MEXICO CITY, Jan. 9 (UPI) — The goal of Mexico ending government control of gas and diesel prices was to prevent needing cuts to the national budget, but quickly rising prices of gas have instead resulted mostly in protests, riots and looting across the country.
Hundreds of stores in Mexico have been looted, people are stealing gas from refilling stations and U. S. officials were so concerned about a protest at the Tijuana border crossing they actually shut it down as Mexicans reacted to a 20 percent jump in fuel costs since price controls started being eased on Jan. 1.
Relaxing price controls is part of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto ‘s plan to improve the budget situation there by ending the state-run energy monopoly.
Peña Nieto has struggled to respond to citizens in Mexico — who are concerned about the rapid increase in the cost of gas and how it will affect the prices of food and any other product shipped by truck — which has led to the protests and looting that has led to well over 1,500 arrests and several dead across the country in clashes with police.
“We don’t want this corrupt country any more,” Alicia Rios, a receptionist who marched through downtown Mexico City on Saturday, told The New York Times. “The legislators get 10,000 pesos in gasoline vouchers when the people can’t afford to fill up their tanks… If gasoline goes up, everything goes up. ”
The plan is to slowly loosen price controls over the course of 2017, so that by the end of the year market demand drives fluctuations in the cost of fuel.
About half of Mexico’s gas is imported from the United States, but it is handled by the government-run company Pemex and the price to consumers is set by the government. The hope is ending government controls will attract other oil companies to do business in Mexico.
The government is also ending the issuance of gas vouchers to elected officials, government employees and other wealthy members of Mexican society, which it says will prevent cuts to social programs and other parts of the national budget.
In the meantime, seemingly sudden price hikes have shocked consumers. Aside from marches, Mexicans have been spotted filling gas cans with stolen fuel, clearing store shelves of everything from food to appliances and blocking roads and highways.
Protesters took over the border inspection lanes at the Tijuana crossing from San Ysidro on Saturday and waved people through without their vehicles being checked or their paying taxes on anything bought in the United States. U. S. Border Control officials diverted traffic to another highway and border entry, keeping it closed for about four hours as protesters were disbursed.
Some analysts note the problems could have been avoided, and expect Peña Nieto and other politicians to pay a price in the 2018 elections there, especially considering they have refused to rescind the end of price controls.
“They didn’t think about it,” said Vidal Romero, an analyst at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, suggesting any kind of measure, including subsidies for poorer people in Mexico, could have made the transition easier. “There is no compensation for citizens. “

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CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana man has pleaded guilty to the murder of a Gary police officer under a deal that spares him the death penalty.
Monday’s plea agreement calls for 28-year-old Carl Blount of Gary to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the July 2014 shooting death of 47-year-old Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield.
Prosecutors agreed to drop other charges against Blount, including theft and battery, and won’t prosecute him in connection with a double slaying about 10 days before Westerfield’s death. The plea agreement has no details about those slayings.
Court documents say Westerfield was investigating a reported domestic disturbance between Blount and his girlfriend when he was shot in his squad car.
Westerfield’s family had no comment after Monday’s court hearing. Blount will be sentenced Feb. 8.
Gary is about 30 miles southeast of Chicago.
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In a new fallout in the Volkswagen emissions scandal, lawsuits filed by three states claim top executives were involved with creating so-called “…
The complaint, dated Dec. 30 and signed by FBI Special Agent Ian M. Dinsmore, alleges that Schmidt committed the crimes from 2012 to 2015. Schmidt’s bio for a 2012 auto industry conference said he was responsible for ensuring that vehicles built for sale within the U. S. and Canada comply with “past, present and future air quality and fuel economy government standards in both countries.” It says he served as the company’s direct factory and government agency contact for emissions regulations.
Volkswagen has admitted that it programmed diesel-powered vehicles to turn pollution controls on during tests and to turn them off in real-world driving. The scandal has cost VW sales and has tarnished its brand worldwide.
A lawsuit filed last year by the New York state attorney general said that Schmidt “played an important role” in concealing the deception from regulators.
Volkswagen spokesperson Jeannine Ginivan told CBS News in a statement Monday morning that the automaker “continues to cooperate with the Department of Justice” but that “it would not be appropriate to comment on any ongoing investigations or to discuss personnel matters.”
Herbert Diess, a member of Volkswagen AG’s board of management, appeared in Detroit Sunday evening to introduce a new version of VW’s Tiguan SUV ahead of the North American International Auto Show. He wouldn’t comment when asked if some Volkswagen executives refused to come to the auto show for fear of being arrested.
“I’m here, at least,” he said.
Asked about the Justice Department investigation, Diess also wouldn’t comment, but said he hopes it’s resolved “as soon as possible.”
The company has agreed to either repair the cars or buy them back as part of a $15 billion settlement approved by a federal judge in October. Volkswagen agreed to pay owners of 2-liter diesels up to $10,000 depending on the age of their cars.
In October, VW engineer James Robert Liang, of Newbury Park, California, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government and agreed to cooperate with investigations in the U. S. and Germany. Liang was the first person to enter a plea in the wide-ranging case, and authorities were expected to use him to go after higher-ranking VW officials.
A grand jury indictment against Liang detailed a 10-year conspiracy by Volkswagen employees in the U. S. and Germany to repeatedly dupe U. S. regulators by using sophisticated emissions software. The indictment detailed emails between Liang and co-workers that initially admitted to cheating in an almost cavalier manner but then turned desperate after the deception was uncovered.
Tests commissioned by the nonprofit International Council on Clean Transportation in 2014 found that certain Volkswagen models with diesel engines emitted more than the allowable limit of pollutants. More than a year later, Volkswagen admitted to installing the software on about 500,000 2-liter diesel engines in VW and Audi models in the U. S. Later the company said some 3-liter diesels also cheated.
The Environmental Protection Agency found that the 2-liter cars emitted up to 40 times the legal limit for nitrogen oxide, which can cause human respiratory problems.

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CCTV has revealed the moment a man opened fire at Fort Lauderdale airport on Friday.
Suspect Esteban Santiago, 26, is appearing in court charged with killing five people and injuring six others.

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