Destinations prepare for spring breakers but in fewer numbers than pre-pandemic

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February 23, 2022

Spring break visitors at a bar in Cancún. deposit photos

Mexico’s top tourist destinations are bracing for an influx of tourists over spring break, but are still expecting fewer than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The head of the hotel association in Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres, Jesús Almaguer, predicts that 20,000 spring breakers will visit Quintana Roo this year. But the number will depend on the confidence of travelers’ families.

“We hope the number goes up, but everything depends on the confidence they have in the destination … it’s more a case of generating confidence in the parents, who pay for the trip,” he said.

“Unfortunately, times are not like before when we reached 90,000 or 100,000 tourists in the season … at the moment we are at 79% hotel occupancy [within COVID limitations],” he added.

Spring break travelers have traditionally been good for the industry although they are thriftier than most. Each is expected to spend US $200 during the entire stay, vastly less than the $1,500 that visitors to the region spend on average.

Meanwhile, some tourist businesses in the region are less focused on disposable income and more interested in welcoming a different kind of tourist. The president of the Hotel Association of Tulum, David Ortiz Mena, said the destination was looking for a quieter breed of visitor. “Spring break tourism can generate certain consequences … party and fun, contrary to what Tulum promotes,” he said.

Although spring break numbers may be down, meetings and conferences are likely to generate numbers as high as 90% of pre-pandemic levels this year, according to the Quintana Roo director of conferences and weddings tourism.

In the north, Baja California is hopeful for a strong spring break period since the latest coronavirus stoplight map upgraded the state’s risk level from orange to green.

The change was applauded by business groups for the boost it will provide the tourist industry but questioned by some in the health sector.

But despite the risk of coronavirus infection and fears over security, Mexico is still the most popular spring break destination for U.S. tourists, according to the travel site Upgraded Points. The site collated Google Trends search data over the past 12 months and found that Mexican hot spots were the most searched for destinations in 25 U.S. states.

Cancún was the most sought after destination in 16 states; Puerto Vallarta came top in seven; and Cabo San Lucas was top of the list in two.

In regional terms, Cancún was the top destination for U.S. travelers from the Midwest, while Puerto Vallarta was the most desired vacation city for people in the western United States.

Spring break dates range from late February to mid-April, but most of the week-long holidays are in March.

With reports from Por Esto, Palco Noticias, Reportur, Travel Pulse and Fox 5 San Diego

Gasoline retailers forced to buy from Pemex

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MND Staff

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February 23, 2022

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Pemex building — The big winner: retailers will have to turn to Pemex to supply gasoline.

Gasoline retailers and other private companies are effectively being required to purchase fuel from the state oil company Pemex because the federal government isn’t renewing import permits and has shut down some privately owned fuel storage terminals.

Two experts cited by Reforma said that the Energy Ministry (SENER) isn’t renewing private companies’ fuel import permits when they expire. The newspaper reported that there were just 88 valid import permits as of February 1, whereas there were over 1,000 in December 2018.

Alicia Zazueta, director of the oil sector firm eServices, said that several more permits will expire this month.

Gas station chain Total México, energy infrastructure company IEnova and Toyota are among the companies whose permits will expire this year. Permits to import gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and aviation fuel are all at risk of not being renewed, Zazueta said.

SENER’s refusal to renew the permits has left foreign companies “very disappointed,” she said, adding that the situation affects their growth strategies in the Mexican market.

BP gas station in Mexico — The government policy of permit nonrenewal is affecting both importers who can’t bring fuel into the country and retailers who depend on them for product.

Zazueta said that there will be less investment in the retail fuel market as a result of the ministry’s rejection of import permit extensions.

“The [energy] market is actually closing completely to Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission,” she said.

The government is also pursuing an electricity reform that would guarantee 54% of the market to the state-owned utility.

Zazueta said that companies’ inability to import fuel will affect consumers because there will be less competitiveness between gas stations.

Mauricio León, an associate with the law firm Sánchez Devanny, said that in addition to not renewing existing permits, SENER is not granting any new ones.

BP and Vitol are among the companies without valid import permits, he said, adding that the companies’ inability to bring fuel into the country will eventually lead to shortages.

Further complicating some companies’ situation is the closure of their fuel storage terminals by the Energy Regulatory Committee. Three privately owned facilities were shut down in August and September last year.

