The five suspected gang members arrested in Mexico City.
Five members of what police say is one of the most dangerous criminal groups in Mexico City were arrested on Thursday night.
An elite group of undercover Mexico City police nabbed the alleged members of the Los Molinos gang in the Pedregal de Santo Domingo neighborhood of Coyoacán after witnessing them participate in a drug deal aboard a Nissan Versa.
A month ago, security camera footage showed a group of subjects fleeing in the same car after abandoning a body in the trunk of a second car near Cerro de la Estrella in Iztapalapa.
The arrested are Enrique Sosa Barragán, Miguel Ángel Sosa Barragán, Édgar Jesús Hernández Rodríguez, Juan Erick Fonseca Cadena and Ángel Antonio Reyes Méndez. Police say that Sosa Barragán was the leader of the group and that he had previously been incarcerated for two years in Venice, Italy, for drug trafficking.
Police confiscated drugs, cash and two pistols from the car.
Hernández Rodríguez had previously been arrested in October 2018, but was released shortly after. He is accused of participating in a June 2012 robbery of a Monte de Piedad pawnshop in the state of Puebla, in which money and two kilos of gold were stolen. Police have also linked him to vehicle theft in southern Mexico City.
Los Molinos is one of the most violent gangs in Mexico City and is involved in drug distribution and murder in southeastern Mexico City as well as the México state municipalities Chalco and Ecatepec.
Police say they are responsible for much of the recent wave of violence in Iztapalapa and Coyoacán, including a massacre of seven people in the Los Reyes neighborhood of Coyoacán on February 17 of this year, and another massacre of five people in the Carmen Serdán neighborhood on December 22 of last year.
A small step for mankind? The 1969 moon landing, left, and the science council director.
The Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969, was “useless,” the current head of the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) said in 2015.
Presenting a paper at a conference organized by an indigenous education center in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, María Elena Álvarez-Buylla said that “western science has produced the most dazzling and perhaps the most useless advances, like the arrival to the moon.”
The remarks of the scientist, who became Conacyt director last December, circulated on social media this week in the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of the spaceflight that first landed humans on the moon.
A report published today by the newspaper El Universal refuted the Conacyt chief’s claim, pointing out that man’s arrival on the moon has in fact left a significant legacy of technological and scientific advances.
Astronauts on the Apollo 11 mission and subsequent Apollo missions to the moon left scientific instruments on the satellite including a solar wind spectrometer, seismometer and laser reflector, all of which provided valuable information about the origin of the moon, earth and the solar system.
El Universal also said that microchips used in modern-day technology such as cellphones are “direct descendants” of the integrated circuits used in the Apollo Guidance Computer, which was installed on each Apollo spacecraft.
In addition, the newspaper noted that the biomedical system used to monitor astronauts’ vital signs on early space missions has been adopted by hospitals, adding that the first mission to the moon acted as a trigger for further study into space medicine.
The science council chief said that under the “globalized neoliberal capitalist system companies use scientists and their science, our science, and dictate what and what not to research . . . . This is what I call the advances of the hydra of science in disguise.”
Two México state mayors are at loggerheads over the ownership of a town but it’s unclear what the town itself thinks.
Since 1973, the year in which Cuatitlán Izcalli was granted municipal status, the town of San Mateo Ixtacalco has straddled that municipality and its neighbor, Cuatitlán.
But the mayor of the latter municipality, Ariel Juárez, is seeking to take possession of San Mateo Ixtacalco in its entirety and filed a claim to that end in the state Congress earlier this year.
But his counterpart in Cuatitlán Izcalli, Ricardo Núñez Ayala, has warned that he won’t give up the territory without a fight.
The two men, both of whom govern for Mexico’s ruling Morena party, will present their cases to the territorial limits commission of the state Congress.
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Juárez says that 80% of Ixtacalco’s territory is in Cuatitlán and that the remaining 20% should also come under that municipality’s administration.
But at a meeting of the Cuatitlán Izcalli council, councilors sent a clear message to the mayor of the neighboring municipality.
“We will not allow anyone to take territory from our municipality for their shady interests,” said Miguel Ángel Huesca.
Another councilor, Germán González García, said the dispute over ownership of the town comes up whenever there is a change of government.
However, he said that the boundaries between the two municipalities were clearly established in 1973 and that the mayor of Cuatitlán should respect them.
Mayor Núñez stressed that he will not enter in a “friendly” agreement with Juárez that would involve his municipality ceding territory for the reunification of San Mateo Ixtacalco, which has a population of about 15,000.
Municipal boundary disputes are common in México state, the country’s most populous.
At least half of the state’s 125 municipalities have experienced problems related to poorly defined city limits, according to a report in the newspaper El Heraldo de México.
Guachinango’s plaza speaks of peace and prosperity.
