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Mar 26, 2004, 11:23 pm
| #1 (permalink) (top) |
| Molten Ash Posts: 55 | Six rescued cavers held in detention with illegal lap-dancers The six British potholers freed from a cave underneath the Mexican jungle yesterday shared a detention centre for illegal immigrants with eastern European lap-dancers awaiting deportation. The cavers were questioned within the peeling walls of the El Vergel centre on the outskirts of Mexico City before they were due to be escorted to the international airport to fly home overnight. Like the lap-dancers, they were questioned about "activities inconsistent with their migratory status". British diplomats were anxious to say the men were not being deported but even as flight arrangements were being made, Mexico's President Vicente Fox said that Britain's explanation of the cavers' activities "frankly did not satisfy" and demanded further details. Mexico's ambassador in London had been asked to make a new protest verbally to Steve Williams, the Foreign Office's director for Latin America, said Mr Derbez. What was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime turned into a diplomatic disaster when the members of the Combined Services Caving Association were trapped in the Cuetzalan caves by flood waters. After appearing to make the mistake of refusing to be rescued by Mexicans, there were claims that the Ministry of Defence-sponsored expedition was on a secret British military exercise looking for a uranium lode and that they had arrived in Mexico claiming to be tourists. Mexican politicians, including the country's president, joined the protests. The cavers, most of them servicemen, had been rescued late on Thursday by Royal Navy divers after eight days underground and surfaced to a reception that included armed guards and immigration officials. They had routinely established a base camp within the cave system, believed to be one of the biggest in Mexico, ready for any kind of problem, be it a roof fall, an injured caver or, as it turned out, rising water levels. "This was an eventuality that was planned for and the plan worked a treat," said Jonathan Simms. "It is no big shakes for us." It was, however, big shakes for the Mexican authorities and on Thursday night after a shower and some food, the men were taken from their hotel in the mountain town of Cuetzalan, 200 miles north-east of Mexico City, to the immigration centre. The Mexican immigration under-secretary, Armando Salinas, said the Britons had a medical examination and were then handed over to immigration authorities for questioning before catching their hasty flight home. They may be well out of it. The Mexican senate has approved a motion to summon Santiago Creel, the interior minister, to appear before them and explain the Britons' presence. However, Mexican cavers have defended their British colleagues and ridiculed the controversy over the presence of the foreign soldiers. "The explorations have never been secret," said Ramon Espinasa, president of the Mexican Society of Subterranean Exploration and a participant on earlier expeditions with the British. He said the British were merely helping map the caves. The rescued men - Chris Mitchell, Jonathan Sims, Charles Milton, Simon Cornhill, John Roe and Toby Hamnett - and the above-ground support crew are due to arrive back in Britain today. |
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Mar 30, 2004, 03:50 pm
| #2 (permalink) (top) |
| Igneous Magma Posts: 264 | </span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (AlecBaldwin666,) Six rescued cavers held in detention with illegal lap-dancers The six British potholers freed from a cave underneath the Mexican jungle yesterday shared a detention centre for illegal immigrants with eastern European lap-dancers awaiting deportation. The cavers were questioned within the peeling walls of the El Vergel centre on the outskirts of Mexico City before they were due to be escorted to the international airport to fly home overnight. Like the lap-dancers, they were questioned about "activities inconsistent with their migratory status". British diplomats were anxious to say the men were not being deported but even as flight arrangements were being made, Mexico's President Vicente Fox said that Britain's explanation of the cavers' activities "frankly did not satisfy" and demanded further details. Mexico's ambassador in London had been asked to make a new protest verbally to Steve Williams, the Foreign Office's director for Latin America, said Mr Derbez. What was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime turned into a diplomatic disaster when the members of the Combined Services Caving Association were trapped in the Cuetzalan caves by flood waters. After appearing to make the mistake of refusing to be rescued by Mexicans, there were claims that the Ministry of Defence-sponsored expedition was on a secret British military exercise looking for a uranium lode and that they had arrived in Mexico claiming to be tourists. Mexican politicians, including the country's president, joined the protests. The cavers, most of them servicemen, had been rescued late on Thursday by Royal Navy divers after eight days underground and surfaced to a reception that included armed guards and immigration officials. They had routinely established a base camp within the cave system, believed to be one of the biggest in Mexico, ready for any kind of problem, be it a roof fall, an injured caver or, as it turned out, rising water levels. "This was an eventuality that was planned for and the plan worked a treat," said Jonathan Simms. "It is no big shakes for us." It was, however, big shakes for the Mexican authorities and on Thursday night after a shower and some food, the men were taken from their hotel in the mountain town of Cuetzalan, 200 miles north-east of Mexico City, to the immigration centre. The Mexican immigration under-secretary, Armando Salinas, said the Britons had a medical examination and were then handed over to immigration authorities for questioning before catching their hasty flight home. They may be well out of it. The Mexican senate has approved a motion to summon Santiago Creel, the interior minister, to appear before them and explain the Britons' presence. However, Mexican cavers have defended their British colleagues and ridiculed the controversy over the presence of the foreign soldiers. "The explorations have never been secret," said Ramon Espinasa, president of the Mexican Society of Subterranean Exploration and a participant on earlier expeditions with the British. He said the British were merely helping map the caves. The rescued men - Chris Mitchell, Jonathan Sims, Charles Milton, Simon Cornhill, John Roe and Toby Hamnett - and the above-ground support crew are due to arrive back in Britain today.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'> Ooh, detained with lap dancers. Oh, what horrible punishment! I bet those cavers won't go illegally spelunking ever again after such a terrible punishment. I can just imagine the discussions in the jail cell: 'hey, want to see my technique for getting myself into tight places?' LOL! |
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Mar 31, 2004, 05:51 am
| #4 (permalink) (top) |
| Volcanic Erupter  Location: Mexico City Posts: 4,772 | The British cavers were engaged in activities inconsistent with their migratory status because, though they entered as mere tourists they brought with them equipment of a scientific nature which is suspected to have been brought with a lucrative intent. Additionally the CSCA is a British military unit and when a team of a given nation's military visits a country it has friendly relations with, common courtesy says you announce yourself and why you are coming. Mexico has a federation of cave explorers with different ratings. They know about previous British expeditions to these same caves (its been going on since the 80s). The "tourists" brought with them an extensive inventory of MoD equipment (no weapons though). Some of their stuff was pretty sophisticated (like the cell phone that called from underground via-satellite to London and hooked up directly with the unit's command. Et semel emissum volat irrevocabile verbum. Raúl M. Núñez Sheriff |
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