The plight of 51-year-old Brenda Martin has become mainstream news in Canada in recent weeks, with calls for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to become personally involved.

Martin worked in Mexico as a chef for a man now in a U.S. prison for a multi-million-dollar Internet fraud scam, although both he and Martin deny she had any involvement with the scam.

In light of mounting publicity and calls for trade and travel boycotts against Mexico, the Mexican embassy posted a statement about the delay in trying Martin Thursday night, the Canwest News Service said.

"Brenda Kim Martin has chosen to change legal teams for her defense on several occasions," the statement says. "Consequently, she has been successively represented by different legal teams, (which) has significantly contributed to the delay in her trial."

On Wednesday, Martin repeated an earlier pledge to CTV News that she would commit suicide if she isn't freed soon.