Winter isn’t officially over for a month or so but some regions will be seeing extremely warm conditions.
As sub-zero temperatures prevail in higher, mountainous regions, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) has forecast temperatures above 40 C today in parts of San Luis Potosí, Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Temperatures are slightly lower elsewhere, with parts of the states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Durango, Hidalgo, Querétaro, Puebla, Morelos, Sinaloa, Colima, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo expected to see temperatures between 35 and 40 C.
The story will be quite different in the mountains of Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora, Coahuila, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Tlaxcala and México states, where the thermometer will drop to between -5 and 0 C.
In the highlands of Michoacán, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Querétaro, Hidalgo and Puebla, temperatures will range between 0 and 5 C.
A new cold front, No. 38, is on the way and forecast to deliver more cool weather in northern and northeastern Mexico.
Wind gusts of up to 70 kilometers an hour and dust storms are forecast for the Baja California peninsula and the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila.
The body of a businesswoman who was kidnapped and killed because her husband “didn’t want to pay” a ransom was found in Veracruz this week.
The decapitated corpse of Susana Carrera was found Wednesday night inside a bag left in a vacant lot in the port city of Coatzacoalcos.
A sign was left with the body that read: “This happened to me because my husband played the tough guy and didn’t want to pay my ransom.”
Carrera, co-owner with her husband of an aluminum company, was abducted last week in the Playa Sol neighborhood of Coatzacoalcos after which her captors reportedly asked for a ransom of 4 million pesos (US $207,000).
The kidnapping occurred outside a house that Carrera’s daughter was visiting.
The newspaper Excélsior reported that Carrera arrived at the home to pick up her daughter, rang the doorbell and had been waiting outside for 15 seconds when a man got out of a car and abducted her. The incident was captured by a security camera.
The woman’s family was unable to raise the funds to pay the ransom, news magazine Proceso said.
After her body was found, Carrera’s husband Luis Manríquez confirmed the death in a message on social media.
“Thank you very much to everyone for your prayers and wishes for my wife Susana Carrera to return home. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to and she passed away,” he wrote.
A march to condemn the killing was scheduled to take place in Coatzacoalcos today.
There were 49 kidnappings and 160 homicides in the municipality last year, according to the Coatzacoalcos Citizens’ Observatory.
Residents have accused Mayor Víctor Manuel Carranza of doing little to combat crime in the city, located on the northern coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Federal authorities will deploy 600 marines to five municipalities in the south of Veracruz next week, including Coatzacoalcos, after Governor Cuitláhuac García Jiménez asked President López Obrador for support to combat insecurity.
The discovery of Carrera’s body came just days after the corpse of a 30-year-old woman was found in Tlacotalpan, a municipality 100 kilometers south of the port city of Veracruz.
Janet Rodríguez Márquez was kidnapped on January 22 in her native Amatitlán and two days later her captors requested a large ransom.
Family members paid 500,000 pesos (US $26,000) on January 27, leaving the money at an undisclosed location, but Rodríguez wasn’t released.
Financial institutions have rejected the federal government’s 107-billion-peso (US $5.5-billion) rescue plan for Pemex, describing it as insufficient and disappointing, while Fitch Ratings warned that it doesn’t insulate the state oil company against future cuts to its credit rating.
President López Obrador announced yesterday that Pemex will receive a cash injection, its tax burden will be reduced and it will be cleansed of corruption as part of the strategy to reduce the company’s financial burden and strengthen its capacity to invest in exploration and production.
“Those who bet on the failure of Pemex now have a position of skepticism, saying that we won’t be able to [rescue the company], that there is too much debt and that we’re not going to make a success of it. I accept the challenge! We’re going to make a success of Pemex,” López Obrador declared.
The banks BBVA Bancomer, JP Morgan and Citibank didn’t share the president’s optimism.
Bancomer said the measures announced by the government don’t resolve Pemex’s structural problems, contending that the plan buys the company some time but its credit rating remains at risk.
The bank’s chief economist, Carlos Serrano, and senior economist Arnulfo Rodríguez both said that significantly more money needs to be invested in Pemex, which has a debt in excess of US $100 billion.
They contended that the government’s previously announced funding of 273 billion pesos (US $14.1 billion) for Pemex this year should be doubled, and that the funds should mainly be directed to exploration and oil production, which has been declining for years.
