Mexico Slowdown on the Border

Irate over a kidnaping, the U.S. puts pressure on a troubled neighbor

From Tijuana to Brownsville, Texas, along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border, everything on wheels moved at a lentissimo pace last week, when it moved at all. At the point known locally as the "world's busiest border crossing," between Tijuana and San Ysidro, Calif., the usual 20-minute delays on the 22- lane northbound approach plaza dragged on for as long as seven hours. The number of U.S. motorists heading south had dropped dramatically. Howls of pain rose from local businessmen as the supply of vacationing gringo customers dried up. Said Pablo Gutierrez Barron, president of the Tijuana Chamber of Commerce: "This is not...

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