The little town of Guachinango lies hidden in the hills of the Sierra Occidental, 100 kilometers west of Guadalajara.
Mention Guachinango to most Mexicans and they will say, “Oh, yes, that delicious fish, huachinango.” Actually, the word Guachinango means “place surrounded by trees,” although today “place surrounded by mines,” might suit it better.
The rumors that occasionally reached me about this little town, however, did not refer to its mines, but to its quiet beauty. “Guachinango has the prettiest plaza in all Mexico,” I heard. And even: “Forget the Taj Mahal, you should see Guachinango’s sparkling church.”
So, one not-so-fine day during the rainy season, my wife and I drove off to see the little town, which is less than a two-hour drive from Guadalajara. We were truly impressed by the incredible beauty of that church, which is covered with hundreds of thousands of pieces of broken porcelain plates and saucers, and we were utterly charmed by the quiet beauty of the plaza.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t take pictures that day because the sky was filled with roiling black clouds and we couldn’t visit the local museum because it was a Sunday.
Detail of the porcelain-covered church.
So, we decided to come back on a weekday in December in the morning when the sun lights up the dazzling façade of the church and takes your breath away. After enjoying the overall view, we examined the church wall up close. The shards of plates, cups and knickknacks have their own stories to tell — in Spanish, English and even Chinese!
When you step inside the church, you come upon the first clue as to how such a small community could afford such a magnificent church. The altar is covered with gold and it’s the real thing, the product of the many mines in the hills just outside town.
For a fine view of those hills, you can ascend an extremely narrow, one-person-at-a-time circular staircase — built in the 1800s — which takes you up to the bell tower where you can wander about the roof, if you dare.
As for the plaza, the flower gardens, benches and kiosks are laid out in a picture-perfect way. I’m surprised film crews are not at work in this town every day; you couldn’t ask for a better movie set.
Next we visited La Casa de Cultura, which has a large, modern museum on the upper floor. Here we discovered that the original town of Guachinango — located a few kilometers from the present site — was a well-organized indigenous community long before the Spaniards arrived. They grew corn, calabash, beans and chiles, spoke Náhuatl, had their own distinctive style of ceramics and buried their dead in deep shaft tombs.
The Spaniards arrived in 1525, but the “modern” history of Guachinango actually began in 1545 when Juan Fernández de Hijar “found a very good silver mine” in what is now the center of town and a new community gradually formed around it.
Altar plated with gold from the town’s nearby mines.
This must have been a very large mine because no sooner was it in operation than “300 indigenas and nine negroes rebelled and ran off into the hills to hide,” apparently none too happy about being enslaved. The Spaniards, of course, squelched the miners’ futile grasp at freedom and dignity.
By 1550 the Province of Guachinango had a grand total of 215 mines, including El Barqueño, which local officials say “is thought to have had the most important gold reserves in all Mexico.”
Naturally, we were now curious about Guachinango’s mines and, when we asked about them in the town hall, a young man named Nacho immediately offered to show us a few. He then recruited a friend, who in turn commandeered a truck and off we went. The first place we visited were the ruins of a big mill only five minutes from town where ore was ground into powder. These ruins are just off the highway and very easy to reach. Just follow the instructions below.
From the mill, we walked along an old track shaded by thick pines and oaks until we came to a deep, dark tunnel which disappeared into the hillside. We poked around the entrance, hoping to find a piece of gold-bearing ore, but refrained from entering the shaft as old mines are infamous for falling beams and unseen deep pits.
After that I thought we’d be heading back to town, but our enthusiastic guides said, “Oh, there’s another mine just up ahead.” That one, of course, was not far from yet another and we soon traversed half of Cerro La Catarina until at last we came to El Aguacero Mine, the site of a famous incident.
Here, in 1952, Don Salomé Hernández was working deep inside the mine, 50 meters from the entrance, when the tunnel collapsed, trapping him. During the following days, rescuers could hear him banging rocks together to indicate he was alive. After seven days, he was rescued, but emerged in very weak condition.
View of the town from Cerro la Catarina.
Legend has it that he had managed to survive all that time by eating the new leather straps he had recently attached to his huaraches. As for water, they say he had none during his entire ordeal.
On his way to the hospital in Guadalajara, according to our guides, he opened his eyes and said, “I had horrible visions there in the darkness, but I’ve been reborn . . . thank God!”
After visiting the mines, our guides drove us to the very top of Cerro La Catarina from which we could enjoy a magnificent view of Guachinango and the Sierra Occidental.
Upon our return to town, we followed our guides’ advice and went shopping first for the very tasty local bread and then for bolitas, a chewy candy made from guavas, but infinitely tastier than any other we’ve come upon — the makers say their formula is a family secret. Bolitas are available from just about any grocery store in town.
Guachinango is a bit remote, but the roads leading to it are in great shape and you’ll have no problem getting there in any sort of vehicle. Try to go in the morning to get the best view of the sparkling church facade.