As the funds would have to come from the public budget, the economists conceded that additional investment could place pressure on Mexico’s sovereign rating but said that was preferable to seeing a reduction of Pemex’s credit rating to below investment grade.
Bancomer also questioned the oil company’s strategy to channel investment to shallow water and land projects to the detriment of deep water drilling as well as the plan to build a new refinery on the Gulf of Mexico coast in Tabasco.
“The era of easy petroleum in Mexico has come to an end,” it said in a statement. “Moreover, investment in refining projects shouldn’t be increased given the large historical losses in that activity.”
JP Morgan and Citibank both said that the bailout is insufficient and contended that the government doesn’t have an adequate diagnosis of Pemex’s problems.
“We are extremely disappointed with the measures,” said Julie Murphy, a Latin America analyst at the former bank, explaining that the rescue plan will do little to shore up Pemex’s standing with ratings agencies.
Citibank said it doubted that Pemex would become more efficient and profitable as a result of the measures announced and suggested that the company needs help from the private sector to recover.
Meanwhile, Fitch said that the rescue package “would likely not be enough to prevent continued deterioration in the company’s credit quality.”
The ratings agency said the support is much less than the $12 billion to $17 billion of additional annual cash requirements it estimates Pemex needs to halt declines in production and reserve levels.
Fitch downgraded Pemex’s credit rating to one level above junk late last month, citing the company’s “substantial tax burden” and “high leverage” among other problems.
In a statement issued yesterday, it said it had already taken tax relief measures into account when it cut Pemex’s credit rating on January 29.
Commissioner Ortiz speaks at a press conference on femicides.
Femicide victims in Morelos put themselves at risk by engaging in “improper activities for a woman,” the state security commissioner said.
José Antonio Ortíz Guarneros was talking with reporters about an increase in reports of sexual harassment of women on social media and a spike in femicides. He said some of the victims were prostitutes.
When a reporter asked the commissioner to clarify what activities were improper he said, “They are engaging in the oldest profession in the world . . . .”
“Would that justify [these crimes]?” asked the reporter.
“I am not saying it’s justified, but if [women] are going to connect with people at a club it is obvious they are susceptible to being attacked when drugs and alcohol are involved. It’s not justified but it is a factor that increases the risk of being violated,” Ortíz said.
Meanwhile, the state Congress commended several businesses affiliated with the local chapter of the National Chamber for Industrial Transformation (Canacintra) that have joined forces to support women walking alone at night.
Among them are automotive dealerships and restaurants that have posted “safe place” signs, offering support to women who may feel at risk while walking in the streets. The signs invite women to enter the premises if they fear they are being followed or are victims of harassment.
Lawmaker Tania Valentina Rodríguez Ruiz quoted figures compiled by the Morelos Independent Human Rights Commission showing there were 31 femicides reported in the state in January.
More public funds have been embezzled by the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) through its scholarship programs than in a massive government corruption scheme that was exposed in 2017, the presidential spokesman said yesterday.
“The Federal Auditor’s Office has already made observations, very large irregularities were detected at Conacyt, much bigger than ‘The Master Fraud,’” Jesús Ramírez told reporters at the National Palace.
In September 2017, a joint investigation by digital newspaper Animal Político and non-governmental organization Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity – published under the title The Master Fraud – uncovered a scheme in which 11 federal agencies diverted or misused 7.6 billion pesos (US $395 million at today’s exchange rate) between 2013 and 2014.
Ramírez said that in the coming days the government will present proof that shows that during past governments, Conacyt gave both Mexican and foreign companies scholarship funds but the companies didn’t report back on the studies or programs they were supposedly financed to carry out.
He said the evidence is currently being gathered and once prepared will be filed with law enforcement authorities.
“What I can say is that national and international companies have benefited from Conacyt scholarships but they haven’t reported back as is demanded of any public university researcher. Why invest public money in private companies? That’s what should be debated. The public support of Conacyt was corrupted,” Ramírez said.
For his part, President López Obrador said that corruption exists within all sectors of government and society but stressed that his government will not allow it to flourish as has occurred in the past.
He added that there are “mafias” within the government that oppose the changes his administration is carrying out and feel under threat from its crusade to combat corruption.
“. . . There are mafias in everything, even in science, in culture, in the intelligentsia, preserves of power, they were untouchable with astronomical salaries but without such a high academic level. So they feel displaced,” he said.
