Monday, February 23, 2026

Internet down after farmers burn off fields, damage fiber optic cables

Internet service was interrupted in many parts of Mexico yesterday after fiber optic cables were damaged by fire.

Telmex informed users late yesterday afternoon that the company had restored full internet connectivity after interruptions began to occur about 3:00pm CDT.

The company explained that the connectivity problems occurred when farmers were burning off fields in San Luis Potosí and Sinaloa, causing damage to fiber optic cables.

Mexico’s largest cities were among those most affected, including Guadalajara, Mérida, Puebla, Querétaro, Monterrey, Tijuana, Aguascalientes, Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Mexico City. Telcel customers in some regions also had problems connecting to the internet on their cellphones.

Telmex said it would take legal action against the offenders.

“Telmex will begin the appropriate legal proceedings against those responsible for disrupting the communications network and we reiterate our promise to offer the very best service to our customers.”

The practice of burning off fields was blamed for two major electricity outages on the Yucatán peninsula in March and April.

Source: Milenio (sp), El Financiero (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Black and white photos of Mexican tequileros caught on the border in Texas in the 1920s. The three tequileros are posed with two border authorities with the confiscated sacks of alcohol in front of them.

A look back at the days when tequila was the drug smuggled across the Mexico-U.S. border

0
Prohibition launched the era of the tequileros, Mexican men from border towns who saw an opportunity to make a quick buck smuggling contraband alcohol into the U.S.
el Mencho

Here’s what to know about ‘El Mencho’ and the cartel he created

0
El Mencho forged his power by combining accelerated national expansion, large-scale diversification of criminal businesses (drugs, human traffic, extorsion, etc.) and brazen acts of violence toward the authorities.
INEGI, Mexico's official statistics agency, revisits its monthly and quarterly economic data to solidify the findings, and for the fourth quarter of 2025, the adjustment indicated that Mexico's 2025 GDP was a tick better than originally thought.

Revised figures boost Mexico’s 2025 GDP growth to 0.8%

0
The national statistics agency INEGI reported that Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) advanced 0.9% in Q4 2025 due to a favorable revision of primary activities, bringing final 2025 growth up from 0.7% to 0.8%.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity