Man injured in Chihuahua after pet jaguar escapes

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April 4, 2019

The jaguar that attacked a Chihuahua construction worker.

Seeing a jaguar prowling in the street is not so unusual for residents of the Las Misiones neighborhood in the city of Chihuahua: the same animal has escaped three times from the house where it is kept as a pet.

Yesterday, it escaped again and attacked a construction worker employed at the house next door.

The man suffered back and arm injuries, and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Chihuahua Mayor María Eugenia Campos demanded action by the federal environmental protection agency, Profepa, due to the jaguar’s repeated escapes.

Campos said that while the animal’s owner may have all the required permits to keep it in the home, the animal has not been properly contained.

Municipal authorities seized the jaguar and took it to a local zoo.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Plagued with political problems, Oaxaca community threatens armed uprising

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MND Staff

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April 3, 2019

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San Dionisio residents raise machetes in protest in 2014.

Residents of a coastal municipality in Oaxaca are prepared to take up arms if the state government doesn’t intervene to adequately solve its political problems, a community leader warns.

Special elections in San Dionisio del Mar, a municipality in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region of the southern state, were canceled in December due to violence after those scheduled for July were postponed.

Jorge Castellanos Pinos, president of an interim community council, said that San Dionisio residents are sick of being abandoned by the Oaxaca government.

An opposition group known as the Peoples’ Assembly of San Dionisio del Mar has “hijacked” the town, he claimed.

The community council appealed to the Oaxaca Electoral Tribunal for new municipal elections but the court ruled last week that organizing a second special election was not allowed under state law.

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Castellanos criticized the state’s plan to appoint Nahúm Ismael Cruz Hernández as the town’s political commissioner — or de facto mayor – charging that he has “a dark past” and doesn’t have knowledge of the problems San Dionisio is facing.

He warned that if the government goes ahead with the plan to send Cruz to San Dionisio, he could be taken hostage, a fate that befell the Oaxaca state police chief in Santa Catarina Juquila last month.

Castellanos said that there are local men and women capable of leading the community and residents don’t want someone from outside to be imposed on them.

He threatened to lead the uprising himself if the state government didn’t rethink its approach to solving the political problems.

“. . . Now is the time to defend ourselves, if two or three of us fall, we fall . . .”

There have been internal conflicts in the municipality for several years.

Source: El Imparcial (sp)

Celebrate tacos and Mexican cuisine by wrapping up in a tortilla blanket

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Tony Richards

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April 3, 2019

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Tortilla blanket makes a good taco for lounging on.

If you’re as crazy about tacos as most Mexicans you can now take the craze a step further and wrap yourself up in a tortilla.

A microfiber blanket that is one and a half meters in diameter and looks exactly like a flour tortilla has proved popular on Amazon, where it sells for 1,293 pesos plus 400 pesos for shipping (US $88).

“Do you love Mexican food so much you want to reincarnate yourself as a giant burrito?” reads the product description. “With this giant tortilla blanket you can become a taco, quesadilla, tostada, enchilada, burrito, taquito or use your imagination.”

The manufacturer suggests using it as a beach towel, for picnics, camping or lounging on the couch.

The tortilla blanket has earned a 4.5-star rating on Amazon, based on 80 customer reviews.

Mexico News Daily

More cocaine seen moving from Colombia through Quintana Roo

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MND Staff

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April 3, 2019

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The aircraft that was abandoned along with its cargo at the Chetumal airport.

Cocaine production in Colombia is on the rise, and so are accidents involving light aircraft transporting the drug into Mexico.

Two planes that departed the South American country carrying cocaine have crashed in Quintana Roo during the past four months while another was abandoned after landing without authorization at the airport in the state capital, Chetumal.

Most recently, a Cessna light aircraft carrying one and a half tonnes of cocaine crashed on March 10 in El Cedral, a community in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, which borders Belize.

The plane reportedly skidded along the ground for 100 meters before hitting a tree. A Colombian man died in the accident, while a Sinaloa man who survived was arrested.