Ramírez also said there is a “a scientific sector mafia” putting up resistance to changes being carried out at Conacyt by its new chief, María Elena Álvarez.
The National Council of Science and Technology has also been in the spotlight this week due to the appointments of two deputy directors who were seemingly not qualified for their roles.
Both fashion designer Edith Arrieta Meza and communications student David Alexir Ledesma have now left their roles at the organization.
Buying an unoccupied house in Mexico can represent a bargain — and a lot of work.
The Captured Tourist Woman (TCTW) and I have recently concluded the very lengthy process of purchasing a home here in Mazatlán.
She said it was her dream Mexican house. Then she qualified her comment. In her dream, no building or remodeling was required. But she’s a realist, so she put aside such a ridiculous dream, and we moved forward.
Since the chosen abode had not been occupied for a number of years, and the corrosive air had been able to work its alchemy unchecked for perhaps a decade, the casa came with a fix-it list of epic proportions. In the five bathrooms, only one toilet worked, while water leaks sprouted from a new spot every few days.
One of the two electrical meters has such a riot of wires all around it, we have dubbed it the “New Delhi” meter. I could go on for pages.
And then there is the plan for a remodeling of the current two levels, and new construction of a third level along with a rooftop patio and casita above the new level.
We have resigned ourselves to a compartmental style of living as our planned renovation moves through the house. Along with this disruption, we will be living with concrete dust getting into everything over the next year; and I mean everything. But I always knew these things wouldn’t be the worst of what we would face.
Having dabbled for a number of years in construction here in México as well as conducting home inspections of Mexican-built houses, I know the quality of construction I want when we start our own project. Since TCTW spent her adult life as an attorney, she knows the type of contract she wants for her own peace of mind. Together we generated a paperwork package similar in size to a small-town phone book.
Early on in my residency, I learned that all Mexican businesses and institutions love paperwork, as they love their various colored stamps. So, my reasoning was that any prospective “contractor” would be happy with the voluminous package we provided detailing all aspects of our project: brightly colored plans, structural details, written specifications and ironclad contract. How could I have been so wrong?
Given the enormity of negative feedback about people’s experiences with assorted contractors and architects in the area, we narrowed our search to the minority we could find who had not been consistently and severely denigrated by disgruntled clients. The list was decimated by the elimination of the ones who would not return repeated phone calls or text messages.
There’s a building boom going on now here, and clearly many people don’t need work. Thus within a week or so the field had been narrowed down to just a few starters.
Undaunted, I set up a meeting with the first one of the remaining four on the list.
When I handed him our carefully crafted package, he was noticeably startled by its enormity as he began to rifle through the 30 some odd pages. When he got to the 15-page contract, his eyes glazed over as he slowly shook his head in dismay. In a combination of broken English and Spanish, he said “You do not need a builder, you need el brujo [thewizard].”
One out of four down.
The next man on our list listened while I explained the work we wanted to do, and said he would read the package that evening and get back to us. After several days of waiting for his response, I tried calling him a number of times without success. Of course, when I called him on a different phone, he didn’t recognize my number and he answered the call.
However, his comprehension of both English and my rough Spanish had magically deteriorated significantly since our first encounter. I’ve been in Mexico long enough to understand how such things work, so I simply thanked him for his time and ended the call.
Two out of four down. TCTW began to exhibit a nervous tic under her left eye. I tried to see it as attractive. That would be best for our relationship, I told myself.
Because we were looking for someone who had successfully completed a project for picky gringos, the list could never have been long in spite of the fact that we have been making wide inquires in the almost two years since we first began to negotiate to undertake the property purchase. A late inclusion appeared, however, when one person recommended a father and son team who had completed two projects for her without any major problems.
When the father and son arrived, I held back all the paperwork. A new approach might be rewarding. Instead I started by showing them the exterior walls of the house — the moderate number of cracks from both age and some rusting reinforcing steel at the corners. I explained I wanted the bad plaster removed and the corresponding area patched, while leaving the good plaster in place. Then the entire wall would receive a final coat of colored plaster.
The older man looked at me with a straight face. “How do I know the difference between the good plaster and the bad plaster?” he asked. For the briefest of moments, I wondered if my reality TV-producing neighbor had made me the victim of some cruel prank which included a hidden camera to record my incredulous response to this absurd question.
