A 20-year-old woman was killed last week in Chihuahua when a TikTok video she was filming went horribly wrong.
Areline Martínez and several others were filming a faked kidnapping for social media in the city of Chihuahua when one of the people pretending to abduct her accidentally shot her in the head.
Martínez had previously filmed several similar videos feigning a kidnapping, which she had posted to social media.
A video of the moments before her death is circulating on social media, showing Martínez sitting in a chair pretending to struggle with her pretend captors. At least 10 people were present, police say. It is unclear why a real, loaded gun was used as a prop.
Martínez’s hands and feet were bound when authorities found her body at 10 p.m. on Friday. The .45-caliber bullet that pierced her brain killed her instantly.
Two men present at the scene fled in a Jeep Cherokee immediately after shooting her. They have been identified thanks to footage police found at the scene but their whereabouts are still unknown.
Hundreds of messages have been left on a Facebook page set up in Martínez’s memory. “Waking up and finding this news breaks my heart; rest in peace, beautiful, you will always shine wherever you are, Areline Martínez,” was just one of the countless posts from friends and family.
In her last Instagram post made the day of her death, Martínez, who leaves a year-old baby, wrote “Time doesn’t stop, neither do I.”
The forecast track of Hurricane Delta. Hurricane warning area is shown in red; tropical storm warning area in blue. us national hurricane center
Hurricane Delta is barreling toward the Yucatán Peninsula where it is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane early Wednesday morning near Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo.
An orange “high risk” alert has been issued for Cancún, Lázaro Cárdenas, Solidaridad, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Benito Juárez, Puerto Morelos and Tulum.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Delta was a Category 3 cyclone as of 10:00 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, and was located 520 kilometers east-southeast of Cozumel with maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour.
Additional strengthening is predicted during the next 24 hours, and Delta is forecast to be an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane when it reaches the Yucatán peninsula on Wednesday, the NHC said.
President López Obrador has ordered the deployment of 5,000 soldiers in advance of the storm. “The instruction has been given to mobilize up to 5,000 elements with all the necessary equipment to protect the public, and hopefully Hurricane Delta loses strength,” the president told his morning press conference. Shortly after Delta was upgraded from Category 2 to Category 3.
The evacuation of tourists from Cancún’s hotel zone began last night and continues today before Delta’s effects begin to be felt later this afternoon.
Rainfall is expected to be significant in Cancún and Tulum as it makes its way north over the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall a second time in the United States between Louisiana and Florida. Some parts of the Yucatán Peninsula may experience 254 millimeters of rain, which may cause severe flooding.
“Extremely dangerous storm surge and hurricane conditions are expected” within portions of the northern Yucatán Peninsula beginning tonight, and a hurricane warning is in effect from Tulum to Dzilam, Yucatán, the NHC said.
Water levels on the Yucatán Peninsula coast are expected to rise two to three meters due to the storm surge, which will cause large and destructive waves.
Delta is expected to have a significant impact in a region still cleaning up from Tropical Storm Gamma which hit the region over the weekend.
It is the 25th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, and meteorologists have had to turn to the Greek alphabet after running through all the predetermined names.
This year could surpass 2005 as the busiest hurricane season on record in the Atlantic. That year six storms were named for Greek letters whereas this year four have been used so far. Hurricane season officially ends on November 30.
UPDATE October 6, 11:30 a.m. CDT: The U.S. National Hurricane Center has advised that Delta is now a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 215 km/h and is rapidly strengthening.
Mexico’s coronavirus case tally and Covid-19 death toll surged on Monday as a result of a change in the methodology used to determine whether a person is infected.
The case tally rose to 789,780 with 28,115 new cases reported, while the death toll increased to 81,877 with 2,789 additional fatalities registered.
Director of Epidemiology José Luis Alomía explained at the Health Ministry’s coronavirus press briefing on Monday night that statistics now include suspected coronavirus cases and deaths among people who had direct contact with a confirmed case but were not tested.
State authorities have been using the so-called “epidemiological association” method for the past two months, he said, but such cases and deaths had not been included in the official statistics until Monday, causing a record spike in the numbers.
Alomía also noted that the coronavirus statistics include cases and deaths among people who were not tested, didn’t have contact with a confirmed case but were deemed to be infected as a result of clinical examination.
