Salinas Injects Self Into Field Hand’s Case

President Carlos Salinas de Gortari of Mexico has personally telephoned the Mexican consulate in San Diego to express his concern about the case of a Mexican field hand allegedly kidnaped and beaten by two Carlsbad brothers outside their market earlier this month.

Salinas, who has on many occasions referred sympathetically to the plight of Mexican laborers in the United States, telephoned the San Diego office Tuesday morning and stressed his desire that the matter be pursued vigorously, said Armando Beteta, the Mexican consul general. Such a call is highly unusual.

“I was surprised,” Beteta said Wednesday. “He was most interested in how we were handling it. . . . He is obviously very concerned about the well-being of Mexican citizens in the United States.”

The president’s action underlines the degree of interest that the case has generated in Mexico, where a number of graphic accounts of the crime have been published.

The action also illustrates how Salinas is increasingly attempting to portray himself as a champion of the rights of Mexican immigrants abroad, a striking contrast to recent Mexican presidents, who have condemned abuse of citizens but done little else. Some say that Salina, elected by a slim and much-disputed majority in 1988, may be attempting to broaden his political base, particularly in response to challenges from Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, a political rival who has spoken out strongly on behalf of Mexican workers north of the border.

The case at hand involves Candido Salas, a 26-year-old laborer from Mexico, who was allegedly kidnaped and beaten Jan. 3 outside the Country Store market along El Camino Real in Carlsbad. Police have charged two brothers, Rickey Ryberg, the store owner, and his brother, Randy, with a host of violations in connection with the matter, including kidnaping and battery.

According to police, the brothers bound Salas’ arms and legs with duct tape and placed a bag on his head, on which was written No Mas Aqui, or No More Here. The area outside the store is a major gathering point for immigrant laborers seeking employment from passing motor ists.

The Rybergs have denied the kidnaping charges, saying instead that they have detained migrant workers at their store for police pickup.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has also entered the case and is investigating possible civil rights violations.

Rights activists say the alleged attack illustrates an escalating trend of abuse against immigrant laborers in fast-growing northern San Diego County, where thousands of poor migrants reside in shabby dwellings in open fields, often not far from high-priced homes, and gather in the roadways and at intersections each day seeking work. There has been considerable friction between the immigrant laborers, who mostly speak Spanish, and English-speaking, mostly non-Latino residents.

The Mexican consulate in San Diego has assisted Salas in his legal case. With the consulate’s help, Salas has retained Marco Lopez, a San Diego attorney who is handling several other alleged rights-abuse cases. Salas plans to file a civil abuse case seeking damages against the two brothers later this week, said Lopez.

Each Mexican consulate has a citizen protection section, but critics have long charged that the consulates have done relatively little on behalf of citizens complaining of having been victimized in the United States. Rights activists have long alleged that U.S. immigration authorities, local police officials and U.S. citizens have routinely mistreated Mexican nationals, particularly in California and the Southwest, home of the largest concentrations of immigrants from south of the border.

Salinas, however, apparently has decided to project himself as an advocate for the rights of Mexican emigrants to the United States, and the consulates appear to have a key role to play in his policy.