To reach the center of Guachinango, ask Google Maps to take you to “Kiosco De La Plaza Civica, Guachinango.”
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If you would like to visit the old mill, drive back out of Guachinango the way you came in and turn right (south) onto a dirt road two kilometers from the plaza. Follow this 330 meters and park in front of the home of Sebastián and Jesús, two old gambusinos (prospectors).
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Ask them if you can visit the ruins of the Molino (mill), which lie 250 meters south of their house.
Guachinango is picturesque and historic Mexico at its best.
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.
A mural initiative in León, Guanajuato, has filled the city’s streets with color this year: visitors and residents alike might round a corner to find themselves thrust into a duel between samurai cats or dodging oncoming vehicles and banana peels as Mario and Luigi — of Super Mario fame — race to the finish line.
The Municipal Youth Institute has invested 330,000 pesos (US $17,000) this year to bring to life the walls along the city’s main boulevards with thought-provoking images.
Since January, 25 new murals have gone up throughout the city, including works dedicated to the Simpsons, Mario Kart and samurai cats, as well as other paintings that entreat passersby to engage in socially-conscious action, such as one dedicated to water use and another that aims to raise awareness about autism.
Institute director Misraím Macías said that an equal amount of work or more went into researching the subject of each mural as went into painting it.
“What you see that looks like a week of work actually has at least two or three weeks of research behind it. You might ask if they seriously researched The Simpsons for a mural. Yes, because [faithfully rendering] the most iconic scenes, the characters from the show and the way they interact all requires background knowledge.”
Artist at work on a León mural.
But Macías said the initiative was about more than just a beautification campaign.
“We have two principal objectives in doing this: the first is to stimulate the creative economy. What does that mean? It means giving young people a chance to generate income and a way of life. Our second objective is to recover safe spaces. It’s about how we can create safe spaces and environments.”
Lupita Anaya, an academic specialist in art history, agreed that art can be a vehicle for social transformation, especially in León, which has experienced rising levels of violence in recent months.
“Just to pass by and see these works can distract you for a moment, and without shrinking from it, they can inspire a spark of peace and harmony. Art is not just decorative; it feeds the soul.”
She suggested that the murals could be included in youth programs to prevent young people’s involvement in crime and gangs. She also said the murals were an important way to bring art closer to people who might not otherwise have contact with it in their lives.
“Many people do not have the time, culture, intention or desire to go to galleries or museums, and so they have altered the urban environment so that people have the opportunity to see art in their everyday lives. And all types of art sensitize people.”
Macías said that in the coming months four more murals will go up in Guanajuato’s largest city: two for youth month and two more for the Day of the Dead.
Martínez leveled her accusations of corruption this morning at the presidential press conference.
The head of Mexico’s state news agency today accused its union leader of corruption and nepotism, charging that he embezzled government funds and placed family members on the agency’s payroll.
Speaking at the presidential press conference, Notimex director Sanjuana Martínez said the union led by Conrado García Velasco was like a “brotherhood” or “mafia.”
The whereabouts of more than 4 million pesos the union received from the government between 2015 and 2017 and which should have been distributed among Notimex employees is unknown, she said.
Martínez said that a review of Notimex’s payroll detected the presence of 330 people who don’t actually work at the agency.
She also said that García’s wife, three children, two brothers, a nephew, an uncle and two alleged lovers of the union leader were on the payroll.
Notimex union boss García.
“Only the union leader hired and fired personnel, which diminished the quality of the news,” she said.
Martínez also accused García of using government or union funds to pay for 28 national and international trips on which he was accompanied by family members.
In addition, she claimed that in the past Notimex was prohibited from publishing content that was critical of the government and its members or which reported on the discovery of hidden graves or missing people.
Presenting publicity as news was “normalized” at the agency and its employees received payments in exchange, Martínez said.
A report published by the newspaper El Universal before this morning’s news conference said that García is under investigation by the Secretariat of Public Administration (SFP) for improper use of public resources, conflict of interest and influence peddling.
SFP sources told El Universal that the investigations started months ago.
García presented his resignation as a Notimex reporter at the start of the new government’s administration but it wasn’t accepted to ensure that he will face the accusations against him, the newspaper said.
The report said that García’s wife, Irene Rodríguez, is employed as a correspondent in Chicago, while his daughter, Angélica Atzin García, works as a reporter and was granted a Notimex scholarship to live in China.
The latter’s previous experience was in visual arts rather than journalism.
Before Martínez’s appearance at this morning’s press conference, recently fired Notimex journalists protested outside the National Palace against what they say were unfair dismissals.
They also said they haven’t received full severance pay and called for the resignation of the Notimex chief.
A group of 36 young people are performing clean-up work at the Tula Chico archaeological site in Hidalgo as part of the “Youths Building the Future” program.
