Mazatlán leading tourism recovery with strong domestic visitor numbers

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November 21, 2020

Eight out of 10 tourists in Mazatlán were Mexican. — Eight out of 10 tourists in Mazatlán have been Mexican.

Mazatlán, Sinaloa, is leading Mexico’s tourism recovery thanks to an influx of visitors from other parts of the country.

The Pacific coast resort city had the highest hotel occupancy among Mexico’s main tourism destinations during the November 13-16 Revolution Day long weekend.

Figures from the federal Tourism Ministry (Sectur) showed that average hotel occupancy in Mazatlán over the long weekend was 72%. By comparison, occupancy in Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and Cancún was 56.8%, 52.6% and 50.2%, respectively.

Some 225,000 people descended on the “Pearl of the Pacific” and injected 300 million pesos (US $14.9 million) into the local economy, according to municipal tourism authorities.

Mayor Luis Guillermo Benítez Torres told the newspaper El Universal that Mazatlán is more fortunate than most tourism destinations because the majority of visitors arrive by car rather than on flights.

“We had greater luck in Mazatlán because most visitors arrive via land thanks to the Matamoros-Mazatlán highway, the super highway,” he said.

Benítez said the city welcomed tourists from states including Tamaulipas, Sonora and Nayarit as well as people from other parts of Sinaloa. Municipal tourism chief Luis Terán Tirado said people also flocked to the city from Guadalajara, Jalisco.

The mayor said the pandemic’s impact on tourism hasn’t been felt as acutely in Mazatlán as other destinations.

Mexican visitors are driving the tourism recovery in the city. Since hotels reopened after closing in April, May and June due to the coronavirus pandemic, eight of 10 tourists staying in Mazatlán hotels have been Mexicans, according to Sectur.

Thanks to the support of domestic tourists, the city will be the first in Mexico to recover fully from the pandemic-induced downturn, Benítez asserted. Tourist numbers in 2021 could be even higher than in 2019, he said.

“We’re leading the tourism recovery; we’re even ahead of Acapulco, the Riviera Maya and Los Cabos,” Benítez said. “I estimate in a month or two months maximum that we’ll reach 100% air connectivity,” he added.

Statistics show that just under 64,000 domestic passengers flew into the Mazatlán airport in October, the highest level since February. Flights are also currently arriving from United States and Canadian cities including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas and Edmonton but international arrivals remain below pre-pandemic levels.

Other destinations that are more dependent on international tourists and haven’t recovered as strongly as Mazatlán look set to get a boost next week from American Thanksgiving travelers. Air traffic departing the United States will be significantly lower than during the Thanksgiving break in recent years but those who do travel are likely to be visiting Mexico.

An analysis by the insurance company Allianz found that Cancún, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta are, in that order, the top three international destinations for Thanksgiving tourists.

Source: El Universal (sp), El Sol de Mazatlán (sp)

Unique Chiapas church keeps alive its parishioners’ pre-Hispanic traditions

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Leigh Thelmadatter

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November 21, 2020

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The community church of Chiapas's San Juan Chamula, on the main square. (Frans-Banja Mulder, CC) — The community church in San Juan Chamula, on the main square. Frans-Banja Mulder, CC

In the parish church of Chamula, Chiapas, it is always time for Mass — sort of.

I approached this church with some trepidation, despite having visited countless parishes all over Mexico. It’s famous for being “strange” and “different” and for its rule of absolutely no photographs allowed.

I was also quite annoyed with the tone of what I’d read in English about it online, focusing on almost otherworldly indigenous people in strange clothing, speaking a strange tongue, and doing incomprehensible things with eggs, Coca-Cola and live chickens

I am not a religious person per se, but I understand and appreciate how ritual has a psychological/spiritual (take your pick) importance for many people. No matter how strange a practice might seem superficially, it fulfills a human need.

Cameras tucked away, I paid for permission to enter and for a guide. Unfortunately, I had to studiously ignore a young woman posing for a selfie at the church facade. As a kind of counterbalance, my guide inside would not let me record his talk; I had to listen with my head and my heart.

Elements used in ceremonies in San Juan Chamula's unusual Catholic church. — Elements used in ceremonies in San Juan Chamula’s unusual Catholic church.

He spent a good 15 to 20 minutes telling me about the church. It was light on history, but he did begin by stating unequivocally that it was a “traditional” Catholic church, just with a different definition of traditional.