The accident followed the crash of a similar plane carrying two tonnes of cocaine in the Othón P. Blanco community of Río Verde last November.

On January 1, two Colombian nationals disembarked from an aircraft after landing in Chetumal and fled, leaving one and a half tonnes of cocaine inside the plane.

Chetumal security official Adrián Sánchez said the plane is believed to have traveled to Mexico from Colombia and that its two crew members abandoned it because it had run out of fuel.

“They preferred to take the risk of being arrested rather than dying in a crash in the jungle as has occurred in other cases,” he said.

According to a report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in September, 171,000 hectares of land in Colombia were used to grow the coca plant in 2017, an increase of 25,000 hectares or 17% over the year before.

The same report estimated that enough coca was grown to produce 1,379 tonnes of cocaine, up 31% over 2016.

Javier Oliva, a researcher and professor at the National Autonomous University (UNAM) who specializes in security and intelligence issues, told the newspaper Milenio that drug cartels are desperate to cash in on the high cocaine production levels by getting their product to the United States.

The light plane accidents are a result of that desperation, he contended.

Oliva also provided an analysis of the United Nations statistics.

“The conclusions that we can take away from this astonishing data are firstly, consumption of the drug has increased; secondly . . . the profits of Colombian criminal groups and the organizations where the goods pass through have also gone up; and thirdly . . . [efforts] to eradicate and contain production of coca leaves [in Colombia] are obviously a failure,” he said.

While the use of planes to transport cocaine out of Colombia appears to be on the rise, the drug is more commonly sent to Mexico by sea before continuing its journey to the lucrative United States market by land.

The amount of cocaine shipped northbound by sea through Mexican waters almost tripled between 2014 and 2017, according to estimates by the United States Coast Guard.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Infestation of fleas closes Acapulco municipal offices

By

Madison Koen

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April 3, 2019

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'We cannot work because we have been invaded by fleas and cats,' the sign advises.

An infestation of fleas has closed at least five municipal government offices in Acapulco, Guerrero.

Civil servants told journalists that hundreds of flea-ridden feral cats have taken up residence for several months near the offices of political parties. Workers said that as of two weeks ago, their workplaces have been infested with fleas that cover the furniture in the offices.

On the door of one, a sign went up that reads, “We cannot work because we have been invaded by fleas and cats.”

Municipal employee Tania Martínez Ruiz said she and other workers have been affected by insect bites, which presents a health risk.

“Right now my neck is completely bitten, my legs are full of fleas — these are the conditions all of my coworkers are in, too.”

She added that despite promises to fumigate the offices, local authorities have not intervened. She added that in addition to the fleas and cats, the offices’ air ducts are infested with rats and possums. Despite an official complaint, local authorities have not responded.

Rosaura Rodríguez Carrillo, another municipal employee, said she and other workers abandoned their offices a week ago because of the invasion.

She added that despite the sign warning of the infestation, residents continue to appear to file paperwork at the offices without taking any precautions.

Source: Cultura Colectiva (sp), Milenio (sp)

Police fail to remove illegal squatters in Playa del Carmen

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MND Staff

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April 3, 2019

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Squatters' makeshift dwellings were knocked down.

Quintana Roo state police attempted to evict residents of an illegal settlement in Playa del Carmen yesterday but were forced to withdraw to avoid a violent confrontation.

The police arrived in the community of Nueva Esperanza early yesterday morning to act on an eviction order obtained by the owner of the illegally-occupied land.

A verbal confrontation ensued between the officers and some of the approximately 300 residents who have squatted on the land in the west of the resort city for between one and a half and two years.

Around 10 people were forcibly removed from their homes and heavy machinery was used to tear down some of the makeshift dwellings, but residents retaliated by picking up sticks and stones to repel the police.

The officers left Nueva Esperanza at approximately 8:30am.