One affected company is Houston-based Monterra Energy, which announced Monday that it will sue Mexico for US $667 million.

With reports from Reforma

Give us your feedback: Why do expat forums attract so much negativity?

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February 23, 2022

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angry computer user — Have you been the target of abusive comments?

For many expats in Mexico, expat Facebook groups and forums are valuable tools that help new residents find their way as they create new lives in a foreign country.

This is especially true if they don’t speak or read much Spanish. They’re a way to learn about local news and find out what’s going on. They help find out where to buy horseradish or pickles, rentals or a seamstress, the quickest/best/cheapest/most reliable place to get a COVID test.

They also help locate like-minded people and build community.

But there’s a dark side that’s being talked about more and more: why do these expat pages attract so many negative comments and interactions? Why has the atmosphere in some groups become so toxic?

Have you have been a target of angry or rude remarks online? Or have you said something online that was interpreted as overcritical or offensive? Are they caused by trolls, lack of courtesy, legitimate differences of opinion, or something else? What triggers these exchanges, which sometimes put expats off using such forums?

Mexico News Daily wants to find out how prevalent this behavior is and explore why. To help do so, readers are invited to complete the following survey.

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Once-abandoned dog becomes key element of canine unit

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MND Staff

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February 23, 2022

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Molly canine unit dog in Mexico City — Canine units prefer dogs trained as puppies, but Molly was an adult when police officers found her and noticed her keen sense of smell.

A once-abandoned dog is now a key member of a police unit in Mexico City.

Molly was tied to a post and abandoned when some officers from the Banking and Industrial Police (PBI) found her. They noticed her keen sense of smell and love for playing and decided to keep her.

The 1 1/2-year-old German shepherd now helps search for drugs on the city’s public transportation as part of the “Safe Passenger” security program.

The canine unit was created in 1997 and has 16 dogs specialized in search and rescue and detecting explosives or narcotics. They also accompany officers on patrols. The dogs serve the PBI for around eight years, after which they return to their trainers.

The head of the PBI canine unit, Samuel Baltasar, said that in order to train the dogs for service, instructors socialize them and use play to teach them a task.

‘Molly’, la perrita que fue abandonada y ahora patrulla las calles de #CdMx para detectar drogas https://t.co/OjiQOBylln pic.twitter.com/V8G5je2ykN

— Milenio (@Milenio) February 22, 2022

Molly in action during a training session with Mexico City’s Banking and Industrial Police.

“First you have to start socializing dogs with people and other dogs. Then comes their obedience training. Once you have it, you work on the dog’s specialization. We start working with a ball or whatever the dog wants to play with. Once they become addicted, so to speak, to the toy, we begin to relate [the toy’s] smell to the one we want the dog to find, either an explosive or narcotic,” he said.

Baltasar added that it’s best if the dogs are trained as puppies, during their first four months. However, that wasn’t the case with Molly, who was an adult when she was found. Her trainers took her for walks to socialize her on the street.

“She was very afraid of cars,” Baltasar said. “She is still afraid of [firecrackers], and when there are a lot of people it changes her mood, but it is already minimal.”

He also explained how Molly and her companions indicate a suspicious passenger in public.

“Once a dog gets a scent, they change their behavior … once they’re sure, they stare [at the likely culprit] and sit down,” Baltasar added.

With reports from Milenio

US secretary of state voices concern over risks for Mexican journalists

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MND Staff

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February 23, 2022

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lopez obrador and antony blinken — López Obrador says Blinken, right, 'misinformed' after he lamented the loss of lives among journalists in Mexico.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed concern about violence against journalists in Mexico, becoming the first member of President Joe Biden’s cabinet to comment publicly on the issue.

“The high number of journalists killed in Mexico this year and the ongoing threats they face are concerning,” Blinken wrote on Twitter Tuesday night.

“I join those calling for greater accountability and protections for Mexican journalists. My heart goes out to the loved ones of those who gave their lives for the truth.”

Apparently referring to Blinken’s remark that a “high number” of journalists have been murdered this year, President López Obrador claimed on Wednesday that the secretary of state had been “misinformed.”

“Otherwise he would be acting in bad faith. What he’s maintaining is not true. Of course it’s very regrettable that there are murders of journalists. We already know that. [But] there is no impunity. They are not crimes of the state,” he said.

Although the president continues to insist there is no impunity the watchdog group Committee to Protect Journalists says 145 journalists have been killed since 2000, crimes for which the impunity rate is over 90%.