The building is much like any small-town Mexican church built in the early colonial period. Inside there are some familiar things as well — a main altarpiece on the apse, many side altars holding images of various saints and a baptismal font. These altars and the images would not be out of place in any other Mexican church. The saints are wearing local clothing, but I have seen this before, especially with images of the infant Jesus.

What strikes the eye is the lack of pews and the hundreds upon hundreds of candles burning in front of the saints, with more being lit on various parts of the floor where worshippers sat and prayed.

Because I visited during the pandemic, and because it was early in the morning, the church was quite peaceful, with few worshippers or tourists. The atmosphere was serene, and I was struck by the passion with which people prayed — and not just local indigenous people; at least two were obviously European or North American.

The church does not have a priest assigned to it. One comes from San Cristóbal on Sunday and certain festival days to officiate at Mass and to do baptisms. In fact, baptism is the only church rite of passage that the Tzotzil people here accept. There is no presentation of the child to the church at 4 years old, no quinceañera, no church marriage and no confession booth. Confession is “self-confession” with certain saints’ images that have mirrors on their chests to allow the confessor to remember that it is his confession. Marriages are called uniones libres (free unions) and happen in families’ homes.

This is a “people’s church.” They control the church; the church does not control them. They do not depend on a priest for most of their religious life, a system they fought for in order to preserve as many of their old beliefs as possible. This is no mean feat. It’s not just a matter of hiding old gods behind the masks of saints (which occurs here, too) or letting a jaguar appear (as it does in the cupola) or letting elements of animal sacrifice (or other offerings) continue.

Artwork inspired by Tzotzil religious rituals. Akio Hanafuji — Artwork inspired by Tzotzil religious rituals. (Akio Hanafuji)

The church is administered and maintained by the parishioners themselves with little input from Catholic hierarchy. Administration is shared through a mayordomo system: each person volunteers for a year of duty. It is no minor undertaking. Mayordomos don’t just clean up, they pay for the constantly-burning candles, the twice-weekly replacement of the pine needles that cover the floor, the food and any other expenses that accompany the year’s calendar of festivals, starting with Carnival. They do this all out of their own pockets.

According to my guide, Agustín Hernández de la Cruz Perez, this costs the mayordomo about 200,000 pesos (nearly US $10,000) for the year — enough money to buy a decent-sized plot of land. Despite the cost, the waiting list to serve is decades long.

Many tourism articles in English give the impression that Chamula is this isolated and backward society hostile to outsiders. But that is not the case. Canadian American Carol Karasik, a longtime Chiapas resident and writer and editor about Mayan culture, says that foreigners are welcome in the church.

“In fact, I think Chamula want foreigners to witness their ceremonies,” she says.

Anthropologist John Burstein also agrees that charging for admission indicates a certain welcoming attitude but that the situation can be complicated.

Because of the boorish nature of so many tourists, it is likely that this welcome gets tested. The prohibition on photography helps to keep some discourteousness at bay, but I cannot imagine having to have to pray while someone is walking around me and gawking.

Chamula is at a disadvantage. In other churches, tourists are prohibited from entering and taking pictures during Mass precisely because it interferes with a sacred time and space. At Chamula, the church is sacred space 24/7, with worshippers and rituals at all hours. If at some point the community decides to ban or severely restrict visitors, I certainly would not blame them.

Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico 17 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture. She publishes a blog called Creative Hands of Mexico and her first book, Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta , was published last year. Her culture blog appears weekly on Mexico News Daily.

Mexico made deal to arrest narco boss in exchange for Cienfuegos’ release: report

By

MND Staff

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November 21, 2020

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If there was a deal made likely targets are Zambada, left, of the Sinaloa Cartel and Oseguera of the CJNG.

The federal government made a commitment to the United States to arrest a high-level cartel leader in exchange for the dismissal of drug trafficking charges against former defense minister Salvador Cienfuegos, according to the news agency Reuters.

Cienfuegos, army chief during the 2012-2018 government led by former president Enrique Peña Nieto, returned to Mexico this week after a United States federal judge agreed to a request from the U.S. Justice Department to drop charges against him. He is now under investigation by the federal Attorney General’s Office, which has received evidence gathered by U.S. authorities.

