues. I like Canada and it doesn’t really bother me that my country doesn’t exert a huge influence on the rest of the world. In fact, it’s kind of nice that way cause we don’t bother anyone and no one really bothers us. Then again, every once in a while I just wish our government wouldn’t be such pushover and that we’d just grow a “pair.”
What am I talking about? Brenda Martin is what, well rather who I’m talking about. If you don’t know who she is then let me give you a quick summary. Brenda Martin is a Canadian who got a job working as a cook to wealthy Canadian in Mexico. That was all well and good until her boss was discovered to be running a $60 million dollar scam from his home in Mexico. He ended up being arrested and then being extradited to the U.S. where he now serving time. Sadly, Martin is also doing time in a Mexican prison, the thing is she’s been there for 2 years and hasn’t even had her trial yet.
By all accounts it looks like Martin is pretty innocent of what she is charged with. Her former boss says she knew nothing of the scam and even invested in it herself. (I’m sure she wouldn’t have done this if she’d known that it was a scam.) Anyway the Mexican authorities are holding her for a trial that seems like it’s never going to happen and because of this the poor woman has threatened to kill herself and has been placed on suicide watch.
So why is that the guy who ran the operation serving his sentence in the U.S.? Because he paid off the authorities in Mexico. Yes, that’s right. He paid them off and so he got to leave the country. Of course the Mexicans won’t admit to this but that’s how justice works down there and that’s a fact. Too bad Martin didn’t pay off the prosecutor as well. If she had, she’d probably be back in Canada right now.
Ok, so there’s the situation. Now what is the Canadian government doing to help this woman out? Well pretty much nothing. Not a big surprise really when you look at Canada’s track record on matters like these. I guess she’s had a few visits by the consular affairs people but it doesn’t look like the Canadian government is putting any pressure on the Mexicans to get her released. Our Prime Minister won’t even comment whether he’s spoken about this matter directly to his Mexican counterpart. He has said that Mexico’s judicial system is independent of the government and so therefore there is nothing we can do. That’s got to be the most pathetic thing I’ve ever heard!
Like I said, I realize Canada doesn’t carry a huge amount of sway in the international community but this is ridiculous. I mean Mexico is third world country and if were too afraid to challenge the Mexico we should probably just fold up our tent and let someone else setup shop here.
Canadians spend millions of dollars each year in Mexico and I’ll bet we support Mexico in many other ways as well. The Canadian government should issue a travel advisory to Mexico for Canadians and discourage anyone from traveling there. It’s clear that it’s a dangerous country for Canadians to be in and is best avoided. I understand that the cancellation of a few thousand trips won’t bring the Mexican economy to it’s knees, but it’s a start.
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Posted: March 28th, 2008 under McKinlay Musings.
Comments: 10
I understand your anger, Mike, but with an illegal war happening and thousands of people dying because of it, I’m sorry to say that Brenda Martin’s case really is insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
It does, however, show how corrupt the authorities are, whether it be Mexico, the US, Canada or Japan. They don’t care about justice unless they get a kickback.
Actually, I’m surprised you wrote this because after our discussion about war crimes, you said to me, “There’s nothing you can do about it, and it kind of gets depressing to keep talking about it.”
Well, there is something you can do about it! Writing this post and drawing attention to this or any other issue is a start. Then get down to your city hall and start appealing to your local MP. It all starts at the grassroots level. Pressure from the public will cause change, but to just ignore the war or Brenda Martin’s plight and turn on the TV is shameful.
Make sure you post updates on this story, Mike. I’d be interested to hear how it pans out.
You are right Nick and I should give my MP a call! I’ll definitely try to give you an update in the future! Remind me if I forget!
I agree very much with what Nick wrote Mike! I too look foward to seeing how this all pans out!!
I’m a bit skeptical of her story - she chose to stay on in the country, and to some extent, I think you accept the risk of falling into jeopardy (as she has) when you live in another nation where the rule of law is a little loosey-goosey. She does not merit any more or less protection from the law in Mexico because of her nationality; nor should she expect it.
When you leave the country, you fall under the jurisdiction of another government, and another country’s laws. She accepted that risk when she went to live in Mexico. Why did she invest money in the company owned by the man who fired her?
She may or may not have been laundering money, but my understanding is that there was an opportunity for her to leave the country after she was fired, but she chose to stay in country.
It is not appalling that she has been held for years without trial so much as it is is appalling that many people are in the same situation in Mexico. But because they’re Mexican, and not Canadian, we really don’t take notice.
I see where you are coming from Heather but I seriously wonder if it’s really normal for Mexicans to be held in prison for more than 2 years without trial. I know things don’t work very fast in that country but I think 2 years is ridiculous.
I don’t think she should be punished for staying in the country if she decided to stay after being fired. If she overstayed her visa then that would be a different matter but I think that’s not an issue in this case.
I believe that Canada’s priority should be to protect it’s own citizens. I think we should also speak up on human rights abuses around the world, but I think we have an obligation to our fellow Canadians should they get in to trouble abroad, guilty or not. The Canadian Foreign Service receives taxes from Canadians and is therefore accountable to Canadians.
I think that when you travel to another country you have to live by that country’s rules and if you break them then you can’t expect to be rescued. However, I just think that two years without trial is unacceptable and that the Canadian government needs to be more assertive. This isn’t the first time that questionable issues with Mexican law enforcement and Canadians visiting Mexico have happened and I’m really starting to get the feeling that if the government doesn’t do something that there will be more issues for Canadians like this in the future.
I think the real reason why she is still there is because she didn’t bribe the prosecutor. If she had she probably would have been home a long time ago. At least that’s what her former boss did to get out and by all accounts the only guilty party was him. This is just one more reason why we should be putting pressure on the Mexicans.
Actually, Amnesty International has been issuing warnings about Mexico for some time. This is from the 2007 report.
“Arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, torture and violations of due process rights of criminal suspects remained common. Courts continued to overlook reports of such abuses. Access to legal counsel was often denied in the early stages of detention and state-appointed lawyers frequently failed to guarantee the right to effective defence. The poorest and most disadvantaged detainees, such as Indigenous peoples, were often denied minimum fair trial standards.”
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/americas/central-america/mexico
Apparently, it sucks more to be an Indigenous and poor and in the hands of the justice system. Brenda Martin had a choice - she chose to go to a country that is known to have a flawed judicial system. Countless more have no choice, and yet, very little is said about their plight.
Why is one Canadian woman more important than thousands of disadvantaged people?
Well one Canadian woman shouldn’t be more important than thousands of other disadvantaged people… but it’s kind of like having a member of your family who gets in to trouble…. 99% of people would help out at a family member before helping a stranger. I know that doesn’t sound nice, and it’s not fair, but that’s reality. That and the fact that this woman has paid taxes to the Canadian government, which has a responsibility to protect it’s citizens abroad. How much protection??? Hard to say.. but this fact would separate her from the “thousands of disadvantaged people,” Again, I know it sounds cruel but that’s the reality.
By the way, nice research Heather.
Well…it’s a terrible situation for anybody to be in, regardless of where they come from. Sadly, it happens a lot, and to many people. We’re lucky to live where we do.
Couldn’t agree with you more Heather. I love traveling and I hope that I never find myself in the situation that she is in.