Stolberg, left, and Covarrubias were arrested this week.
Authorities captured two drug lords this week, one a leader of Los Zetas and the other a godson of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
José Roberto Stolberg Becerra, also known as “La Barbie” and one of the main leaders of Los Zetas la Vieja Escuela (Old School Zetas) was detained in a residential complex in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Jalisco, during an operation by federal forces.
Police seized packets of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines ready for sale, along with two vehicles.
According to federal authorities, Stolberg has been an active part of the leadership of Los Zetas la Vieja Escuela since 2016 when the group, together with two other gangs, split off from the main branch of the Zetas cartel, itself notorious for brutal murders, torture and beheadings.
Tamaulipas authorities say the faction has been responsible for a wave of violence in the state in recent years.
A judge issued an arrest warrant for Stolberg in June of last year for ties to organized crime and kidnapping. In December, the Attorney General’s Office offered an award of 1.5 million pesos (US $80,000) for information leading to the cartel leader’s capture.
Another Jalisco arrest took place in Zapopan where federal forces captured Adrián Alonso Guerrero Covarrubias, known as “El 8” or “El M,” godson of Jalisco cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes. He was arrested for ties to organized crime and kidnapping.
Authorities told reporters that Guerrero was an important regional leader in his godfather’s cartel, with territorial control in the Ciénega and northern Los Altos regions in Jalisco, along with southeastern Guanajuato. The cartel is one of the most powerful in Mexico and has been responsible for a dramatic increase in violence in several states in recent years.
When I was living in Querétaro I once saw what I am sure was a foreign 20-something woman walk over to an older lady covered in a shawl who was always stationed in the middle of a busy, touristy walkway, hand cupped and outstretched to passersby who’d rush on, trying not to make eye contact.
She carried over a gallon of water and some plastic cups and sat down next to her on her piece of cardboard. The old woman looked up and smiled at her — I think it was the first time I’d ever seen her face — and I immediately felt shock and shame that it had never occurred to me to do the same.
In Xalapa, where I live, the same woman has been sitting outside the downtown Sears with a plastic cup for the coins of sympathetic commuters, usually with a dust-covered child or two under the age of six in her company.
It’s been 18 years since I first saw her, and we’ve aged together in this same city, in our different worlds.
A couple of years ago I was walking home, headphone in, but wasn’t in any particular hurry. I passed an old woman who was crying alone on a bench. I thought of stopping to comfort her and ask what was wrong, but my worry that I might feel compelled to help her and see it through to the end when her problems were most likely insurmountable stopped me, and I kept walking. I’m not proud of that moment, either.
In my city, there are beggars. In every city there are beggars. And in every city, every person has an opinion about them. The level of derision, in my unscientific, anecdotal experience, tends to correlate to one’s socioeconomic status, with those who are (precariously) middle class but feel that they’re just getting by handing out the most scorn.
I’ve always been resistant to criticize anyone asking for help on the street, not least because I’ve had the experience of watching people close to me sink to the point of (nearly) no return.
When you’re poor, problems are magnified and can rapidly snowball, and what is a small inconvenience for someone with even modest resources can become an insurmountable mountain when you’re already trying to make your last few pesos stretch.
With good jobs scarce and a minimum wage (depending on the region, it’s a range of 102 pesos — about US $5 — and 176 pesos — about $8.70 — a day), it’s not shocking to me that anyone would decide to try their luck asking for more money than they can make at a “regular” job, especially if they lack the education and social capital to land any kind of decent-paying position.
Desperation and the need to feed one’s family, I think, trump the absolute humiliation of receiving the dirty looks and other indignities of asking for the help of strangers.
“All they do is stretch their hands out! Why don’t they get a job? Why should I support someone that doesn’t want to work? I’d love to just sit around all day and have people give me money!”
This is always said with exaggeration, as if desperate people risking kidnapping, death and all manner of trauma and abuses were entitled vacationers.
But here’s the thing: if it’s possible for people to earn more money simply through donations on the street than working at (or even getting in the first place) a minimum-wage job, what really is the scandal here?
We complain about so-called ninis (ni trabajan ni estudian — “they don’t work, they don’t study”), but it’s no surprise that young people would see those with hard-earned college degrees being offered 4,000 pesos a month and conclude the effort is hardly worth it.
Dirty people with pleading eyes and ragged clothes that make you feel guilty for your state of non-misery are much easier targets of our own angst than the minority of already-wealthy, good-looking people that are quite literally bleeding the country dry through graft and corruption.
