The week at a glance ... Americas

Victoria, British Columbia

Cancer scammers: In the fourth such case in the past month, a British Columbia woman was charged this week with soliciting charitable donations to treat a fake cancer. Tina Michele Sammons reportedly raised $300,000 from family and friends to treat a cancer she did not have. Earlier this month, Christopher Gordon was charged with fraud for collecting $3,000 to fight a phony terminal brain cancer, and Jessica Ann Leeder pleaded guilty to fraud after faking lung and stomach cancer. Perhaps the hardest-working scammer was Ashley Kirilow, who shaved her head and eyebrows, plucked her eyelashes, and practically starved herself to convince people she had cancer. She took in $20,000 before pleading guilty to fraud this month.

Mexico City

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Security convoys urged: The Mexican government this week told Mexicans living in the U.S. to form convoys for their own safety when they drive home for the holidays. Mexicans returning home for Christmas typically carry large amounts of cash and gifts, making them attractive targets for robbers and kidnappers. This year, given the increase in drug-cartel violence in border areas, the danger seems even greater. The Interior Ministry said migrants should contact the government’s Paisano Program for help in organizing convoys, and it recommended traveling only by day. An estimated 12 million Mexicans live in the United States.

Bogotá, Colombia

Fugitive spy chief: Colombians reacted with fury this week after Panama granted political asylum to a fugitive Colombian former spy chief. María del Pilar Hurtado is one of four people who led Colombia’s spy agency during the eight-year rule of President Álvaro Uribe; all four are accused of carrying out illegal wiretapping and surveillance against judges, journalists, politicians, and human-rights activists at Uribe’s request. Some of the spying targets were foreign nationals, including Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi. The head of Colombia’s Supreme Court, Jaime Arrubla, who was wiretapped under Uribe, blasted Panama, saying that political asylum is supposed to “protect those persecuted for their political ideas, not the persecutors.”