Several sources have said that the United States government agreed to a request from Mexico for the general to be returned because the Mexican government threatened to end or limit cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The U.S. government said “sensitive and important foreign policy considerations” were behind its decision, saying they outweighed its “interest in pursuing the prosecution of the defendant.”

But Reuters said it was told by a senior Mexican source that the government struck a deal with U.S. Attorney General William Barr for the charges against Cienfuegos to be dropped and in exchange it committed to arrest a narco boss.

According to the source, the government privately told Barr that it would work with the United States to arrest a cartel leader involved with trafficking fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.

“Mexico committed to collaborate with the United States in the capture of a primary objective,” said the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity and declined to name the cartel leader out of fear that doing so would place the investigation at risk.

The source said the idea to drop the charges against Cienfuegos and make a deal to cooperate on the capture of a cartel capo came from Barr, not the Mexican government.

The latter hasn’t revealed exactly how the plan to bring the former defense minister home came about but President López Obrador said Wednesday that it had not committed to giving anything to the U.S. in exchange for the dismissal of the charges.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said this week that he spoke to Barr on the phone in October and again on November 6. Barr proposed to drop the charges against Cienfuegos and cooperate on the capture of a cartel leader during the second call, the Reuters source said.

A spokesman for Ebrard told Reuters that he didn’t have any information about such an agreement. Daniel Millan said that what the two counties did agree was to “maintain a united front against crime and cooperation that respects the sovereignty of each country.”

salvador cienfuegos — Cienfuegos: traded for a high-level narco leader?

Reuters noted that a spokeswoman for the U.S. Justice Department said there was no deal involving a commitment to catch a cartel leader. She referred the news agency to statements that said the case against Cienfuegos was dropped due to diplomatic considerations and the United States’ confidence in the Mexican justice system.

Reuters said the DEA didn’t immediately respond to its request for comment about an agreement to pursue a high-level cartel leader.

If a deal does exist, the most likely target would either be Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes or Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.

According to the DEA, those two cartels are “likely the primary trafficking groups responsible for smuggling fentanyl into the United States.”

Both Oseguera and Zambada are on the DEA’s most wanted fugitives list and a US $10-million reward is on offer for information that leads to the capture of the former.

A DEA agent in charge of capturing Oseguera said last year that he had retreated to remote areas controlled by the CJNG.

“He hides in the mountainous areas of Jalisco, Michoacán and Colima. We think he’s not in the cities anymore,” Kyle Mori said.

There were also reports last year that El Mencho was preparing to return to his home town in the Michoacán municipality of Aguililla.

Zambada, a 72-year-old drug lord at the helm of the cartel once led by notorious kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, is most likely living in remote mountain areas of Sinaloa. During more than half a century in the drug trade, he has never been arrested.

Source: Reuters (en)

Virus numbers will remain high till March; Chiapas goes green on stoplight map

By

MND Staff

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November 21, 2020

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coronavirus stoplight map — The new stoplight map shows two states at maximum risk, 14 at high, 14 at medium and two at low.

Mexico will see high coronavirus case numbers until March, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell predicted Friday as the country recorded its highest daily case tally in over a week.

“In October what we predicted in March happened: [we said] that all northern hemisphere countries would have an upturn [in coronavirus cases in the colder months]. … It’s therefore predictable that we’ll have a new epidemic cycle until March 2021 during which our fundamental objective will be to continue to reduce deaths,” he said.

Mexico recorded almost 182,000 new coronavirus cases in October, the second highest monthly figure since the start of the pandemic. In November, the average daily number of cases reported in the first 20 days declined 14% to 5,050 compared to 5,853 in October, but the daily tally spiked to 6,426 on Friday, the highest number since Wednesday last week.

Speaking at the virtual forum “Experiences and Challenges in the Management of Covid-19 in Mexico and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean,” López-Gatell said the federal government will face various challenges in the near future to mitigate the spread of the virus.

However, he once again ruled out any possibility of the government using coercive measures to ensure compliance with coronavirus restrictions.

Coronavirus cases and deaths in Mexico as reported by day. milenio

“Our principles of public ethics as well as our convictions with respect to how the country’s public life should be managed are based on strict respect for human rights,” the deputy minister said.

Mexico at no time enforced a strict lockdown and President López Obrador and López-Gatell late last month ruled out any possibility that the federal government will mandate the use of face masks.

López-Gatell said Friday that the course of the pandemic – Mexico has recorded more than 1 million coronavirus cases and over 100,000 Covid-19 deaths – would have been different if half the population didn’t live in poverty, a situation which made it impossible for millions of people to stay at home to stop the spread of the virus.

