3 weeks later, Chiapas official released along with development funds

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June 2, 2018

The Queen of the South, suspected leader of a gang of pipeline thieves, drug dealers and murderers, was captured this week in Puebla.

Liliana Hernández Carlos has been linked to the gruesome discovery last week of human remains that had been eaten by dogs and the executions of a man and of a 12-year-old girl in the city of Puebla. The girl had been shot five times.

In the case of the first murder, a message was left at the scene: “This is so you learn not to interfere with the Queen of the South.”

Four men who were with Hernández were also arrested.

Hernández’s star rose last year after the death of Jesús Martín “Kalimba” Mirón López in October.

Mirón was wanted by security forces but was killed in an internal Jalisco New Generation Cartel quarrel. At the time of his assassination in Puebla he was recovering from surgery that had altered his face and removed his fingerprints.

The power vacuum was soon filled by Hernández who allegedly took over fuel theft in the municipality of Santa María Xonacatepec.

State authorities said she controlled retail drug sales in the southern part of the city of Puebla, which supposedly led to her adopting her nickname, a reference to the principal character in a book and television crime drama series of the same name.

Source: Sipse (sp), Infobae (sp)

Gunmen kill six traffic police officers in Guanajuato

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June 2, 2018

Gunmen killed six unarmed traffic police in Guanajuato yesterday, the state’s Attorney General’s office said.

The attack occurred just after 11:00am in the Salamanca neighborhood of La Gloria, located near a military base where Guanajuato Governor Miguel Márquez was attending a meeting to discuss ways to improve security in the state.

Five officers died at the scene of the crime, while the sixth passed away as he received medical attention.

The police were carrying out routine checks at a roadblock when, according to witnesses, five assailants arrived in a pickup truck and opened fire on the defenseless officers.

Federal Police, local security forces and the army all attended the scene. The motive for the crime is unclear.

The state’s Interior Secretary Gustavo Rodríguez Junquera said that authorities would bolster security in Salamanca following the attack and that “this crime will not go unpunished.”

The newspaper Reforma reported that 34 police officers have now been killed in Guanajuato in 2018.

The latest incident continues a trend of escalating violence in the central Mexican state, where 59 homicides were recorded in just five days last week and an average of more than 11 murders per day were reported in the first quarter of 2018.

The Guanajuato Attorney General said that 85% of last week’s homicides were related “in one way or another” to petroleum pipeline theft.

State oil company Pemex has a refinery in Salamanca, which has also recently been the focus of a federal investigation into alleged fuel theft by company employees.

Beyond Guanajuato, violence also affected several other states yesterday.

A state police officer was shot and killed in Ensenada, Baja California, another officer was killed in La Paz, Baja California Sur, and a municipal inspector was shot dead at a restaurant in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

In Guerrero, a group of armed men killed five people in the municipality of Leonardo Bravo, including a seven-year-old boy.

State security spokesman Roberto Álvarez Heredia said that the attack occurred when the victims — three men, one woman and the minor who are believed to be from the same family — were traveling on a state highway between Filo de Caballos and Puentecillas.

Homicides were also reported in Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí.

Source: Milenio (sp), Animal Político (sp)

Election candidates in Puebla, Oaxaca gunned down and killed

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Tony Richards

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June 2, 2018

Maldonado, left, and Terán: assassination victims.

Gunmen shot and killed two July 1 election candidates and three other people early this morning in separate incidents in Puebla and Oaxaca.

The Green Party candidate for the district of Huauchinango in the Puebla state Congress and a municipal councilor from Juan Galindo were attacked near Cacahuatlán, Zihuateutla.

Candidate Juana Iraís Maldonado was riding in a vehicle with Erika Cázares when armed civilians opened fire, killing both.

In Oaxaca, a candidate for municipal council in Juchitán, her driver and a photographer were attacked by gunmen after they left a bar in the city center.

Pamela Terán Pineda was running for relection as an Institutional Revolutionary Party candidate for council.

The news agency Quadratín reported that Terán was the daughter of Juan Terán, the presumed leader of the Juchitán Cartel, who was arrested last year.

More than 100 candidates have been assassinated since the election period began last September.

Source: El Financiero (sp), El Universal (sp)

Two separate trade agreements could replace NAFTA: Trump

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June 2, 2018

United States President Donald Trump has suggested that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could be replaced with two separate trade accords, one with Mexico and another with Canada.

“To be honest with you, I wouldn’t mind seeing NAFTA where you go by a different name, where you make a separate deal with Canada and a separate deal with Mexico. Because you’re talking about a very different two countries,” Trump told reporters at the White House yesterday.

The U.S. president also reiterated his opinion that the trilateral trade pact has been “a lousy deal” for the United States since its introduction in 1994.