Coronavirus cases and deaths in Mexico reported by day. Monday’s numbers spiked due to a change in the methodology of compiling statistics.milenio
Health authorities have previously explained that suspected Covid-19 deaths are assessed by an expert team to determine whether they should be attributed to the infectious disease. If there is sufficient evidence to determine that a fatality was caused by Covid-19, it is subsequently added to the official death toll.
Of the 789,780 coronavirus cases counted in Mexico since the start of the pandemic, 757,085 were confirmed by a test, 24,120 were established via epidemiological association and 578 were confirmed by clinical examination, according to Health Ministry data.
Mexico City continues to lead the country for coronavirus cases and Covid-19 deaths, with 133,961 of the former and 13,663 of the latter.
México state, which includes many municipalities in the greater Mexico City metropolitan region, ranks second in both categories with 86,117 cases and 9,873 deaths as of Monday.
A 103-year-old Jalisco woman has beat Covid-19 after 11 days in the hospital battling the deadly coronavirus.
The woman, identified only as Doña María, left a public hospital in Jalisco Friday healthy, with a smile on her face, and to thunderous applause from the hospital’s staff.
“The whole time she was very animated, aware, talking with the doctors,” reported David Sánchez González, the hospital’s director. “At the end, she told us to take care of ourselves.”
The centenarian was admitted to the hospital September 22 after being referred there by her medical clinic, where she presented with a fever and difficulty breathing. According to Sánchez, she was likely the oldest coronavirus patient that the Mexican Institute of Social Security in Jalisco has ever treated.
Doña María arrived at the hospital with a preexisting condition, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which she developed from years of being exposed to wood smoke while cooking.
But she did not have other risk factors like diabetes, hypertension, or obesity, a fact which probably explained why she responded well to treatment, said Sánchez. She never needed to be on a ventilator.
“She’s the mother of five children and, really, is quite healthy, besides the pulmonary condition, which makes her dependent on portable oxygen,” he said, adding that she always maintained a sunny disposition and was proactive about her care.
Each Covid-19 case brings doctors at the hospital unique lessons, Sánchez said, but Doña María’s is one that has really motivated staff, “because we feel like what we’re doing matters.”
A San Luis Potosí girl still hasn’t started the new school year because the state Education Ministry hasn’t complied with a court order to supply her with a television so that she can watch televised classes.
With the help of a civil society organization, the girl’s mother won a court injunction that ordered the ministry to provide a television to 7-year-old Michel while in-person learning is suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I must protect … your rights. … If anything should stop, it’s the infections of the disease called Covid-19, not your right to education. We have to order the authorities that are in charge of eduction … to provide you with a television so that you can watch your classes and continue learning,” a judge said in a version of her ruling that was simplified so that the young student could understand it.
The injunction also ordered a primary school in Soledad de Graciano Sánchez, a municipality that is part of the San Luis Potosí city metropolitan area, to enroll the girl in the second grade after it refused to do so because her mother couldn’t pay a 750-peso (US $35) fee.
Antonia Zavalija Segura told the newspaper El Universal that her daughter misses school and her friends and is bored at home because she is unable to watch virtual classes and do school work.
Michel’s mood improved once she found out that a judge had ordered authorities to supply the family with a television, she said.
But the San Luis Potosí Education Ministry still hasn’t complied with the injunction.
“She [Michel] … wants them to give her a TV because she feels anxious about not being able to read well and she says that she’s behind [in her school work],” Zavalija said.
As for the 750-peso enrollment fee, she explained she couldn’t pay because she was wasn’t working when the new school year started.
“I told them I didn’t have money because I didn’t have work at the time. … I’ve been separated from Michel’s father for many years and he doesn’t help us at all,” Zavalija said.
She explained that she now has a part time job as a domestic worker but only earns 600 (US $28) pesos a week and has to look after Michel and her two brothers. As a result, buying a television and paying the school fees is out of the question.
Michel is far from the only student in Mexico whose education has been compromised because of the shift to televised and online learning while schools remain closed due to the pandemic.
Many students from poor families, especially indigenous ones in remote rural areas, don’t have access to a television or can’t pick up the signal to the channels on which they are broadcast.
