The Region - News from July 11, 1985

A dozen Californians who bought retirement and vacation homes on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula picketed the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles to protest what they said is an illegal eviction from their land, which is rented. The picketers said they have proof they have been making monthly rent payments through a Mexican bank, but the Mexican landlord, Carlos Teran del Rio, has filed lawsuits against them to collect “unpaid” rents. “He stole my mother’s house, and he’s planning on reselling it,” said Loretta Smith, daughter of homeowner Myra Beisel. Smith said countersuits have been filed against the landlord, but the cases have become so bogged down in the Mexican judicial system that between 15 and 20 residents have been forced out of the Qunita del Mar community at Rosarito Beach. Consulate officials could not be reached for comment.