And besides, it’s hard to be angry at people whom you can’t immediately and easily identify as scoundrels. (To be safe, just assume all rich people are criminals. Kidding! Do you see, though? Did you feel immediately defensive at the prospect of being judged without being known?)
What do we owe each other? To what extent is “self-care” and emotional/physical insulation simply selfish, and when does it mean helping others, who in the end, are just us in different circumstances? We are ashamed to see people in these horrible conditions, and the discomfort of it makes us rush by to quickly forget.
I don’t have the solution, but I don’t think it’s to angrily gripe about them, or worse, directly to them, about hard work and responsibility. Spare a smile, some eye contact, maybe some conversation if you feel safe.
If you have some money, give it; if you can buy someone some food or water, do it. So what if they’re taking advantage of you? Cosmically (and you can trust me on this), they’re not.
Sarah DeVries writes from her home in Xalapa, Veracruz.
Indoor and outdoor shared seating encourages conviviality.
Following the common custom of contemporary Colonia Roma, MercadoRoma begins with a pet boutique — Woow Guau, a flash of colorful, artisan-influenced collars, vests, sweaters and capes for the most fashionable and patriotic of Mexico City’s tailed citizenry.
Sure, nearly every mercado has pet supplies, but MercadoRoma is a bit different, modernized, curated.
MercadoRoma opened its doors in 2014 as “the first gourmet market in Mexico City, where product, quality, food, and architecture coexist.” It’s the Mexican public market reimagined for the 21st century, chock full of newfangled foods, handcrafted goods and other artisanal offerings.
The market opens up into an opera of world culinary fusions set behind bright orange counters that elicit the old-school Mexican lonchería, with a chic repurposed warehouse vibe and more angles than a graduate level geometry class. The winding, offset counters encourage you to get lost in food discovery.
Dive into sweets and treats like Theurel & Thomas macaroons, La Otilia gluten-free bakery and the insanely gorgeous chocolate creations of Chef José Ramón Castillo of QuéBo! Or travel the world of taco fusion with La Taque or ITALIANTaco.
The entrance to the Roma Norte’s market of culinary delights, MercadoRoma.
Eat at the restaurant counter or one the large and lively communal tables in the back. MercadoRoma encourages its patrons to try something (or many things) new.
Perfect prime beef cuts, paella, handmade sausages, Hindu, Arabic and Italian classics, and nearly every region of Mexico are represented. MercadoRoma is also great for vegan and vegetarian options with, among others, Gold Taco serving some of Mexico City’s best rated vegan tacos.
“The idea of introducing this format of social food was inspired by other similar spaces around the world,” explains public relations director Fernanda Vasconcelos. “And the objective has always been to offer the public the best gastronomic experience, changing the dialogue between chef and diner, to create a unique and special social moment.”
The communal tables buzz with laughter from a mostly 20-something crowd. English, French and Russian mix with Spanish to give the impression that we’re on some kind of university Esperanto retreat.
The smiles are big. There doesn’t appear to be a bummed customer among them as we sit down to our salmon bowl with chile morita and peanut dressing from Kome Comida Oriental. It’s fresh and spicy, with toasted sesame seeds, avocado, rice and pickled cabbage, carrots and scallions.
Beer and mezcal cocktails flow heavily for a Monday afternoon as the staff of Palomiux takes advantage of the patrons’ altered states to push weird and wild gourmet popcorn flavors from table to table.
The fresh tuna bowl from Kome.
At Tinto MX, the passionate oenophiles serve up specialty boutique wines and cocktails. Their wines are all Mexican, mostly from Baja California – particularly the new international hotspot of Valle de Guadalupe. But Tinto MX works to support the tiniest, hardest-to-find wine producers from around the country, many of whom don’t even have proper distribution.
Tinto MX has five to six reds, three whites and two rosés always available to try out by the glass, or take home the bottle of your choice. They serve up classic wine cocktails like clericots, kalimotxos and tintos de verano, but the current favorite is the white wine mojito with lime, mint and a touch of sugar, topped off with sparkling water.
If mezcal is more to your liking, Finca Robles offers a generous variety of the maguey distillate. They too specialize in small producers, some creating as few as 100-200 bottles at a time.
Gustavo Faro tells me his customers are mostly foreigners. “They often know more about mezcal than most Mexicans,” he says. “And each time they come to learn a little bit more.”
Finca Robles’ bottles change completely about every three months, depending on what styles are currently in production, and they bottle their own brand in Sola de Vega, Oaxaca.
