Cdn Brenda Martin held in Mexico prison

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe.../harper_mexico_080318/20080317?hub=TopStories

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has intervened on behalf of Brenda Martin, a Canadian imprisoned in Mexico, just days after she made an impassioned, desperate plea to Harper to save her life.

Harper has phoned Mexican President Felipe Calderon to discuss the case and told him that Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity Jason Kenney will be visiting Martin in Guadalajara.

Martin, a 51-year-old Ontario woman, has been awaiting trial in Mexico for two years, accused of taking part in a $60-million fraud scheme orchestrated by her former boss Alyn Waage.

She denies the claims and maintains her innocence, saying she was simply Waage's chef, and invested in his company believing him to be a legitimate businessman.

Hi,

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

"Free Brenda Martin Now"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/brenda?e

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes less than a minute of your time.

Thanks!

Thanks Patience.

I cannot believe it took the Cdn govm't this long to get involved. That poor women. Plus Alyn Waage has said to the Mexican courts that she was not involved. This case was featured on CTV's W5.
I pray she is home soon.

Stephen Harper, a baby `George Bush`. I put money that the only reason he has finally done anything to help this women is because the former PM and Liberal party Paul Martin personally went to see Brenda Martin in prison.

Stephen Harper is more interested in photo ops then a citizen being held in a Mexican Prison.

Now if she is released, then Stephen Harper will take a huge bow, that is after two years of the PC`s doing nothing and allowing Brenda to stay in Prison.

Now that the Canadian public knows about the situation and Brenda`s story is in the paper and on TV and W5, Harper is finally doing something. It is not like his party did not know, they knew but felt zero pressure to act on her behalf. It is not like they do the right thing, because it is the right thing to do.

Now the pressure has been increased and they are doing what the Government should have done two years ago for a women being unfairly detained.

BTW, it was a childhood friends that first ensured that the public knew about Brenda, not the government.

You are welcome and thanks for caring. I am worried sick about Brenda Martin and I want to do everything I can do as a Canadian citizen who is affected deeply by her plight. Please take a look at her website and there is a link to her Facebook site as well. Also if anyone would take the time to sign the petition to bring her home then please do. Thank you so very much.

http://www.savebrendafund.ca/support.html

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&showbyline=True&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20080318%2fmartin_mexico_080319


"She's already said her goodbyes to me," a tearful Marjorie Bletcher told CTV's Canada AM from Trenton, Ontario. "I'm so scared, please help her, please help her."
The call for help comes as Tory MPs Jason Kenney and Rick Norlock prepare to meet with Martin at 3 p.m. local time in Guadalajara.
Before the visit, Kenney, the minister responsible for multiculturalism, will spend Wednesday meeting with justice officials, foreign affairs officials and prison officials, CTV's Lisa LaFlamme reported Wednesday from Guadalajara.
On Tuesday, Kenney called Martin to inform her that the Canadian government was working hard to secure her release.
"They intend to check up on her health, let her know that officials at the highest level are focused on her case, and ensure that any immediate needs are being taken care of," one government source told CP regarding Wednesday's visit.
"They also intend to continue the process of raising her case with Mexican officials to underscore how serious Canada takes it."
The 51-year-old Ontario woman has been awaiting trial in Mexico for two years, accused of taking part in a $60-million fraud scheme orchestrated by her former boss Alyn Waage.

I really hope she is released soon. Harper is not doing a damn thing to help her. One thing that is starting is Brenda mom is getting alot more press. Maybe that will push Canadians to demand that the Harper government start doing more than talking to the Mexican authorities. Where is our diplomatic agents to help this poor women. Isn't that one of the reasons we have them and pay for them (quite well I might add) to live in these other countries. I am just so fed up with this government and their total disregard for any Canadian in trouble abroad. Its not just Brenda Martin it is also those two teenage boys in the Middle east that are sentenance to die. When will our Government stop worrying about being politically correct and start demanding some action.

Sorry needed to rant a little.

I live in the Trenton, Ontario area where Brenda Martin is from. At first, I felt sorry for her too and hoped she would be released.

However...living in her hometown I have been forced to listen to the same crap about her on EVERY newscast on the radio, everyday. Everynight her story makes the front page of the local paper. I have gotten so sick of it and her mother's whiny plea that was broadcast was absolutely pathetic! And the suicide threats! That was the final straw.

I'm beginning to wonder if this woman might be guilty of what she is accused of. So I went on the internet and the first thing I found confirmed everything I suspected about Brenda Martin.

Here is the link:
http://crookedincanada.com/

You have scroll down the page a bit.

Here is the first paragraph:

Brenda Martin is and always has been a *advertiser censored*ked up woman. She doesn’t mind breaking laws either. In Mexico she worked illegally for a man who committed what is rumoured to be the biggest internet scam ever ($60 million I hear). She lived, roamed and worked in Mexico without the proper immigration visa and work permits for 10 years, likely didn’t pay tax on the money she earned during those 10 years, and then her 10 year holiday in Mexico ended with her arrest for money-laundering among other things. Who knows what illegal activities she committed and got away with in Canada, but if her history in Mexico is anything to go by, it’s pretty safe to assume that she might have committed a few crimes in Canada and never got caught for them. What do you think?

Just thought I'd present a different side of the story - there is ALWAYS another side to everything. I don't Brenda Martin or anyone associated with her and I don't know anything about her guilt or innoncence. I just know that I am tired of hearing about it.

Speculation as to her criminal history and if she did committ any crime. If a person is charged, arrested, and convicted then a person can say: That person was convicted of a crime. Not the case in regards to Brenda and Mexico. She was taken into custody and no charges or trial has been forthcoming.