But regrettably it was a serious question. From a man who had allegedly spent his life as an albañil (mason)! Calmly, I pulled out my trusty Swiss Army tool, and began to tap on the wall around an obvious crack, and then moved to an uncracked area and continued to tap. I gently articulated that the area around the crack emitted a distinct hollow sound while the uncracked area sounded — well, solid.
At this point, both the father and the son enthusiastically assured me that they could be relied on to remove all the plaster, even though the solid areas would be more work and would require the rental of a roto-hammer.
My years in Mexico have imparted a sense of restraint and cultural understanding I never possessed in my life north of the border. So, once again while I looked around for the hidden camera, I wondered if they were just joking with me. Reaching deep to find my empathy, I looked into his liquid brown eyes to see his sincerity in only wanting to please the ignorant gringo. I suggested we move on.
We then took a look at removing a balcony which has been losing a continuous fight with gravity for god knows how many years. Fortunately the chunks of concrete which occasionally sluff off do not impact on public property.
Here in Mexico, disassembling any type of structure with a sledge hammer needs no words of explanation. After examining the deteriorating balcony the older albañil wrapped up our meeting with the promise of generating prices for the work discussed, which of course never materialized.
It seems our main obstacle in finding a competent builder lies in attempting to bring first-world methods and materials into a culture mired in a third-world mind set. My next column will track our continuing endeavors in our search for a builder or wizard, whichever comes first.
The writer describes himself as a very middle-aged man who lives full-time in Mazatlán with a captured tourist woman and the ghost of a half wild dog. He can be reached at [email protected].
Auto parts manufacturer Joyson says goodbye to Matamoros.
Strike action in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, not only threatens labor peace but also places 50,000 jobs at risk, an influential business group has warned.
Juan Pablo Castañón, president of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), described strikes and work stoppages in the northern border city as illegal, charging that that there is no justification for them.
Tens of thousands of workers in Matamoros have walked off the job in recent weeks to demand a 20% pay raise and a 32,000-peso (US $1,700) annual bonus.
With many companies agreeing to the demands, more workers have been spurred to take their own job action and there are fears that the strikes could spread to other parts of the country.
Castañón called on state and federal authorities to work together to stop that from happening and argued that those who are promoting the job action need to show constraint.
“The invitation to stage strikes in other cities in the same way concerns us. The obligation of labor authorities should always be harmony and labor peace and that means that . . . reasoning [is needed] from social leaders who are inciting these illegal strikes,” he said.
Mining union leader and federal Senator Napoleón Gómez Urrutia is one figure who is encouraging more workers to take on their employers.
Castañón warned that if strikes spread to Reynosa, where there are five times more export-oriented factories than in Matamoros, the impact on employment will be severe.
“The priority is to generate confidence. Yes, it’s important to improve workers’ incomes but not at the cost of employment. If employment is placed at risk, we could exceed a limit that could be dangerous for Mexico in the near future,” he said.
Francisco Cervantes, president of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin), said that as many as 600 manufacturing companies in sectors such as automotive, aeronautics and food production could leave Tamaulipas if strike action persists and spreads. The companies could head to other states or leave Mexico altogether, he said.
At least 15 firms intend to leave Matamoros, according to Rolando González Barrón, president of the city’s Association of Maquiladoras.
One Chinese-owned company, automotive manufacturer Joyson Safety Systems, shut down its Matamoros factory yesterday, leaving 550 employees out of work.
Cervantes said that dialogue is needed between authorities, workers, unions and employers to solve the labor disputes although he pointed out that because some companies don’t like conflict, “they prefer to migrate elsewhere.”
However, he warned that they might not be immune to future problems if they remain in Mexico, asserting that “instigators and agitators” of the strikes are also moving to other parts of the country.
Today, about 500 workers at Coca-Cola bottler Arca Continental went on strike demanding the same pay increase and bonus. The situation was described as “tense” this afternoon at the company’s plant in Matamoros.
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 70% of Mexican households have at least one pet, putting it second only to Argentina for the country with the most household pets.
Another study, GFK Pet Ownership 2016, also arrived at the conclusion that Mexico figures prominently among nations with the most pet lovers.
According to Animal Health Bayer-Mexico marketing director Bruno Rodríguez Muñoz, most Mexicans prefer dogs, though cat ownership is on the rise. The furry division is split 80% dogs to 20% cats in terms of ownership of one of the two most popular household pets.
Rosalía Arriaga, general manager of Dr. Guerrero Veterinary Clinic, said the past few years have seen a significant increase in owners’ preoccupation for their pets’ health.