The number of journalists murdered in Mexico this year rose to six on Tuesday after television host and model Michelle Pérez Tadeo was found dead in Mexico City.

Blinken’s Twitter post came after U.S. senators Marco Rubio and Tim Kaine wrote to him earlier this month “to express deep concern about the ongoing killings of journalists in Mexico.”

“… The U.S. must urge the Mexican government to seriously improve efforts to protect journalists,” they said in a February 8 missive.

“… It has become increasingly clear that current efforts to protect journalists are inadequate and that the U.S. must work alongside Mexico to develop a more comprehensive plan to reduce the violence that destabilizes Mexico and specifically impacts journalists. This includes dramatically improving accountability for those who have sought to silence reporters,” Rubio and Kaine said.

The senators also said they were dismayed about López Obrador’s ongoing “bellicose rhetoric against the press.”

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz also recently spoke out about the risks faced by journalists in Mexico.

“The current climate faced by politicians and journalists in Mexico is the deadliest ever. In 2020 more journalists were killed in Mexico than in any other country in the world. It alone accounted for almost a third of the journalists killed,” he said during an address to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations last Wednesday.

“Since the start of the electoral period process in September 2020 over 80 politicians were assassinated by criminal organizations and more than 60 candidates suspended their campaigns under duress. President López Obrador seems intent on making all of these trends worse. On Friday [February 11] he used his morning press conference to intimidate one of Mexico’s highest profile journalists, Carlos Loret de Mola,” the senator said.

“… He seems to be indulging and abusing power no matter the effect on Mexico or the U.S.-Mexico relation.”

Cruz also said he was “deeply concerned about deepening civil unrest in Mexico and the breakdown … of civil society.”

“The breakdown of the rule of law across our southern border poses acute national security challenges and dangers to the United States, on issues ranging from counter-narcotics to illegal immigration,” he said.

López Obrador said last week it was natural that the Texas senator was “in opposition to the policies we are carrying out to benefit the people of Mexico.”

“It’s a point of pride that U.S. Senator Ted Cruz is setting himself against my administration. … If Ted Cruz praised me, maybe I would think that we are not doing things right,” he said last Friday.

On Tuesday, López Obrador described the lawmaker as “crooked” and a “busybody.”

“I would tell the Americans … to consider this man a busybody who is fostering discord. … To my American friends, our compatriots [in the U.S.], don’t trust this man Ted Cruz because he’s crooked. It’s as clear as that,” he said.

With reports from El País, El Economista and Infobae

Sexual assault victim sentenced to 100 lashes, 7 years jail

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MND Staff

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February 22, 2022

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A Mexican woman who accused a Colombian man of sexually assaulting her while she was living and working in Qatar instead faces charges of engaging in an extramarital relationship, a crime that can be punished in the Middle Eastern country by up to seven years imprisonment and 100 lashes.

Paola Schietekat Sedas was working in Doha as a behavioral economist for the committee responsible for organizing the 2022 FIFA World Cup when a man she met through the local Latin American community entered her apartment while she was sleeping and allegedly assaulted her.

In a personal account of the June 2021 assault that was published on the Julio Astillero news website earlier this month under the heading “A world that seems to hate women,” Schietekat said that the perpetrator was a man she considered a friend.

She revealed that she was raped and beaten at the age of 16 by her first boyfriend, and said that she decided to report the assault in her Doha apartment in 2021 so that the perpetrator – unlike her previous aggressor whom she didn’t report – would face consequences for his actions.

With her body bruised, and armed with a medical report detailing her injuries, Schietekat, accompanied by the Mexican consul in Qatar, went to the police the next day and reported the attack using her limited Arabic ability.

At 9 p.m. that night, Schietekat said she was contacted by police and asked to urgently return to the police station.

“Upon arriving at the station, the police placed my aggressor before me,” she wrote. Schietekat said she then faced a three-hour interrogation and was asked to undergo a virginity test.

“For some reason, I had become the accused,” she wrote.

“When I asked why they were demanding that I give them my cell phone, they assured me there weren’t charges against me, that they just wanted to check that there wasn’t a romantic relationship between us because the aggressor defended himself against the complaint saying that I was his girlfriend,” Schietekat wrote.