“We lose a lot of money with Canada and we lose a fortune with Mexico and it’s not going to happen like that anymore,” he said.

“Mexico has taken our car companies, a big percentage of them, and we can’t do that. . . I want fair trade, I like free trade, but I want fair trade, at a minimum I want fair trade,” Trump added.

Asked by a reporter about what he says to close United States allies who have complained about the introduction of the new metal tariffs, the U.S. president returned to his often-repeated view that the United States has been the victim of unfair trade deals.

“They’re our allies but they take advantage of us economically . . . I love Canada, I love Mexico, I love them. But Mexico’s making over [US] $100 billion a year and they’re not helping us with our border because they have strong laws and we have horrible laws,” he said, overstating the size of the deficit by around US $30 billion.

“They could solve our border problem if they wanted but they don’t want to and when they want to, then I’ll be happy. But I think we have a good chance of doing some great trade deals that will make America great again, right?”

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau renewed their commitment to reaching a NAFTA deal this week, although they also condemned the move to impose duties of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum.

In response, both countries announced reciprocal tariffs on a range of United States imports.

The products selected by Mexico — including steel flats, pork legs and shoulders and a range of fruits and cheeses — were chosen specifically to affect exporters in states that are politically important to Trump.

The Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (Comexi) said that targeting could have domestic ramifications for Trump that may cause him to reconsider the introduction of the metal tariffs.

“We could see a political mobilization from President Trump’s electoral base to warn him that the effects could be very damaging and that they could even cost him at the [midterm] elections in November,” the organization said in a statement.

The tariff tit-for-tat has further complicated a difficult and drawn-out NAFTA renegotiation process that has failed to reach resolution despite repeated claims from leaders and trade officials that progress is being made and a deal is not far off.

Trump’s latest remarks will create even more uncertainty about the future of the 24-year-old pact.

Earlier yesterday, the U.S. president also took aim at the United States’ northern neighbor on Twitter.

“Canada has treated our Agricultural business and Farmers very poorly for a very long period of time. Highly restrictive on Trade! They must open their markets and take down their trade barriers! They report a really high surplus on trade with us. Do Timber & Lumber in U.S.?” he wrote.

Trudeau has been highly critical of the introduction of the new tariffs this week, describing them as “totally unacceptable” and challenging the grounds on which they were imposed.

“The idea that we are somehow a national security threat to the United States is quite frankly insulting and unacceptable,” he said yesterday.

Mexico said Thursday that the basis on which the tariffs were imposed is “not appropriate or justified.”

Juan Pablo Castañón, president of Mexico’s Business Coordinating Council, said yesterday that the tariff dispute has placed NAFTA negotiations “in serious difficulties” but added that it still may be possible to reach an updated deal before the U.S. midterm elections.

Comexi agreed that the tariff announcement this week didn’t help the renegotiation process, describing the atmosphere it created as “not the best” for constructive dialogue.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Theft proves to be a challenge for China bike-sharing company Mobike

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June 1, 2018

Mobike's bicycles are being targeted by thieves.

Just three months after it started a pilot program in Mexico City, the Chinese-owned bicycle-sharing company Mobike has hit a hurdle: bicycle theft.

The problem has escalated to such an extent that dozens of the scheme’s users have taken to social media in recent days to complain about the lack of available bicycles.

“It’s a situation that unfortunately afflicts our city,” Mobike’s government relations director Armando Reyes told Forbes México, referring more broadly to theft in the capital.

Reyes added that the company has filed official complaints that have led to around 10 arrests, while authorities have been helping Mobike to recover its missing bicycles. However, he declined to say how many have been stolen.

The scheme was introduced in the Miguel Hidalgo borough in mid-February with 500 bikes made available in the upmarket business and residential district of Polanco while Mobike waited for approval to expand to other parts of the city.

The company’s Mexico director, Rene Ojeda, told the news agency Reuters that subscriptions for the service have grown by 70% per week in the short period it has been operating, placing additional pressure on the number of bikes available.

But an investigation by Reuters found that more than 10% of the available bikes are permanently out-of-action — at least for legitimate users.

Using Mobike’s mobile app, the news agency said that it located 60 of the GPS-equipped bikes in the Mexico City neighborhood of Tepito, which is infamous for crime and its street markets where all manner of pirated and illegal goods are available.

Ojeda said that some Mobike users ride the bikes to work and later leave them in the Barrio Bravo (tough neighborhood), which is located outside its operating area just north of Mexico City’s historic center.

But by reviewing the app at various times over the course of this week, Reuters determined that none of the Mobikes in Tepito ever left the neighborhood.

A local resident said that thieves are “using the bikes to move drugs.” Two other residents confirmed that to be the case.

Mobike didn’t respond to the allegations but Reyes said the company is taking “strong actions” to stop its users taking the bikes outside of the Polanco area.