He also noted that Mexico has high levels of health problems such as obesity, diabetes and certain kinds of cancer, which make many people more vulnerable to serious Covid-19 illnesses and death. In addition, the deputy minister said that the medical response to the pandemic has been challenging because the government inherited a run-down health system with a shortage of personnel.

Later on Friday, the Health Ministry announced at its regular coronavirus press conference that Mexico’s accumulated coronavirus case tally had increased to 1,025,969, the 11th highest total in the world.

The official Covid-19 death toll rose to 100,823 with 719 additional fatalities registered. The daily death toll was the highest since September 1.

Health promotion chief Ricardo Cortés presented an updated coronavirus stoplight map, on which the most notable change was that Chiapas will become Mexico’s second green light “low” risk state as of Monday.

The southern state, estimated to have just 108 active cases, will be the second state to achieve green light status after Campeche, which switched to that color in late September and has seen no change to its risk level since.

Chihuahua and Durango will maintain their red light “maximum” risk status for a further two weeks, while six states – Coahuila, Nuevo León, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Querétaro and Mexico City – are at high risk of switching to that color from their current orange light “high” risk status, Cortés said.

Eight other states will retain their orange light status for a further two weeks. They are Baja California, Sonora, Guanajuato, Jalisco, México state, Guerrero, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí.

As of Monday there will be 14 yellow light “medium” risk states. They are Nayarit, Michoacán, Quintana Roo, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Sinaloa, Baja California Sur, Yucatán and Colima.

The first 10 states listed are already yellow and will remain at that level for another two weeks, while the last four will switch to yellow from orange on Monday.

Each stoplight color is accompanied by recommended restrictions to slow the spread of the virus but some states have chosen to follow their own guidelines rather than those drawn up by federal authorities.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Dry law, more restrictions on business hours announced in Mexico City

By

MND Staff

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November 20, 2020

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Alcohol sales will be banned in 8 boroughs this weekend.

Mexico City will remain orange light “high” risk on the federal government’s coronavirus stoplight system next week but some new restrictions will apply due to a further rise in hospitalizations.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced that a prohibition on alcohol sales will take effect in eight of the capital’s 16 boroughs at 6:00 p.m. Friday and remain in place until 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

The so-called ley seca, or dry law, will apply in Gustavo A. Madero, Iztacalco, Iztapalapa, Magdalena Contreras, Miguel Hidalgo, Tlalpan, Tláhuac and Xochimilco this weekend.

“It’s eight boroughs one weekend and the other eight boroughs next weekend,” Sheinbaum said.

Restaurants are permitted to sell alcohol with meals but only until 7:00 p.m. The mayor reiterated that restaurants are only permitted to operate at 30% capacity in indoor dining areas and 40% outdoors. They must close by 10:00 p.m.

Gyms, sports clubs, 10-pin bowling centers, cinemas, theaters, museums, casinos, hair salons, theme parks, shopping centers, department stores and most other nonessential businesses must close at 7:00 p.m.

Such businesses had been permitted to remain open until 10:00 p.m. but the government ordered them to shorten their opening hours until the end of the month.

Sheinbaum said last Friday that bars and cantinas, which were allowed to reopen in August as long as they offered food and table service to customers, would have to close for two weeks starting last Monday. But many in the historic center of the capital have continued to operate.

Sheinbaum said earlier this week that parties, family gatherings and the operation of bars were probably the main cause of higher coronavirus case numbers and hospitalizations.

She said Friday that there were 3,427 coronavirus patients in hospitals in the capital including more than 800 on ventilators. In the Valley of México metropolitan area, there were 4,519 Covid patients in the hospital, Sheinbaum said.

The hospital occupancy level in Mexico City hospitals increased from 42% to 49% between November 12 and 19, the mayor said, adding that as many as 200 new coronavirus patients per day were admitted over the past week.

“If this trend continues until the end of December we’ll have the same hospital occupancy as [the peak in] May,” Sheinbaum said.

As of Thursday, Mexico City had recorded 183,253 confirmed coronavirus cases and 16,677 Covid-19 deaths. Those figures account for 18% and 17%, respectively, of Mexico’s accumulated case tally, which is currently just above 1 million, and death toll, which passed 100,000 on Thursday.