Towards that end, Bayer-Mexico, with the support of Ocetif, a food certification organization, decided it will issue a certification for veterinarians called TUVET. In a press conference at a veterinary symposium in Mexico City, the organization announced the new certification, the first in Latin America for veterinary clinics and hospitals for smaller animals.
Rodríguez said Bayer-Mexico’s principal objective in issuing the certification is to ensure quality service in veterinary establishments. He said that they expected to issue the first 100 certificates to the first batch of animal hospitals and clinics between May and June.
Ocetif vice-president Mario Gorena Mireles said that in order to receive a certification veterinary practices must demonstrate consistency in veterinary training, engage in preventative medicine, ensure quality care and show warm and attentive customer service.
This tiny bay has space for only one boat to anchor at a time. The next morning, while everyone else heads for shore, I finally attempt to wash my hair which, by now, resembles a long neglected mop head impregnated with used motor oil and grease.
“Don’t use sweet water,” I was told, as our supply is very limited. “Just swish your head in seawater.” I follow instructions and gain new respect for those sailors who spent two months crossing the Atlantic with Christopher Columbus.
We raise anchor at 11:38am and begin to experience a choppy sea. The boat is soon rolling wildly with almost everything on every shelf launched into the air and distributing itself all over the floor. I learn the difference between rocking and rolling: the former frays the nerves while the latter wreaks havoc with anything that’s not nailed down.
Then, for the first time, we hoist our sail. The engine is turned off, the sail is unfurled and now it’s the wind that’s carrying us to Espiritu Santo Island.
Silvery sheen in sea and sky near San Evaristo. Rodrigo Orozco
At last I discover what sailing is like and it turns out to be marvelous. There is neither rocking nor rolling now, just silence, blissful silence. And although we are moving at high speed, the ride is smooth and we are no longer battered by icy spray because the wind is with us instead of against us. I love riding on the wind!
Day 6
Back on Espiritu Santo Island, said to be the most beautiful island in the entire Sea of Cortez. We spend our last night anchored in Bonanza Bay which has a spectacular, two-mile-long beach upon whose gorgeous white sands I cannot spot a single human being. The only inhabitant we can see from the boat is an osprey which sits atop a tall cactus, carefully watching the water and occasionally swooping down to catch a fish.
Apparently we can enjoy pristine beauty and solitude at Isla Espiritu Santo in great part thanks to two “gringos.” According to writer Bryan Jáuregui, American aviator Charles Lindbergh visited Espiritu Santo in 1973 and was so impressed that he went to see the president of Mexico just to promote the idea of protecting the Sea of Cortez.
The result was a decree including 898 islands in a new protected area. Nevertheless, says Jáuregui, entrepreneurs somehow managed, in 1997, to buy 90 hectares near Bonanza Beach, where they planned to build a casino and cabins. Tim Means, the owner of an ecotourism company, got wind of the plan and started an international drive to frustrate this scheme.
Abandoned salt flats near San Evaristo on the mainland.
A coalition of conservationists from all over the world was eventually able to buy most of the island for several million dollars and once they owned it, they promptly donated every one of their properties to the Mexican government. All of this led to the naming of Espiritu Santo and 244 other islands a World Heritage Site in 2005.
As darkness descends over Bonanza Bay, the waves get choppier and gusts of wind set the boat rocking at irregular and unpredictable moments. It’s time for our last dinner and we thaw out the frozen shrimp we have been saving for this occasion: it’s party time!
This same evening, we use up the very last drops of our drinking water. “No problem,” says the captain, “we can substitute beer.” It turns out, however, that we have a liter of fizzy mineral water left which, I discover, turns tooth brushing into a whole new and delightfully bubbly experience.
By the time we hit the sack, the boat is rocking so badly that the captain gets up four times in the night to make sure we are still anchored in the same spot. To sleep, I have to get a good grip on the bed so I won’t roll into the wall. At first my mind keeps wandering to tomorrow: if the water is so choppy here in this protected inlet, what will it be like out in the open sea? Will we be forced to stay in Bonanza Bay an extra day, missing our plane? Or worse, will the anchor work itself loose, sending us crashing into the rocks?
“Has the anchor ever come loose on you?” I asked Captain Rich earlier.
Arrival at the La Paz Marina.
“Oh sure, many times!” he replied, as always with a big smile.