“In Qatar, having an extramarital affair is punished with up to seven years in jail, and in some cases, the sentence includes 100 lashes. From one moment to the next, my complaint didn’t matter anymore. The police referred the case to the public prosecutor, the only place I had a translator. Everything revolved around the extramarital relationship.”

The 28-year-old woman said that the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the World Cup organizing committee she was working for, subsequently helped her leave the country.

“… I had never breathed with so much relief when they stamped my passport. In Mexico, the adrenaline stopped, and a slower, although equally complex and painful process started,” Schietekat wrote.

She said her case was referred to a Qatari criminal court, while her aggressor was absolved due to a supposed lack of evidence that he had entered her apartment and assaulted her.

“The charges for having a relationship outside of marriage remain current, stopping me from returning to Qatar and forcing me to pay even more for legal representation. The solution my lawyer and the legal representative of my aggressor gave me was relatively simple: marry him. To close the case the State of Qatar opened against me I only had to marry my aggressor,” Schietekat wrote.

She remains in Mexico City and will be sentenced in absentia on March 6. Schietekat met with Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard last Friday and the latter announced on Twitter that the Foreign Ministry’s legal advisor – “our best lawyer” – will take charge of her defense and ensure all her rights as a Mexican citizen are respected.

Schietekat said she was happy with the reception she got from Ebrard and his team but asserted that her case should never have reached the foreign minister.

“We deserve consular protection protocols that work so that we never leave our compatriots unprotected,” she wrote on Twitter.

Paola Schietekat and Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard — Last Friday, Schietekat met with Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who said that “our best lawyer” will take charge of her defense. Twitter

In her published personal account, Schietekat was scathing of Mexican diplomatic staff in Qatar, writing that they weren’t prepared to act in her defense, none of them spoke any Arabic and they “didn’t have the slightest knowledge of local laws.”

She criticized the Mexican consul, Luis Ancona, for the advice he gave her – to pursue her complaint unreservedly – “without knowledge of Qatari law and without even recommending [that I] seek legal advice first.”

“… My mom and I felt completely abandoned by an embassy whose consul responded ‘shut the door well’ in the face of threats from the aggressor,” Schietekat wrote.

“… Despite the existence of a consular care protocol for people who are victims of gender violence … it wasn’t followed,” she said.

“How will this same embassy be useful to thousands of Mexicans who will attend the World Cup in a country where relationships outside of marriage and homosexuality are punished?” Schietekat asked.

“How will this embassy be of any use to thousands of Mexicans who don’t speak Arabic and don’t know Qatari laws?”

With reports from El País and Reforma

Caborca, Sonora: asparagus, grapes and cartel warfare

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MND Staff

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February 22, 2022

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cars on fire in Caborca, Sonora — Nights like this one in June 2020, when cartel members executed several people in Caborca, have convinced many residents to follow a self-imposed evening curfew. Internet

The murders and abductions during a night of terror in Caborca, Sonora, last week were far from an unprecedented occurrence: the municipality has been plagued by cartel violence in recent years.

Bordering Arizona, the Gulf of California and four other municipalities — including the popular tourist destination of Puerto Peñasco — Caborca is a mining hub and Mexico’s principal exporter of asparagus and grapes.

It is also the scene of a turf war involving four criminal groups, two of which are controlled by the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

The other two are affiliated with Rodrigo Páez Quintero, the nephew of notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who founded the Guadalajara Cartel and now allegedly leads the Caborca Cartel.

In a nutshell, the Sinaloa Cartel – once led by El Chapo – is facing off against Caro Quintero and sicarios loyal to him for control of drug and weapons trafficking and people smuggling through Caborca.

narcomantada — A narco sign in Caborca announcing the arrival of the Caborca Cartel in the city, allegedly led by fugitive Guadalajara Cartel founder Rafael Caro Quintero. Twitter

Violence began to intensify in the municipality in 2019, a year in which there were 120 homicides. In 2020, there were at least six shootouts between the rival criminal groups, including one that left 12 people dead.

Over the past 12 months, Caborca was the 24th most violent municipality in Mexico with 96 homicides, for a per-capita rate of 103 murders per 100,000 people.

Last Tuesday night’s violence was allegedly perpetrated by a criminal group affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel. At least two people were killed – some reports put the figure at four – and five people were kidnapped, all of whom were later released.

Some 200 members of federal and state security forces were deployed to the municipality after the wave of violence, which local authorities were powerless to stop, according to Caborca Mayor Abraham Mier Nogales.