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

Walmart ordered to sell tequila at 19 pesos after sign error

By

Michelle Aguilar

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November 20, 2020

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Shoppers got a bargain on José Cuervo tequila.

Saying it didn’t matter that the store had made an error, representatives from Mexico’s consumer protection agency, Profeco, told staff at a Morelia, Michoacán, Walmart this week that it had to let eight shoppers buy tequila at the advertised price of 19 pesos per bottle.

In total, the shoppers were allowed to purchase 81 bottles at the low price after they called Profeco to say that Walmart’s staff had refused to sell them the 990-milliliter bottles of José Cuervo at the 19-peso price on a sign in the store. After refusing to sell them the liquor, Walmart management then asked the customers to leave, Profeco said.

The agency arrived at the store soon afterward. By the time Profeco approached Walmart management about the issue, staff had already hung up a new sign for the tequila at a price of 169 pesos per bottle. However, Profeco told the store it had to honor the price anyway for those eight shoppers who had tried to buy the liquor while the sign was still on display.

“[The complainants] showed us photographs and a video where the displayed price could be observed,” a Profeco representative told Milenio newspaper.

Having prevailed, seven of the shoppers bought 10 bottles each of the tequila, while the eighth bought 11, Profeco said.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Lookout points provide Covid-safe picnicking with a gorgeous view

By

John Pint

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November 20, 2020

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A superior spot to view Lake Chapala is from the El Chante Glider Launch Point.

I had expected to follow up my list of great places to camp in western Mexico with a selection of wonderful hot springs and rivers where you might soak away your troubles. Due to the pandemic, however, most of those delightful sites are temporarily closed to the public. So what to do and where to go in time of Covid-19?

How about a mirador, or lookout point, where you could enjoy a picnic with a view? In western Mexico, such spots are found not only atop mountains and volcanoes but often at the edge of huge, gorgeous canyons.

In none of the places suggested below are you likely to find more than a handful of people, so you should be able to breathe in fresh air without a mask while soaking up the great vibes of a wide panorama stretching as far as the eye can see; just what you need to recharge your batteries after a week of Zoom meetings and shopping via internet.

El Chante Hang Glider Launch

Our first belvedere is located 600 meters above El Chante, at the northwest corner of Lake Chapala. From the hang glider launching spot at the south end of an open meadow, you will enjoy a spectacular 180-degree view of Mexico’s biggest lake and the villages dotting its shore. While this is one of the best places to see the lake, note that it takes a two-hour hike to get up there. However, Gerry Green, who wrote the book on hiking in these hills, comments that the trail is “wide, well used and not too steep.”

If you prefer lookouts closer to where you left your car, see below. To check out the trail, just Google: “Fuentes-GliderLaunch-Chante Loop Wikiloc”.

From Etzatlán's mirador, get a nice view of the world’s biggest crochet canopy. It's in the Guinness Book of World Records. Courtesy of Xataka.com.mx — From Etzatlán’s mirador, get a nice view of the world’s biggest crochet canopy. It’s in the Guinness Book of World Records. Photo courtesy of Xataka.com.mx

The Etzatlán Mirador

The charming little town of Etzatlán lies 65 kilometers northwest of Guadalalajara. It is perhaps best known as the gateway to the celebrated silver and gold mines of the Amparo Mining Company and home of its mint, but it made the news in 2019 when Guinness World Records certified that the townspeople had created the world’s largest crochet canopy, measuring nearly 3,000 square meters.

A four-kilometer drive along a well-paved highway will take you to Etzatlán’s mirador, where you’ll have a good view of the town and surrounding hills … and perhaps a bird’s eye view of the giant crochet canopy as well. Ask Google Maps to take you to “QW38+6R Etzatlán, Jalisco”.

Ceboruco Volcano

An old-timer in Nayarit once told me that the most beautiful sight he had ever seen was the view from the top of Ceboruco Volcano, so I think it deserves high marks among the miradores of western Mexico. The volcano is located right along the toll road from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta and a well paved cobblestone road will take you up to the very top. Along the way you can appreciate dramatically changing flora and you’ll even come upon a fumarole or two. When you’ve gone as high as you can possibly go, you’ll be at the foot of huge microwave antennas. Park and walk to the other side of the antennas for the spectacular view.