So it is all speculation.

If the writer thinks that the "Baby Bush, Stephen Harper" is not doing this to "appear" to be the helpful, wonderful, caring, Baby Bush he is and to "attempt" to score points with the Canadian public, then one does not know of his "agenda" in politics. He and his Government are ONLY doing this for the points of "looking" like they are doing some "good for the Canadian people".

Harper has not and will not do anything about "the trial of the child" soldier that "seems lilke a kangeroo court". This child claims of torture ring true and when "visited" by the Canadian Government, he told them and showed them the "results" of the torture. The Canadian Government said they he "was lying" and he broke down crying. Harper follows the "lead" of the USA and wants to be the "younger" brother to the USA and turn Canada into USA LITE.

So who is using whom. Brenda for "using" her plight in a Mexican Prison to be released to Canada for a fair trial and a decent judicial system that is not plagued by "Mexican Corruption" and bribery.

Or the Canadian Goverment who is using Brenda for "their own agenda" to appear to be what they are not, what they do not believe in, to do what they would not normally do, all for appearance sake to "try to convince" the public that they are kind and gentle, when the reality of it is, they are anything but.

http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=960234

Northumberland-Quinte West Conservative MP Rick Norlock and his Liberal predecessor, Paul Macklin, question the veracity of allegations that the Mexican judicial system is looking for $500,000 before Canadian Brenda Martin is released from a Mexican prison.
Ms. Martin, 51, was a cook at the Puerto Vallarta home of Alyn Waage from May 2000 to March 2001.
Mr. Waage is behind bars in the U.S. for defrauding people of about US$60-million in an Internet fraud scheme. Ms. Martin has been in a Guadalajara jail for over two years on charges she was part of the scheme. She has not been tried or convicted.
In recent published and broadcast media reports Mr. Waage said he agreed to pay $500,000 to Mexican officials, but never did. Instead, he headed for Costa Rica when he was freed on bail.
He alleges Ms. Martin won't be released until the money is paid.

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/To...20080328/brenda_martin_080328&showbyline=True

In a telephone interview with CTV Newsnet on Friday, Brenda Martin said the government released the document solely to divert attention from its unwillingness to intervene in her case. She has been held in a Mexican jail for more than two years without a trial.

"I find it horrendous that my privacy would be breached in an attempt to smear my name," said Martin, who blamed the leak on Secretary of State Helena Guergis.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/03/28/martin-rally.html

Supporters of Brenda Martin, a Canadian woman jailed in Mexico for two years, say they are planning a weekend rally in order to keep pressure on Canadian officials to resolve her case.
Paul Macklin, a Liberal MP for Northumberland Quinte West where Martin is from and where her mother still lives, said hundreds of supporters are expected to attend a rally on Parliament Hill Saturday. Scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, the demonstration is drawing people from Calgary, London, Ont., and Toronto who are concerned about the woman's highly publicized plight.

"Free Brenda Martin Now"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/brenda?e

I am feeling terrible about how long Brenda Martin has been in a Mexican Prison. Please pray for her safe return to Canada.



OTTAWA -- A Liberal MP says a Canadian woman jailed in Mexico could be transferred into Canadian custody as early as Friday.

But Dan McTeague says the federal government is dragging its feet, preventing Brenda Martin's quick handover to Canadian authorities.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080424/McTeague_martin_080424

Mexican prisons are pretty bad, but if her parents/family start sending her money, her conditions will greatly improve.
Also, it is not that uncommon for "gringos" to roam Mexico without the proper paperwork because down there it is all about the money. Pay off the cops and you have a free ride.

This lady probably knew what was going on, you do not work 10 years for someone that closely and NOT know.

Thanks for your response Pixie. Brenda's employer states that she is completely innocent of all charges and that she had no idea whatsoever of his illegal internet schemes. She was his chef. I believe her and even though that is only my opinion, I want her in Canada to deal with our justice system as Mexico's human rights are lacking severly.

I agree that Brenda is not being treated according to Canadian (or US) standards. Waiting two years for a trial is outrageous to us. However, the rest of the world does not operate on our agenda.

Just think about it. What if Brenda were a Mexican citizen awaiting trial in Canada/US for a 60 million dollar Internet scheme, and Mexican officials demanded she be returned to Mexico to face a trial there. We would be outraged.

Brenda was not an inexperienced young woman. She lived and worked illegally in Mexico for 10 years.

Trino could you please provide a link with proof that she was in Mexico illegally. Thanks in advance.

Brenda Martin in back home in Canada.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/04/24/5378931-cp.html


KITCHENER, Ont. - Now that her two-year ordeal in a Mexican prison is finally over, Brenda Martin is in very good spirits and is once again savouring peanut butter, her overjoyed mom said Friday night after a two-hour jailhouse visit. Marjorie Bletcher said her daughter was tired and was having some trouble adjusting to the colder Canadian weather, but was otherwise happy to see her family.

Patience said:

Brenda Martin in back home in Canada.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/04/24/5378931-cp.html


KITCHENER, Ont. - Now that her two-year ordeal in a Mexican prison is finally over, Brenda Martin is in very good spirits and is once again savouring peanut butter, her overjoyed mom said Friday night after a two-hour jailhouse visit. Marjorie Bletcher said her daughter was tired and was having some trouble adjusting to the colder Canadian weather, but was otherwise happy to see her family.

Click to expand...

After reading up, I believe she was guilty but I also know Mexican jails are rough so she probably paid dearly for her crimes.