Eliodoro García, president of the Caborca Business People’s Association, told the newspaper Milenio that local residents don’t feel at ease despite the bolstered security presence.

“… There should be greater peace of mind, but we don’t have it,” he said. “We don’t move about during the dark hours [of night],” he said, explaining that most residents have obeyed a self-imposed curfew for the past two years.

Rafael Caro Quintero during a clandestine interview in 2016 by the magazine *Proceso*. File photo

In a report published Tuesday, Milenio said that National Guard patrols are currently a constant in Caborca and that people are walking around town with “apparent normality.”

However, the possibility of more violence is “latent,” and residents know that the pickup trucks with armed men will appear again once the official vigilance is relaxed, the newspaper said.

With reports from Milenio

Bride and groom stop for COVID vaccine on their way to the wedding

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MND Staff

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February 22, 2022

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The bride and the groom wait for their turn to be vaccinated.

A Oaxaca couple took care of one of their wedding vows by visiting a vaccination center — while en route to the wedding ceremony itself.

The husband and wife to be, Ángel and Marbella, went to get vaccinated in Oaxaca’s northern sierra region just before their wedding, taking care of the “sickness and health” part of traditional wedding vows.

Photos taken at the vaccination center showed the bride sitting proudly in line wearing a large white wedding dress and veil. Her smile was visible under a white face mask as she received her COVID-19 shot from a soldier.

Meanwhile, the groom had to remove his blazer and pull up his shirt to get his shot.

The photos went viral after a government official shared them and encouraged citizens to follow suit. “Marbella and Ángel said ‘yes’ to love but also to health and life. Get vaccinated!” she wrote on Twitter.

With reports from Cultura Colectiva and El Universal

Woman killed for motorcycle in Chiapas

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MND Staff

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February 22, 2022

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Paula Ruiz, right, took a photo of her killer moments before he pulled the trigger.

A woman who was killed for a motorcycle in Chiapas on Saturday took a photo of her killer seconds before he shot her.

Paula Ruiz de los Santos, 41, photographed the man as he pointed a gun at her just meters away in downtown San Cristóbal de las Casas.

The mother of four died from a gunshot wound to the throat.

The Chiapas Attorney General’s office said that Ruiz’s son Miguel was in the area to pick his mother up from the hotel where she worked. He parked his motorcycle and when he returned with his mother, it was gone.

When they saw two men pushing the bike Ruiz confronted them and was shot.

Five suspects have been arrested in connection with the case. They were found with firearms, drugs and the stolen motorcycle.

With reports from El Universal and Reforma

Judge hands out 48-year prison terms to 8 members of Los Rojos cartel

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MND Staff

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February 22, 2022

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Los Rojos organized crime group members — Four of the eight members of Los Rojos who were each sentenced to 48 years in jail on Monday. FGR

A federal judge in Cuernavaca, Morelos, handed down 48-year sentences to eight members of the Los Rojos cartel for kidnapping and organized crime on Monday.

The gang members also face fines of 544,000 pesos (about US $26,800). They were arrested between 2014–2016 and accused of kidnapping and breaking laws regarding burials and exhumations.

Los Rojos operate in Guerrero, Morelos and other states, involved in not only kidnapping but murder and selling narcotics.

The government has stepped up its efforts to combat organized crime in recent months. Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) fled Aguililla, Michoacán, earlier in February after the army entered the notoriously violent municipality. Late last year, security forces tried to locate the head of the CJNG, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, and arrested his wife Rosalinda González Valencia.

United States authorities have offered rewards for criminal leaders in Mexico, such as US $10 million for El Mencho and $5 million for the children of the jailed former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

In the monthly security report on Monday at President López Obrador’s morning news conference, Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez said that crime had fallen considerably since 2018. She said federal crimes were down more than 41% in January compared to when the administration came into office, and were at their lowest percentage in seven years.

Icela added that January had the lowest homicide rate for any month in five years, 14.4% lower than in January 2021.

However, the drop in federal crimes isn’t necessarily indicative of a wider tendency: Icela was only comparing January, when there were 5,313 federal crimes, with December 2018, when there were 9,062.

Reductions in federal crime rates are likely due to a decrease in more frequently recorded crimes like theft, rather than more serious and less frequent violent crimes.

With reports from TV Azteca and Milenio

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