Friday, May 16, 2025

Cane alcohol blamed for deaths of 16 people in Jalisco

Some 32 people in the state of Jalisco have been poisoned after drinking a particular brand of cane alcohol and half of those have died, the state’s Ministry of Health reported. 

The culprit, authorities suspect, is a 96-proof brand called El Chorrito which may have become tainted with high levels of methanol during the distillation process. Methanol, typically used in solvents and antifreeze, can metabolize to formaldehyde and formic acid in the liver and become toxic within a few short hours of being ingested. 

The first reports of victims began Saturday in Mazamitla and Tamazula. Symptoms reported included dizziness, blurred vision or blindness, difficulty breathing, seizures and severe abdominal pain. 

Of the deceased, 15 were men between the ages of 28 and 83. One 66-year-old woman has also died. Some of the victims had to be air-lifted to local hospitals. 

The patients who have required hospitalization are 15 men between 22 and 67 years of age and a 29-year-old woman. As of Tuesday, two of those hospitalized had been discharged.

The state prosecutor’s office announced an investigation into the poisonings, which will include a look at El Chorrito’s parent company, Grupo Sáenz, and whether it was authorized to sell the product at a retail level or limited to bulk sales to the industrial and pharmaceutical sectors. 

Last year in Costa Rica at least 19 people died from drinking alcohol tainted with methanol.

Source: Jornada (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Teachers march down Reforma Avenue in Mexico City with a banner reading "Huelga Nacional"

Sheinbaum announces 10% pay increase for teachers as unions march in Mexico City

5
The president also promised to freeze the retirement age for teachers, a point of friction with one of Mexico's most powerful teachers' unions.
Smashed bus involved in Puebla highway accident

Puebla bus accident leaves over 20 dead, more injured

1
At least 21 killed in a fiery multi-vehicle crash on Puebla’s Tehuacán-Oaxaca highway; authorities continue to investigate the cause.
Agents in black helmets and bulletproof vests ride through the Sinaloa countryside on a military-type transport

Fact check: Is ICE leading anti-narcotics operations in Sinaloa?

4
The misinterpretation of a single word sparked claims that ICE agents were dismantling cartel drug labs in northwest Mexico.