Each of the workers, who started the job last month, receives a monthly salary of 3,600 pesos (US $190) from the program, which is managed by the federal Labor and Social Welfare Secretariat.
The program is currently employing 800,000 youths at a variety of jobs across the country; 333 are working for the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) at archaeological sites and museums.
Women account for 58% of those enrolled in the program while men account for 42%. The term of employment is one year.
INAH director Diego Prieto told the newspaper El Universal that the institute hopes to employ 800 youths through the program by September.
“This program is making it possible for us to expand our base of employees, while at the same time train people who can later join the institute,” he said. “These young people aren’t putting INAH personnel out of work, because these are new jobs.”
Prieto said that when the brigade of young people started working at Tula Chico, the site was in bad shape. The perimeter fence was broken allowing visitors to enter freely, there were backlogs in maintenance and the museums were out of date.
According to Hidalgo Governor Omar Fayad, the state will invest 19 million pesos (US $1 million) in improvements at Tula Chico, while INAH will invest 2 million.
Nursing jobs are available for Mexicans in Quebec.
Help wanted: 50 Mexican nurses sought to work in Canada for 46,900 pesos a month.
A Canadian social development agency is working with Mexico’s Labor and Social Welfare Secretariat (STPS) to match Mexican professionals with temporary jobs in the province of Quebec.
As part of its 2019 recruitment, Quebec International published 400 job openings for foreign workers in a variety of different industries. Many of the jobs have also been posted on the STPS website.
Among the postings is that of a company looking for 50 nurses to work with elderly patients. The company requests that applicants have a high level of English or French and a diploma in geriatric nursing or five years of experience in patient care.
The successful candidates will work 36 hours a week and will be paid 46,900 pesos (US $2,465) a month. The term of the contract is indefinite.
Sara Tapia, international mobility director for Quebec International, told the newspaper El Pulso Laboral that foreign workers hired through the agency will receive the necessary permits to work legally in Canada.
“All of our initiatives are supported by Quebec’s Ministry of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion,” she said. “The working conditions are exactly the same as those of Canadian workers, as the law requires.”
Tapia added that Canadian companies are enthusiastic about hiring Mexican workers.
“Mexicans distinguish themselves as good workers, as high-level professionals with education, and also very interesting human qualities,” she said. “Their capacity to adapt is outstanding.”
The agency hopes to receive more applications from Mexicans this year than it has in the past. In 2018, only 300 of the 30,000 applications were from Mexico.
Tapia added that in addition to jobs, Quebec International is offering scholarships to foreign students to do postgraduate work in fields related to medicine or environmental science at Laval University or the University of Quebec in Rimouski.
Samantha receives her ticket to China from airline representatives.
An 8-year old mathematician from Mexico City will represent Mexico at the Aloha International Mental Arithmetic Competition in Guangzhou, China, with the help of a Chinese airline.
Identified only as Samantha, the young girl will have only a few minutes to complete dozens of complicated math problems using only her own mental abilities and a soroban, a small Japanese abacus developed over 500 years ago.
Samantha, who lives in the capital’s Iztacalco borough, had been featured on social media outlets for selling homemade cookies to raise the large amount of money she needed to purchase her airfare to China.
But then China Southern Airlines stepped in. General manager Wu Yingjun gave Samantha a round-trip ticket to the competition, saying,“The happiness I feel in being able to help Samantha comes straight from my heart; she is the future of Mexico as she represents this nation in China.”
To express their gratitude, Samantha and her family in turn gave Wu Yingjun and several other airline representatives several boxes of her homemade cookies.
Seven hundred children from 40 countries will compete at this year’s edition of the competition. Ninety-one Mexicans will participate.
A fuel theft ring involving high-ranking officers of the Mexican army is coming apart after the arrest of a general who was a subdirector of operations at Pemex.
Agents the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) arrested General Sócrates Alfredo Herrera Pegueros in Guerrero on Thursday after he failed to show up for court hearings in May and June to respond to criminal allegations against him and other officers.
Herrera is described as the “second in command” to General León Trauwitz, former head of security at Pemex, who is accused of leading the fuel theft operation. He faces charges of organized crime and fuel theft.
The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) has arrested five people in relation to the case. On June 22, a judge threw out an injunction protecting Trauwitz from arrest, but he has not been located and is believed to have left the country.
In June, Sergeants Ramón Márquez Ledezma and José Carlos Sánchez Echavarría and Lieutenant Oziel Aldana Portugal were indicted for allegedly working under General Trauwitz in the fuel theft scheme.
The case first came to the attention of federal prosecutors in March 2017 when three former soldiers reported having witnessed official complicity in fuel theft. However, the case was not pursued until President López Obrador took office in December 2018.
In addition to the five soldiers, 16 government officials have been arrested for crimes related to fuel theft.