Just above, on the mezzanine, are some of the gift-worthy goods, like Botanicus natural soaps, scents, and lotions; the wonderful salsas, spices and marmalades from Chilipines; and Uchiya, with chef-quality Japanese knives and cute home goods.
Finca Robles offers a number of boutique mezcal producers.
All the way upstairs, on the roof terrace, Grüner Hof Biergarten, overlooking Calle Querétaro, is a pleasantly shaded, mellow respite from the afternoon sun. Their craft beers go deep, and the bratwurst and blonde tourists give an authentic taste of Germany.
Next door, Cigar Point tends to a bit more of an upscale audience, with a fully-stocked humidor and mid-century modern design in leather and dark wood. They have one of the largest, very serious, scotch and whiskey lists you’re likely to find outside of Polanco, along with other cigar-sipping favorites like tequila, rum, cognac and all the French and Italian liqueurs that can be hard to come by in Mexico.
The terrace begins to heat up when the post-work, happy-hour crowd files in. And it can turn into a pretty big party well into the night. Adds PR director Vasconcelos, “MercadoRoma always keeps our audience excited about events, happenings, activations and other content we offer, to create experiences beyond the culinary.”
They have stand-up comedy nights, a monthly card of classical and contemporary jazz groups and regular DJ sets that are well-rooted in the local community.
“As more gourmet markets and similar culinary projects have developed,” says Vasconcelos, “it’s led to an increase in local gastronomy, and more brands and independent projects have emerged that seek to leave a mark on the history of the kitchen.”
Stop in for some sweets, have a bite to eat while you shop for gifts or come to party on DJ nights – you can find it all at MercadoRoma.
• MercadoRoma is located at Calle Querétaro 225, Roma Norte, open daily at 9:00am till late. Check the website for actual opening and closing times for each market level and business.
This is the fifth in a series on the bazaars, flea markets and markets of Mexico City:
Bachelet and López Obrador at yesterday's press conference.
The homicide rates recorded in Mexico since 2006 are similar to those of a country at war, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said at the conclusion of a five-day visit to Mexico.
Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet told a press conference that she was surprised by the magnitude of the security crisis that Mexico is facing.
“What I’ve found has been a surprise. The Ayotzinapa case [of 43 students who disappeared in Guerrero in 2014] is certainly well known but the 40,000 missing persons wasn’t something that was so clear to me, nor the 26,000 unidentified bodies or that almost 10 women are murdered every day. I knew about the violence but I didn’t have an idea of the extent,” Bachelet said.
Since former president Felipe Calderón initiated a militarized public security strategy shortly after he took office in late 2006, there have been more than 250,000 homicides, and 2018 was the most violent year on record.
In addition to making the war analogy, Bachelet said the high homicide rates were evidence of the need for a comprehensive, long-term solution to violence, adding that the new National Guard could be a large part of that solution.
“The creation of the National Guard could open the opportunity to create a new civilian police force capable of fighting the overwhelming challenge of organized crime,” she said.
She also said that weak rule of law in Mexico contributes to the epidemic of violence.
“The truth is you have laws for everything,” Bachelet said. “There isn’t a lack of laws, but rather a need to implement them.”
However, she expressed confidence that the new attorney general’s office (the Fiscalía General de la República has replaced the the Procuraduría General) will be an autonomous institution capable of carrying out competent criminal investigations while guaranteeing human rights.
Earlier yesterday, the high commissioner and President López Obrador signed an agreement to allow the UN department to assist in human rights training for National Guard members.
“Experience shows us that you can’t have security without full respect for human rights and you can’t enjoy human rights without security,” Bachelet said.
López Obrador said he will announce the commander of the National Guard Thursday as well as details about its size and how it will be deployed. He described the human rights agreement with the United Nations as a historical achievement.
The president said in February that the new security force will conduct itself in a way similar to United Nations peacekeepers, pledging that “human rights will be respected.”
The force will be made up of military police from the army and navy as well as Federal Police officers.
The federal government threatened today to go into retail fuel sales if private gas station owners don’t charge “fair prices.”
President López Obrador called on gas station owners and fuel distributors to act responsibly and not be “abusive” towards their customers by charging them excessive prices.
The president said his words amounted to a “friendly invitation” for fuel wholesalers and retailers to review their profit margins.
If they don’t listen, López Obrador continued, “we would think about creating a group of [gas] stations . . . not a lot, just enough so that fuel is sold at a fair price.”