La Leonera

Jalisco’s Rio Verde has carved a magnificent canyon over 170 kilometers in length and one of the best places to view it is from La Leonera, located 40 kilometers northeast of Guadalajara, near the town of Acatic. The mirador is just a few steps from where you park your car, but you can see a lot more of the canyon far below if you walk along a wide footpath which leads to 60-meter tall Velo de la Novia Waterfall.

To get there, let Google Maps take you to “R3PM+42 Acatic, Jalisco.”

Mirador el Filete

The Manantlán Biosphere Reserve straddles the Mexican states of Jalisco and Colima and is home to an astounding variety of flora and fauna. One of the reserve’s most beautiful attractions is the view from Mirador el Filete, which means something like Knife Blade Lookout. From this thin slice of rock, they say, you can see the Pacific on a clear day. To reach the spot, you must walk for half an hour, but you will be walking through a cloud forest, so along the way you are going to see so many wonderful things — from bromeliads and orchids to blue mushrooms and Spanish moss — that the walk will surely turn out to take far longer than you expected.

To visit this lookout point, head for El Terrero, Colima. Once you are there, ask one of the local people to guide you to El Filete.

Taking in the view from a rock at El Divisadero

Mirador Cruz de los Volcancillos

Also known as The Hermit’s Cross and El Divisadero, this is one of the most spectacular lookout points in Jalisco’s Sierra de Tapalpa, home to many a fine mirador. There’s a giant cross here, identical to many others on Mexican cliffs and hilltops, but just a few meters beyond it, there is a truly awesome place where you can sit on a rock overhanging a sheer drop of … well, I calculate a full kilometer and a half. Yes, it’s just about a mile straight down, and in the good old Mexican tradition, there is no railing to be seen anywhere. I swear this is one mirador you are not likely to forget!

Ask Google Maps to take you to “399R+6X Techaluta de Montenegro, Jalisco.” When you are about a kilometer from El Divisadero, you may have to park and walk if the road looks bad. If you have a high clearance vehicle and the weather is dry, you can drive all the way to the lookout point.

Las Águilas

Las Águilas has been called Mexico’s Stonehenge. The site is located 129 kilometers southwest of Guadalajara, near the town of Cuautla, Jalisco.

Whether Las Águilas once served as an astronomical observatory or whether it is a “power center,” as Carlos Castaneda supposedly claimed, I really can’t say, but simply wandering among its tall, majestic monoliths is an experience worth having. On top of that, there is a great view from the sheltered belvedere constructed by locals.

For the route to this site, Google: “Las Aguilas Cuautla Jalisco Wikiloc.”

The antennas atop Ceboruco Volcano, Nayarit, seen from below.

A local guide gazes out at the countryside from Mirador El Filete.

The monoliths of Las Águilas, near Cuautla, Jalisco.

The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for 31 years, and is the author of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors in Western Mexico.” More of his writing can be found on his website.

With the Cienfuegos case, Mexico’s justice system will be put to the test

By

Parker Asmann

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November 20, 2020

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Authorities in Mexico will face one of their biggest anti-corruption tests yet after a bombshell deal was brokered with the United States to drop the federal drug charges that led to the unprecedented arrest of the country’s former defense minister.

Federal Judge Carol Amon granted the request to dismiss the case against Mexico’s former military chief, Salvador Cienfuegos, at a November 18 hearing. This followed a shocking November 17 announcement from U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Mexico Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero that prosecutors were seeking to withdraw the charges.

“In recognition of the strong law enforcement partnership between Mexico and the United States, and in the interests of demonstrating our united front against all forms of criminality, the U.S. Department of Justice has made the decision to seek dismissal of the U.S. criminal charges against former [minister] Cienfuegos, so that he may be investigated and, if appropriate, charged, under Mexican law,” the two top prosecutors said.

A motion filed November 17 by U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme clarified that “the United States … determined that sensitive and important foreign policy considerations outweigh the government’s interest in pursuing the prosecution of the defendant.”

However, the New York Times and Vice News reported that Mexican officials threatened to boot the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from the country and limit anti-drug cooperation if the case was not dismissed.

Still, DuCharme said during the November 18 hearing that his office “stands behind” the case and had “no concern” with it, but the decision came from the highest levels of the Justice Department and Attorney General Barr.

Cienfuegos’ mid-October arrest at Los Angeles’ international airport sent shockwaves through both the United States and Mexico, with the latter’s government being blindsided by the capture and unaware of the investigation into the former top security official.

