WARNING: STAY OUT OF TROUBLE IN MEXICO

The death of James Willis Abell, a U.S. citizen who died as a result
of injuries he received while incarcerated in Nuevo Laredo, should
send a strong warning to Americans visiting Mexico--stay out of
trouble.

Any offense, sometimes even the most minor, can land anybody in
prison and getting out is not easy. The most common offenses for
which Americans land in Mexican jails are for carrying weapons or for
possessing drugs.

In Nuevo Laredo alone, there are about 45 incarcerated Americans.

The scariest part is that most prisons in Mexico are overcrowded and
new prisoners--especially foreigners--are often beaten by other
inmates or by guards, as in Abell's case.

According to Nuevo Laredo police, when the 43-year-old Dallas
resident was arrested in the wee hours of Sept. 13 he was carrying
600 tranquilizer pills and several hypodermic syringes. Yet, Abell's
family, who lives in San Antonio, was not aware that he had a drug
problem.

Although it is common to hear allegations that Mexican police frame
innocent people, that does not appear to be the case here.

According to the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, consular
representatives visited Abell twice but could get very little
information from him because he was incoherent and behaving strangely.

However, that does not justify Abell's death and the consulate was
correct in filing a complaint with Mexico's Foreign Ministry.

Mexican authorities are, or should be, aware that incarcerated
Americans often become easy targets of abuse in the overcrowded
cells. Prison officials in Nuevo Laredo