Arturo Herrera, an undersecretary at the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), said that profit margins for regular, premium and diesel fuels were 55%, 84% and 36% respectively.
López Obrador said that there is a range of tools, such as mobile apps, that consumers can use to locate the cheapest place to buy fuel.
He also said he will announce at his morning press conference every Monday which gas stations are selling the cheapest and the most expensive fuel.
The leftist leader reiterated his pledge that his government won’t increase fuel or electricity prices beyond the annual inflation rate.
The Mexican retail fuel market was opened up to private and foreign companies as a result of the previous government’s energy reform.
Delays at the Mexico-United States border are costing Mexican exporters US $800 million a day, according to the president of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin).
Thousands of trucks have faced long wait times at several ports of entry to the United States since early last week following a decision by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to reassign 750 border officials to deal with a massive influx of migrants. Some lanes at border crossings have been closed as a result.
Francisco Cervantes said that the US $800 million figure is an estimate because Concamin is waiting for the National Council of the Maquiladora Industry (Index) to provide information about the losses of its member companies.
He warned that if the delays continue, the United States will suffer from a shortage of Mexican products such as auto parts and fresh food.
Eduardo Solís, president of the Mexican Auto Industry Association (AMIA), said that sector is “obviously” affected by the long wait times at the border.
He called on Mexican authorities to promptly reach an agreement with their United States counterparts to allow cross-border flows to return to normal.
Delays could also create gasoline shortages.
Gasoline importers have complained that it is taking them up to three days to cross the border and return, whereas it normally takes 16 hours.
Julio Jáuregui, CEO of importer Enermex, said the delays have been most severe at ports of entry in Tamaulipas including Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros, all of which share borders with Texan cities.
He explained that the Mexican market is very sensitive to any fuel import delays because Mexico only has storage capacity for three days.
In Chihuahua, Governor Javier Corral said yesterday it was urgent that the governments of Mexico and the United States reach an immigration agreement to deal with migration flows from Central America and to normalize cross-border trade.
Governor Corral: US ‘shooting itself in the foot’
“Mexico . . . needs to decide if it is going to continue allowing the passage of these migrant caravans and this unusual migration from countries such as Cuba . . .” he said.
Corral said he has been in contact with Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard to ensure that the government is well-informed about the magnitude of the problem caused by delays at the border, stating that “in the beginning, it appeared to us that the president didn’t have sufficient information” about their impact.
The governor said that he understood that the United States government was trying to pressure its Mexican counterpart into doing more to stem migration flows but contended that it was going about it the wrong way.
“. . . What the government in Washington doesn’t understand or doesn’t fully understand is that the border is a binational community that interrelates in multiple ways, which shares many economic, cultural and social activities as well as family ties . . .” Corral said.
The governor said cross-border shipments at Chihuahua ports of entry were below 40% of what they normally are. Some businesses have begun using air charter services to transport goods from Ciudad Juárez to Santa Teresa, New Mexico – a distance of less than 40 kilometers.
Two-way daily trade between Mexico and the United States is worth US $1.7 billion, and 83% of that trade occurs across land borders, according to the U.S. business organization Council of the Americas.
Tourism chief Torruco, and Governor Ordaz enjoy Sinaloa fare at Tianguis Turístico.
A new agreement between a Canadian airline and the government of Sinaloa will mean additional escape options for Canadians wishing to flee the frigid north for sunny beaches.
On the second day of the 2019 Tianguis Turístico tourism fair in Acapulco, the Canadian company Sunwing Airlines announced a deal with Sinaloa Governor Quirino Ordaz Coppel to increase flights to Mazatlán from the provinces of Quebec and Ontario and the city of Regina.
Sunwing product development vice-president Eric Rodríguez thanked Governor Ordaz and the company’s hotel partners for their dedication, saying the new deal would not have been possible without their support.
“Mazatlán is the only destination in Mexico where Sunwing is considering an increase in flights. This is a big bet, which reflects a commitment from the state, the governor and hotel owners, and it speaks of quality and a high level of satisfaction; [Mazatlán] is a very complete destination with both culture and beach.”
Afterwards, the governor met with national airline Viva Aerobus corporate communications director Walfred Castro, who confirmed the June 8 opening of a new route from Mazatlán to Tijuana. Another from Los Mochis to Monterrey, Nuevo León, opened last week.
Representatives from Mazatlán held a carnival for guests at the tourism fair, complete with a gastronomic exposition and artisanal products from all over the state.