U.S. prosecutors charged Cienfuegos with three counts of drug conspiracy and one count of money laundering in an August 2019 indictment that was made public at the time of his arrest. Authorities said he colluded with a breakaway faction of the Beltrán Leyva Organization, which law enforcement called the H-2 Cartel, and helped them “operate with impunity in Mexico” between 2015 and 2017 in exchange for bribes.

Not only that, the former defense minister, whom authorities dubbed “El Padrino,” or the “Godfather,” was accused of protecting the group from law enforcement scrutiny, securing safe transport for drug shipments and notifying its members of military operations, among other crimes.

Attorney General Barr said his office is cooperating with its Mexican counterparts and has already shared evidence collected as part of the case. Cienfuegos was sent back to Mexico a free man.

InSight Crime analysis

The U.S. government’s decision to dismiss the charges against Cienfuegos is virtually unprecedented. It raises serious questions as to how the United States went from carrying out a secretive multi-year probe behind the backs of Mexican authorities to trusting them enough to conduct their own investigation.

Mike Vigil, the DEA’s former head of international operations, told InSight Crime he had “never seen anything like this” in his 31-year law enforcement career.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said officials are now investigating the former general, but Cienfuegos has yet to be formally charged at home, and only came under investigation after his unexpected arrest north of the border. At the time, President López Obrador said no investigation against him existed in Mexico.

It’s highly unlikely the U.S. Justice Department would have filed such explosive charges against Cienfuegos if they didn’t feel they could support them. In fact, U.S. Attorney DuCharme reiterated that the evidence in the case is “strong” in the November 17 court filing and again during the November 18 hearing.

In court documents, U.S. prosecutors cited “thousands of [intercepted] Blackberry Messenger communications” among the evidence backing up the allegations that Cienfuegos used his public position to protect the so-called H2 Cartel. Prosecutors also said they had communications where Cienfuegos is “identified by name, title and photograph as the Mexican government official assisting” the powerful organized crime group.

However, DuCharme said that the charges were ultimately dropped “as a matter of foreign policy” so that “Mexico could proceed first with investigating and potentially prosecuting the defendant under Mexican law for the alleged conduct at issue, which occurred in Mexico.”

Security analyst Alejandro Hope told InSight Crime the dropped charges show “recognition from the United States that the army is the prime institutional actor in Mexico in everything connected to organized crime, and that the United States doesn’t want to antagonize them.”

Hope added that if the case had moved forward, U.S. cooperation with Mexico’s military, which has been at the heart of the fight against organized crime for over a decade, would have “become much more difficult for some time.”

Indeed, the initial arrest had soured the anti-drug alliance and broader bilateral cooperation between the two nations. Some former U.S. officials even went so far as to say that maintaining strong U.S.-Mexico relations was more important than such a high-profile arrest.

Now, Cienfuegos will take his chances in Mexico, where authorities have long struggled to successfully prosecute high-level officials — as well as notorious drug traffickers — accused of corruption, colluding with criminal groups and grave human rights abuses, among other crimes.

A number of police officers and local government officials have evaded capture in Mexico only to be charged and prosecuted by the U.S. government. To be sure, Genaro García Luna, Mexico’s minister of public security from 2006 to 2012, is currently facing drug charges in the United States after his December 2019 arrest. López Obrador responded to his detention by calling the administration of former President Felipe Calderón a “narco-government.”

The justice system under President López Obrador in Mexico, where the impunity rate is consistently one of the highest in Latin America, will now be put to the test to determine whether or not the highest echelons of the Mexican military will remain untouchable.

“I think Mexico will give the appearance that they’re looking into the matter, but the chances of Cienfuegos being prosecuted successfully are slim to none,” Vigil said.

Reprinted from InSight Crime. Parker Asmann is a writer with InSight Crime, a foundation dedicated to the study of organized crime.

Citizens arm up in Michoacán in defense against new attacks by CJNG

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MND Staff

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November 20, 2020

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Residents meet in Tepalcatepec to plan deployment of self-defense force.

Residents of a municipality in Michoacán’s Tierra Caliente region armed themselves on Thursday after local communities came under attack by a cell of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

The cell attacked several communities in Tepalcatepec Thursday morning including Los Cuchis. According to a report by the newspaper El Universal, armed men began firing at the town at 8:30 a.m. from the nearby community of Voladeros, located in the neighboring municipality of Aguililla.