In addition, hundreds of thousands if not millions of students across Mexico don’t have access to a computer and/or the internet at home, making online study difficult if not outright impossible.
Deep-fried mac and cheese balls—made with potato chips.
Sometimes, especially in these trying times, you just need something fun. That’s definitely how I’ve been feeling these last few weeks. And so today’s column is about — potato chips.
Yes, sabritas.
I realize National Potato Chip Day (in the U.S.) is March 14. And that some of you may already be scratching your heads and clicking on to another story. But wait — this cookie recipe alone may convince you potato chips can indeed be a worthy (albeit disguised) part of some pretty tasty recipes. And it really is fun to squish the whole bag into little bits.
Crumbled, potato chips can add a crunchy saltiness to everything from mac & cheese to sushi, casseroles to sandwiches, ice cream sundaes to dressed-up nachos with truffle oil and Parmesan.
Flavored chips are even more versatile, lending your favorite flavor (BBQ, ranch, sour cream & onion) to chicken wings, rice bowls or dips.
And there’s no need to use “gourmet” chips; that bright yellow bag of Lay’s will do just fine.
No one will guess the secret ingredient in these pecan cookies.
Potato Chip Pecan Cookies
These taste like salted caramel, and no one will guess the secret ingredient. Got kids or grandkids? They’ll love to help by smashing the chips!
2 ¼ cups flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
¾ cup regular sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
4 cups crushed potato chips (about 10 oz.)
1 cup pecans, toasted, coarsely chopped
Optional: 1 cup chocolate chips
Heat oven to 375 F. Beat butter and sugars together on high speed till fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add flour, baking soda and salt.Beat on low till mixed well. With a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in potato chips, nuts and chocolate chips, if using. (Dough will be sticky.) Place 1-1½ inch blobs about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. (Do not flatten.) Bake 12-15 minutes until golden. Makes about 50 cookies.
Potato Chip Omelet
For the best flavor, use the best ingredients you can. No need to add salt — the chips take care of that.
6 large eggs
3 oz. potato chips (about 3 cups)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Chives pepper or grated Manchego cheese, for garnishing
Whisk eggs vigorously until frothy and lightened in color. Carefully add the chips (whole, not crumbled) to the eggs. Using a spatula, fold gently a few times to ensure chips are coated. Let stand for 1 minute.
Add ½ Tbsp. oil to a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour egg mixture into pan. Use spatula to spread into an even layer, then to loosen the omelet from the sides of the pan. After the bottom of the omelet is just about set, about 3-4 minutes, you’re going to flip it. Cover the pan with an upside-down plate or large, flat lid. Holding one hand flat against the plate and holding the skillet by its handle, gently flip over the omelet to release it onto the plate.
Add remaining oil to pan. Carefully slide omelet into the pan, uncooked-side-down. Cook about 2 minutes. Slide omelet onto a plate, garnish, slice and serve immediately.
Baked Chicken Tenders
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cayenne
2 cups finely crushed potato chips (about 5 oz.)
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (6 oz. each), cut into ¼ -inch-thick strips
Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a wire rack and set in a foil-lined baking sheet. In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs, salt, garlic powder and cayenne. In a separate shallow bowl, combine chips, breadcrumbs and cheese. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then in potato chip mixture, patting to help coating adhere. Place on wire rack. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes.
Deep-Fried Mac & Cheese Balls
The Kettle brand chips in this recipe make a better crunch than the regular thinner chips. It’s not necessary to have a deep-fry thermometer — just keep a close watch so they don’t burn.
Baked macaroni & cheese, chilled and refrigerated overnight in a 9×13 pan
Two (8.5 oz.) bags Kettle Brand Potato Chips, any flavor
2-3 eggs
6 cups vegetable oil for frying
Make mac & cheese and refrigerate overnight. The next day, use a small melon baller or spoon out about 2 Tbsp. mac & cheese to shape 2-inch rounded balls, compressing lightly.
Place about 2 cups of potato chips into 1-gallon freezer bags and seal. Using a rolling pin, crush into small flakes. Do this until all chips are crushed; set aside in a shallow bowl or plate.