Later yesterday morning, about 80 residents arrived at municipal government offices to voice their opposition to the eviction attempt and to seek support to buy the land they are occupying in order to regularize the legal status of their homes.

Mayor Laura Beristain Navarrete met with the disgruntled residents and told them that municipal authorities would seek to mediate between the disputing parties.

She condemned the police’s use of force in a community where women, children and the elderly live.

Beristain also accused the state government of violating its authority by trying to carry out the eviction without notifying municipal authorities.

“. . . We have municipal autonomy, they carried out an improper act using force . . .” she said, adding that Quintana Roo Governor Carlos Joaquín González should come to Playa del Carmen to help the local population instead of sending the police.

Source: Sipse (sp) Noticaribe (sp), Riviera Maya News (en), 24 Horas (sp)

PETZ devours plastic on beaches in Sonora, Colima and Guerrero

By

César Hernández

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April 3, 2019

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This PETZ is gobbling garbage in Acapulco.

Large fish-shaped containers have been showing up on several Mexican beaches as part of a campaign to promote the recycling of PET plastic bottles and the protection of the marine environment.

The most recent of the containers — called PETZ, a combination of the name PET and pez, Spanish for fish — was installed last month near the Papagayo park in Acapulco, Guerrero.

Beachgoers are encouraged to drop their plastic bottles through the fish’s maw, and keep the waste off the beach.

Smaller containers were installed nearby to collect plastic caps, with the purpose of supporting a different campaign. A round of chemotherapy treatment for a child can be funded with 1,000 caps.

Donations from the private sector are funding the PETZ but more money is required for the municipal government to install additional containers. Officials are looking for more local business owners to help out, so it can have more containers ready for the Easter vacation.

PETZ containers have also appeared on beaches in Guaymas, Sonora, where a local business designed them, and Manzanillo, Colima.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Take down statues of Columbus, Cortés, Mexico City lawmaker urges

By

Madison Koen

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April 3, 2019

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The offending statue, on Paseo de la Reforma. — The offending statue of Columbus, on Paseo de la Reforma.

Another politician is attempting to scrub away the centuries-deep stain of the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

Yesterday, a week after President López Obrador asked Spain for an apology, Mexico City state legislator Teresa Ramos Arreola called on the city government to take down statues of Cristopher Columbus and Hernán Cortés and rename streets dedicated to the two conquerors.

Ramos Arreola said the two figures were not worthy of commemoration because of the atrocities they committed against indigenous peoples.

“Christopher Columbus committed atrocities such as mutilating indigenous people that didn’t think like him. He also ordered the brutal killing of natives that dared to talk about his abuses, and he even ordered some of them dismembered and exhibited to inspire fear in other native peoples.”

The lawmaker said that Hernán Cortés had been even more ruthless during the conquest of Tenochtitlán.

“It is calculated that the number of Mexicas killed by the Spanish exceeded 100,000, including children, women and the elderly, in contrast with just 50 fallen Spaniards.”

She characterized the two men’s actions as a “desire to annihilate and erase their [indigenous peoples’] culture, institutions and languages from the face of the earth.”

Just over a week ago, the Spanish government “vigorously rejected” the president’s request for an apology and urged López Obrador to view the two nations not for the events of hundreds of years ago, but “as free people with a common legacy and an extraordinary future.”

Ramos Arreola’s proposal must go before legislative committees before it can be voted on by the Mexico City Congress.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Fire consumes 130 hectares in Chiapas biosphere reserve

By

César Hernández

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April 3, 2019

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Smoke in the mountains of the Triunfo biosphere reserve. — Smoke in the mountains of El Triunfo.

Over 130 hectares of virgin pine and oak forest have been consumed by a week-long wildfire in the southern Chiapas biosphere reserve and natural park of El Triunfo.

The blaze started on March 26 in a remote mountainous region in the municipality of Mapastepec, where fighting the fire was complicated by having to travel between five and seven hours to reach the area.

About 250 firefighters have been working for over a week to bring the blaze under control. As of this morning, it was about 90% contained.