Los Cuchis residents fled their homes to seek safety in other towns. There were no reports of any casualties.

The CJNG, usually considered Mexico’s most dangerous and powerful criminal organization, is reportedly intent on taking control of Tepalcatepec and the neighboring municipality of Buenavista.

Residents of Tepalcatepec and Coalcóman, another neighboring municipality, recently dug trenches across highways in an attempt to prevent CJNG hitmen from entering their communities and attacking them.

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After Thursday’s attacks, residents gathered in the Tepalcatepec town square where they decided to take up arms and deploy as self-defense forces to the communities that were targeted. They also agreed to dig more highway trenches and to block off paths where criminals enter the municipality on foot.

Residents of Los Cuchis posted video messages to social media calling for help from state and federal authorities.

The CJNG is believed to operate in almost every state of Mexico, aggressively expanding its influence since forming in Jalisco about a decade ago.

Its leader, Nesmesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, is Mexico’s most wanted drug lord and is also sought in the United States, where a US $10-million reward is on offer for information that leads to his arrest.

According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the CJNG manufactures, distributes and smuggles into the U.S. large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. It is also involved in other criminal activities such as fuel theft and extortion.

Source: La Silla Rota (sp), El Universal (sp)

Ex-defense minister’s investigation ‘will live up to Mexico’s prestige:’ Ebrard

By

MND Staff

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November 20, 2020

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marcelo ebrard — Ebrard: the US has full confidence in the Mexican justice system.

The Mexican investigation into former defense minister Salvador Cienfuegos – who returned home on Wednesday after the United States dropped drug trafficking and money laundering charges against him – will live up to the country’s “prestige,” Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Thursday, asserting that it would be “almost suicide” to bring the ex-army chief to Mexico and then do nothing.

“There is confidence, both in the United States and in Mexico, that the investigation will meet the highest standards of effectiveness and honesty,” the foreign minister told President López Obrador’s morning news conference.

Ebrard said the United States has full confidence in and supports the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR), which is carrying out the investigation into Cienfuegos’ alleged wrongdoings, and the Mexican judicial system.

“We think that’s very significant coming from the judicial authorities of the United States,” he said.

Agreeing to the United States Department of Justice request for the charges against former president Enrique Peña Nieto’s defense minister to be dismissed, U.S. federal Judge Carol Amon said there was no evidence or suspicion that Mexico wouldn’t conduct an investigation.

However, there are doubts about whether evidence the United States has given Mexico – including thousands of intercepted cell phone messages that allegedly show that Cienfuegos colluded with the H-2 drug cartel – will be admissible in Mexican courts given that it was obtained by U.S. authorities here without the authorization of a Mexican judge.

Many analysts believe that the former army chief, arrested at Los Angeles airport last month, will never be tried here, let alone set foot in jail.

But Ebrard said there will be justice “according to the provisions of Mexican law and the investigations that the FGR will carry out.”

He added that it would be “almost suicide” not to subject Cienfuegos to a thorough investigation. If that were the government’s intention it would have been better to leave him in the United States, Ebrard said.

López Obrador called on the public to have confidence in the investigation. The president added that Cienfuegos must be investigated in Mexico as a matter of sovereignty.

“We can’t allow foreign agencies to try Mexicans if there is no proof,” López Obrador said, apparently ignoring the United States’ assertion that it had a “strong” case against the former army chief.

“Besides there are cooperation agreements that have to be respected. How is is that there is a [bilateral] cooperation agreement in this area and we’re not informed that he is going to be arrested or that there is an investigation open … [against] General Cienfuegos? If that’s the case, what are cooperation agreements for?”

The president declared that the law is now applied with rectitude in Mexico as a result of his government coming to power.

“This idea that [criminals] are punished there [in the United States] and not here was created because the authorities in Mexico weren’t up to the task. Now it’s different, now there is a change,” he said.

The United States’ decision to allow Cienfuegos was highly unusual because it has previously shown little faith in Mexico’s justice system.

Several sources have said that the United States government agreed to Mexico’s request for the general to be returned because Mexico threatened to end or limit cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Announcing the decision to seek the dismissal of the charges faced by Cienfuegos, U.S. Attorney General William Barr and his Mexican counterpart Alejandro Gertz Manero said the two countries remain committed to “bilateral law enforcement cooperation.”

Source: El Universal (sp)