In another shallow bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Dip mac & cheese balls into the whisked egg, then roll in the chips, firmly pressing chips into the balls to create a solid crust. Heat oil in a deep pot to 350 F on a deep-fry thermometer. Fry six balls at a time for about 3½ minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
Steak & Gorgonzola Potato Chip Nachos
This is even easier if you just buy some already-cooked carne asada from a nearby taco stand.
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. flank or skirt steak
2 tsp. salt
1 bag thick-cut potato chips
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup cream
3/4 cup Swiss or Gruyere cheese (or combination)
3/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese crumbles
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
¼ cup chopped chives
½ cup chopped green onions
You can also make this dish with carne asada from a nearby taco stand.
Cook steak as desired. Cut into small pieces and wrap in foil to keep warm. To make cheese sauce, pour wine into a small skillet on low heat. Add butter and cream; stir until combined. Slowly add all the cheeses, stirring constantly. Once cheeses have all melted, add chives and remove from the heat.
Sprinkle steak over potato chips, pour cheese sauce over all, sprinkle with green onions and serve immediately.
Janet Blaser has been a writer, editor and storyteller her entire life and feels fortunate to be able to write about great food, amazing places, fascinating people and unique events. Her first book, Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats, is available on Amazon. Contact Janet or read her blog at whyweleftamerica.com.
Six people were killed and another six seriously wounded Saturday in a gang-related massacre in the Mexico City borough of Azcapotzalco.
Authorities believe the attack was related to a dispute between an independent criminal operator and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which authorities say is seeking to control criminal enterprise in the city.
According to official reports, armed civilians burst into a bar known to sell drugs and opened fire on the people inside. Three suspects who were later detained and are currently in custody told police they were hired by the CJNG to “clean the area,” said authorities.
Police believe that the target of the attack was a man they identified merely as Joel “El Choco,” who apparently controls drug sales in Azcapotzalco. His brother and cousin, who authorities did not identify by name, were among those killed in the attack.
An independent operator, El Choco nevertheless sustained powerful ties with various existing criminal groups in the city, including the Unión Tepito, El Ojos (which has since been taken down by federal forces), and the Tláhuac Cartel.
Persons close to the investigation said the CJNG is seeking to control criminal activity in all Mexico City and is attempting to eliminate independent operators like El Coco.
The other victims, police said, were people in El Choco’s close circle who served as his bodyguards.
Finance Secretary Arturo Herrera, López Obrador, Romo and business group leader Salazar.
The federal government and the private sector have signed a deal to carry out 39 infrastructure projects with a total investment of 297.3 billion pesos (US $13.9 billion).
Speaking at his regular news conference on Monday, President López Obrador said the pact will generate jobs and greater wellbeing for the Mexican people.
In the presence of several prominent business leaders including Carlos Slim, Mexico’s richest man, López Obrador said the government has had “a lot of support” from the private sector and asserted that the two parties will continue to work together.
“[This is] just the beginning, … there will be more investment,” he said.
The new agreement encompasses projects in the communications and transportation, energy, and water and environment sectors, some of which have already been announced.
There are more than 20 projects to build or upgrade roads in several states including México state, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Chihuahua, Chiapas, Campeche, Veracruz and Tabasco.
Almost 14 billion pesos will be spent on building road links to the new Mexico City airport, which is currently under construction at the Santa Lucía Air Force base north of the capital.
There are also plans to build a new 511-million-peso cruise ship dock in Cozumel, Quintana Roo, and a new section of railroad to connect Mexico City’s suburban train to the capital’s new airport. The rail project has a price tag of 12.56 billion pesos.
Perhaps the most ambitious project in the new public-private pact is the construction of a new train line between Mexico City and Querétaro. Construction of the 51.3-billion-peso project is slated to begin in June 2021.
The agreement also includes a 4-billion-peso project to expand and modernize the port in Progreso, Yucatán, and a 2.8-billion-peso plan to build a new border crossing to southern California.
Via a “strategic alliance,” the government and the private sector intend to complete five energy sector projects.
They will invest 2.52 billion pesos to upgrade an ethane plant in Veracruz and 1.15 billion pesos to modernize a fertilizer plant in Chihuahua.
The largest public-private investment among the 39 projects is 54.7 billion pesos for the installation of a coker unit in Pemex’s oil refinery in Tula, Hidalgo.