An official with the Commission for Natural Protected Areas (Conanp) said yesterday that a military helicopter had been enlisted to transport personnel and dump water on the fire, 2,500 liters at a time.

Conditions during the current dry season have been worsened by the presence of a weak El Niño, a natural climate phenomenon triggered by warmer temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that can significantly affect weather.

Conanp warned residents of mountain communities that rely on fire for cooking to avoid lighting fires if they were unable control them.

Source: Cuarto Poder (sp)

Wait times worsen at the US border: 10 hours to cross at Ciudad Juárez-El Paso

By

MND Staff

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April 3, 2019

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Trucks wait to cross the border in Ciudad Juárez.

Cars and trucks are facing long wait times at several border crossings between Mexico and the United States as a result of a decision to redeploy U.S. border officials to deal with a massive number of migrants.

Drivers are having to wait for up to 10 hours to cross between Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas, where long lines in the former are generating chaos and congestion on several main avenues, the newspaper El Universal reported.

Around 350 semi-trailers packed with products manufactured at local factories have been waiting to cross the border since before 1:00am, El Diario de Juárez said.

To reduce the discomfort of motorists trapped in their vehicles for such long periods, Ciudad Juárez authorities have placed portable toilets along the roads leading to the city’s three ports of entry to the United States.

While the media is reporting multi-hour waits to cross into El Paso, United States Custom and Border Protection (CBP) said this morning that the longest wait time at the three ports of entry was two hours at the Zaragoza International Bridge.

Esperan hasta 8 hrs para cruzar frontera

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A long line of trucks stalled in Ciudad Juárez.

The delays follow a decision by CBP to withdraw personnel from official border crossings to help process an influx of migrants into the United States. Some lanes at ports of entry have been closed as a result.

Travelers at many other northern border crossings are also experiencing lengthy delays, while only Baja California ports of entry are operating normally.

Capufe, the federal agency responsible for bridges and highways, reported waits of between two and seven hours for motorists attempting to enter the United States from Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros in Tamaulipas and Piedras Negras and Ciudad Acuña in Coahuila.

“They [CBP] are working at 40% [capacity] . . . The Tamaulipas border is half-closed,” said Julio Almanza, president of the Tamaulipas Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism.

Wait times at Nuevo Laredo averaged seven hours yesterday, while all car lanes on the Reynosa-Pharr International Bridge were closed for several hours to allow trucks that had been stranded since Monday to enter the United States.

A protest by Tamaulipas farmers made matters worse. They blocked the port of entry for eight hours on Monday in a campaign calling for more government assistance.

There are fears that congestion at the border will only worsen in the coming weeks as cross-border traffic spikes for the Easter vacation period.

Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump renewed his threat this morning to close the border but instead of ordering Mexican authorities to do more to stem illegal immigration, he urged the U.S. Congress to support his border plans.

“Congress must get together and immediately eliminate the loopholes at the border! If no action, border, or large sections of border, will close. This is a national emergency!” he wrote on Twitter.

If the border were to close completely, Mexico’s losses in trade revenue could reach as high as US $808.8 million a day.

The figure is based on data from the United States Department of Transport that shows that Mexican exports to the U.S via land borders were worth US $295.2 billion in 2018.

“The impact would be tremendous,” said Francisco Cervantes, president of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin).

Pedro Chavira, president of the Chihuahua branch of the National Council of the Maquiladora Industry (Index Nacional), said that huge losses have already been incurred due to the delays at border crossings but claimed that it was impossible to quantify the exact amount.

President López Obrador addressed Trump’s threat to close the border during this morning’s press conference.

“The closure of borders is not in the interest of anyone,” he said.

“It’s not the most advisable thing. I’m pleased that the government of the United States is now recognizing that we are helping [on migration] and we’re going to continue to do it . . .”

Source: El Universal (sp), El Diario (sp), El Mañana (sp), Reforma (sp), Valley Central (en)