Along with the roar of the wind and the normal creaks, whaps and gurgles, tonight the boat is making new noises: Thunk! Bump! And Raka-raka-raka! The turning ship is scraping against the anchor chain. Well, at least the anchor is still there, I think — but where is “there?”
All the ingredients were present for a night spent in wide-eyed paranoia but, while holding on to the wildly rocking mattress, a kind of peace comes upon me and I decide to stop worrying and enjoy this truly bizarre experience of being thrown around all night. Amazingly, this actually works and I think I slept better this weird night than any other aboard the splendid ship God’s Way.
Day 7
As the sun comes up over Bonanza Bay, the thrashing of the boat actually becomes a little worse instead of better. Even the captain admits to having a less than happy stomach. How is this day going to end?
[soliloquy id="71906"]
Well, Chris makes scrambled eggs for all of us, as if to say, “Who cares what’s going to happen to us, let’s enjoy what we’ve got!” And somehow those eggs seem to me a good omen: don’t worry, enjoy a great breakfast and everything will turn out fine. So we do just that: eat breakfast, raise the anchor and — to everyone’s surprise, I suspect — once we are under way the boat becomes more and more stable.
We are now being pushed by a favorable wind in the general direction of La Paz and we reach the marina much faster than we expected. Upon arrival, at least 20 people pop up. “Welcome back, Richard!” they shout, every one of them kindly offering to lend a hand in the tricky business of “parking” our boat. Bravo, Captain Rich! You brought us back alive.
Afterwards, upon reaching my home near Guadalajara, I discovered I could barely walk a straight line across the living room: the walls were heaving! And as much as I didn’t want to accept it, they kept moving for five more days. Meanwhile, friends were asking: wouldn’t you like to do it again?
Funny, every time they ask me that, the words of a song I heard by Lewis, Pint and Dale come to mind. I’d say they sum up my feelings perfectly:
“An ex-sailorman is the only thing I want to be,
I’d rather cruise a country road than sail upon the stormy sea,
I’d rather drink me tea in bed than leave me breakfast in the head,
An ex-sailor’s life is the life for me!”
The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 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.
Ciudad del Maíz, where gangsters were hired as cops.
A splinter group of the Zetas drug cartel infiltrated an elite division of the San Luis Potosí state police as well as forces in at least three municipalities.
Members of the gang known as Los Talibanes have been hired as police officers in the municipalities of Ciudad del Maíz, El Naranjo and Cárdenas, San Luis Potosí Public Security Secretary Jaime Pineda Arteaga said.
He added that the mayors of the three municipalities have refused to reveal how many gang members they have employed.
According to a report in the newspaper Reforma, members of the same gang previously infiltrated the elite unit of the state police while it was under the command of former state security secretary Arturo Gutiérrez García.
However, the unit was disbanded after Gutiérrez’s resignation in November 2017.
Four alleged members of Los Talibanes who went on to work in municipal forces were arrested last month but only two remain in custody.
On January 20, two Ciudad del Maíz municipal police officers identified as Talibanes were arrested on charges of possessing drugs as well as weapons for which they didn’t have a license.
Four days after they were detained, the two men were released from custody after a judge ruled that their arrest was illegal because it occurred without a search warrant at a private address.
Two other police identified as Talibanes were also arrested last month, the San Luis Potosí Attorney General’s office said.
The officers, members of the Cárdenas municipal force, face homicide charges after allegedly killing two men on January 3.
Los Talibanes, a gang founded in Tamaulipas, takes its name from Iván Velázquez Caballero, a criminal leader known as “El Talibán” and “El Z-50” who was arrested in 2012 and extradited to the United States, where he was sentenced to 30 years in prison on drug trafficking charges.
Before he was captured, Velázquez broke ties with Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales – “El Z-40” – with whom he worked in Los Zetas.
He allied himself with the Gulf Cartel to wage a war against Treviño, who was one of Mexico’s most wanted drug lords until his arrest in 2013.
El Talibán’s namesake criminal gang is also under investigation in San Luis Potosí for a gun attack earlier this month on Pedro César Carrizales Becerra, a state lawmaker and former gangster known as “El Mijis.”
Authorities believe the attack could be retaliation for a bill presented by Carrizales to ban bullfighting and cockfighting in San Luis Potosí. The latter blood sport is controlled by criminal groups in some parts of the state.
At least five bullets were shot at Carrizales’ car but the lawmaker was not injured.