Ordaz said he was pleased to be able to “show all of our wealth, all the beautiful sites and above all, what we’re capable of doing and the great talent of Sinaloans, together with our great friend and ally Miguel Torruco, secretary of tourism.”
The tourism chief said the state was on the right track and predicted more innovations were on the way as a result of the interstate highway, opened six years ago, that connects Mazatlán with the neighboring state of Durango.
“There will be regional development, which is what tourists are demanding these days,” Torruco said.
A simpler, streamlined dialing process is less than four months away from implementation, a new system that will eliminate several prefixes and will only require remembering a string of 10 digits.
The Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) first announced the new standardized dialing system in the fall of 2017, explaining that current prefixes — including 01, 044 and 045 — would be phased out this summer.
Those prefixes were used to dial long-distance landlines and local and long-distance cellphones but come August 3, they will become outdated complications.
Starting on that date, it won’t matter what type of phone, or where it is located, that the caller is dialing.
The only numbers to dial will be the area code — two or three digits long — and the local phone number — seven or eight digits long, effectively making all phone numbers in the country 10 digits.
Those numbers should be dialed for local and long distance calls alike.
Callers from abroad can also stop using the extra 1 that was required when dialing cellphone numbers. Such calls will only require Mexico’s two-digit country code, 52.
The IFT also explained that nationwide and local emergency numbers, such as 911, will remain the same.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut both its 2019 and 2020 growth forecasts for Mexico to below 2%, citing the government’s policy direction and cancelation of infrastructure projects as factors.
In its World Economic Outlook report published today, the IMF lowered its forecast for this year to 1.6% from the 2.1% predicted in January. For 2020, the organization trimmed its outlook to 1.9% GDP growth from 2.2%.
Changes to economic policy and moves to overturn or weaken the education and energy reforms introduced by the previous government were cited by the IMF as contributors to a weakened capacity for growth.
IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath told a press conference that a “more restrictive monetary policy and political uncertainty related to the new government” have had an impact on investment in Mexico.
Gian Maria Milesi-Feretti, a deputy director in the IMF research department, said investors’ confidence in Mexico was also down due to last year’s contentious negotiations between Mexico, the United States and Canada to reach a new trade agreement, and uncertainty about when it will be ratified.
The decision by President López Obrador to cancel the partially-built US $13-billion Mexico City airport was also a factor, the IMF said, as were “shifts in perceptions” about the policy direction of the new administration.
However, they are well below the 4% average growth that López Obrador has said his government will deliver during its six-year term.
The IMF also cut its growth outlook for the global economy this year to 3.3% from a 3.5% forecast in January but maintained a 3.6% prediction for 2020.
“This is a delicate moment for the global economy,” Gopinath said.
An indigenous actress and star of the award-winning film Roma has once again been thrust into the spotlight after racist comments were posted on Instagram in reaction to a publicity video for a new Huawei smartphone.
But when rival manufacturer Motorola’s name appeared in the comments, that company was quick to enter the debate.
In the promotional video for Huawei’s new P30 Pro actress Yalitza Aparicio says she has used her fame to rewrite the way Mexicans see themselves.
“I brought the color of Mexico to the world. I demonstrated that a Mexican can be wherever she wants to be, and that any day is a good day to rewrite the rules, rewrite the photography and rewrite Mexico.”
Several users reacted positively to the video but several others did not.
One stated that he intended to switch phone companies because of the actress’s appearance.
“No, if I have to keep seeing this ridiculous ugly chick, I’m going to have change over to Motorola.”
While some took advantage of the discriminatory comments to add their voices of prejudice others, including the rival cellphone maker, raised their voices in support of Aparicio.
“We love to receive new customers, but it would be better under other circumstances; Motorola applauds Yalitza’s success and that of all Mexicans who achieve their dreams!” Motorola México wrote.
Huawei had a more tepid response for another user who expressed his displeasure at seeing Aparicio in the video, and wrote that he intended to buy a different phone.
“We are sorry you will no longer get to try out the P30 Pro’s ‘Super Zoom.’ We hope you come back soon.”
This is not the first time that the Roma actress’s fame has drawn racist comments. In February, a video in which soap opera star Sergio Goyri expressed disbelief that a “damn Indian” who only says “yes ma’am, no ma’am” could be nominated for an Oscar for best actress, circulated widely on social media and in the news.
Natividad Gutiérrez Chong, a sociologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said the young Mixtec actress’s talents have frequently been reduced in mainstream society because of a colonial mindset inherited from the Spanish, which diminishes the role of indigenous women to domesticity.