More than 15 billion pesos will be invested in the rehabilitation of a coke plant at the refinery in Cadereyta, Nuevo León, and 25.2 billion pesos will be spent on the liquefaction unit at the refinery in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca.
The government and the private sector have also agreed to invest 1.6 billion pesos in wastewater management in Naucalpan, México state, and 494 million pesos to build a water supply system at the new Mexico City airport.
The president of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), an umbrella organization representing 12 business groups, said the agreement serves as new evidence that López Obrador is committed to collaborating with the private sector on investment projects.
(The government and the private sector previously committed to work together on a US $42.95 billion National Infrastructure Plan encompassing 147 projects in its first stage).
“The private sector and the president committed to promote public and private investment in our country,” said Carlos Salazar, adding that the aim is to invest jointly an amount equivalent to 25% of GDP.
To spur the economic recovery from the coronavirus-induced downturn, Mexico also needs to make the most of the new North American free trade agreement, the USMCA, as well as improve security conditions and invest in tourism, the CCE chief said.
Alfonso Romo, the head of the president’s office and López Obrador’s point man for government relations with the business sector, said that private investment is the “best vaccine” against the current economic crisis.
“Private consumption will recover slowly. The best vaccine that Mexicans have to fight against the economic paralysis is private investment. Private investment is [our best] hope to overcome the crisis because it represents 87% of total investment in the country, and it’s vital for growth and wellbeing.”
Monterrey, Nuevo León, plans to build what will be the tallest skyscraper in all of Latin America, said Mayor Adrián de la Garza in his second annual report.
The 420-meter building, to be named Torre Rise (Rise Tower), is now in the planning stages, said the mayor. It will be located on Constitución avenue next to the Torre Obispado, also known as T.Op Torre 1, which is currently the tallest building in Latin America, at 305.3 meters.
That skyscraper is home to a hotel, restaurants, offices and residences.
Like the Torre Obispado, the Torre Rise will be a mixed-use complex and is linked with three to four other “vanguard” city projects in the works, said the mayor.
For the moment, Monterrey has not awarded the project to any company, but de la Garza said that the building will contain 92 floors and will host a 180-room hotel, office space, apartments, commercial spaces, and a lookout. He predicted that construction would begin in the second half of 2021 and would likely be completed in early 2025.
The tower will be mixed use: offices, residences and commercial.
The largest building in North America and in the Western Hemisphere, clocking in at 1,776 feet tall, is One World Trade Center in New York City. It is the sixth tallest building in the world. The world’s tallest building is the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai, which stands 828 meters tall.
It was a bloody weekend in Guanajuato where body parts were deposited in public places in cities throughout the southern half of the state.
The remains were left in bags, boxes or simply on the side of the road in the municipalities of Celaya, Salamanca, Salvatierra, and Romita. They were found in public squares, in front of churches and open-air markets, and in abandoned lots and cemeteries.
The latest discovery occurred around 6 a.m. Monday in Celaya. The newspaper PeriódicoCorreo reported that the remains of an unknown number of bodies were discovered in plastic bags, flour sacks, and wooden boxes dumped together in plain sight in front of the El Dorado market in the Aurora neighborhood.
Sunday morning also yielded similarly grisly discoveries: around dawn, El Universal reported, a human head was left outside a DIF family service agency building in Celaya, and the body of another person was discovered a few blocks away.
Meanwhile, in Salamanca, authorities discovered a human head left in a plastic bag. Around the same time early Sunday morning, three heads and three decapitated bodies were found along different stretches of the Romita–Puerto Interior highway.
On Saturday, a scrap collector in Celaya alerted authorities to two heads and other parts he found inside garbage bags in an abandoned lot. Meanwhile, in Salvatierra, authorities found a dismembered body in the Santo Tomás Huatzindeo Cemetery, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
In Celaya on Friday, authorities found a bag with a head and torso as well as the body of a decapitated woman killed execution style in front of a church in the main square. The latter was found in the community of Juan Martín, where, according to local media, a male youth had been shot to death just the day before, his body also left in the main square with written threats to what appeared to be a criminal organization.
Also in Celaya, police were informed Friday about two heads left in plastic bags in the San Rafael neighborhood.
