NYT: Police Officers End a Mine Strike in Mexico

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/world/americas/08mexico.html?scp=6&sq=mexico&st=nyt

By ELISABETH MALKIN
Published: June 7, 2010

MEXICO CITY — For almost three years, the miners at the massive open-pit Cananea copper mine have been on strike, ground troops in a battle to force the recognition of their exiled leader.

The strike ended abruptly Sunday night as busloads of federal police officers poured into the mine, which is 25 miles south of the Arizona border, and took it over.

Mexico’s interior ministry said the takeover was peaceful. But witnesses said the police used tear gas to disperse about 50 miners picketing outside the gates and then followed the miners to the union hall where they tried to take refuge.

There were no confirmed reports of injuries.

On Monday, people in Cananea, a tiny desert town, awoke to see the picket line replaced by federal police officers on guard inside the mine’s fences. Police trucks rolled through the streets as helicopters clattered overhead.

The mine’s owner, Grupo Mexico, which has reported that it has lost more than $1.5 billion from the strike, said that investigators had already entered the mine to assess the damage.

FULL story at link.