Users can now be fined 49 pesos (US $2.45) for leaving the authorized area designated by the app, an amount that is equivalent to the service’s monthly subscription fee. The bikes are fitted with an alarm that alerts the company when a bike has left its operating zone.

Further sanctions, such as completely banning repeat offenders, are being considered, Reyes said.

Meanwhile, some users say that they are considering switching to one of Mobike’s Mexican competitors given the difficulty of finding an available bike.

EcoBici— a Mexico City government scheme that covers a much larger part of the city — has 6,500 bikes and 260,000 users, while privately-owned VBike operates with around 2,000 units.

One disgruntled former Mobike user told Reuters he has already made the switch. “Mobike was a good option for me since I work in the area”, Fernando Galicia said.

“But I’ve gone to EcoBici, and not because it’s cheaper, but because they always have bikes.”

Source: Forbes México (sp), Reuters (en)

Mexico’s safest state? Chiapas, security watchdog says

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June 1, 2018

High-impact crime, first quarter of this year. Green is best, dark red is worst and yellow is in between.

Chiapas has edged out Yucatán to become Mexico’s safest state, according to Semáforo Delictivo, a citizens’ security watchdog.

The organization’s ranking system is based on an analysis of each state’s crime rates compared to national and historic averages and assigns them a color — green, yellow or red. Green signifies that rates are within the objectives or that security strategies are functioning while red means rates are worse than the average and strategies are not functioning. Yellow is somewhere in between the two.

Chiapas was one of three states — the others were Yucatán and Durango — that did not have any red indicators in the latest quarterly ranking.

The report gave the state green indicators in homicide, kidnapping, extortion, low-scale drug trafficking, vehicle theft, home and business robbery, assault and femicide.

It was the first time Chiapas has been ranked as Mexico’s safest state, beating out Yucatán.

For three high-impact crimes — vehicle theft and home and business robbery — Chiapas ranked substantially below the national average.

Chiapas’ homicide rate was 2.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, well below the national average of 5.3. Colima, on the other hand, was the worst at 21.3 per 100,000.

Semáforo Delictivo indicators showed that Guerrero, Colima, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Zacatecas and Veracruz were the states with the highest incidence of high-impact crimes.

The data coincides with other recent reports by non-governmental and official agencies including Observatorio Nacional Ciudadano, INEGI, the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System and the Institute for Economy and Peace.

Source: El Heraldo de Chiapas (sp), La Razón (sp)

NAFTA on the ropes? Not exactly but the outlook is not good

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June 1, 2018

Castañón: difficulties for NAFTA. — Castañón: 'serious difficulties' for NAFTA.

The United States’ announcement yesterday of new metal tariffs on key trade partners Mexico and Canada didn’t deliver a knockout blow to an updated trade agreement but it certainly made negotiations more complicated than they were.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the move to impose duties of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, but both also renewed their commitment to what the Canadian Press described as “the bare-knuckled NAFTA renegotiation” process.

The importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement to both countries meant that they couldn’t afford to be deterred despite heavy-handed tactics by the U.S., the news agency said.

Peña Nieto’s office issued a statement to say that the president held a telephone conversation with his Canadian counterpart yesterday, during which the two leaders expressed their disappointment with the tariff decision and discussed retaliatory measures. But they also reiterated their commitment to achieving a successful modernization of NAFTA.

Trudeau’s office released a similar statement affirming that the leaders “agreed to continue working toward a mutually beneficial [NAFTA] outcome.”

But United States President Donald Trump doesn’t appear to be on the same page.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the decision to impose the tariffs was based on a lack of progress in NAFTA talks, although he added that neither the U.S. measures nor Mexico and Canada’s retaliatory measures would affect the ability to continue negotiating a new trilateral treaty.

The president of Mexico’s influential Business Coordinating Council (CCE) has a different view.

In a television interview, Juan Pablo Castañón said Trump’s decision to impose new protectionist measures on its North American trade partners and the consequent imposition of tit-for-tat tariffs have placed NAFTA negotiations “in serious difficulties.”

In Canada, Jean Simard, president of the Canadian Aluminum Association, advocated terminating negotiations altogether, saying “it’s hard to imagine how you negotiate with a knife to your throat.”

Castañón added that he supported the government’s decision to impose reciprocal measures because Mexico “cannot remain silent in the face of this kind of attack” considering that the two countries are trade partners and in the middle of a negotiation process.

He didn’t rule out Mexico modifying the list of United States products that will be subject to tariffs but clarified that any such move would only come in response to U.S. aggression because Mexico’s strategy is to respond rather than strike first.

The business leader charged it would be “very difficult” to reach a new agreement before the July 1 elections but said it may be possible to do so between then and the United States midterm elections in November.

However, leading American trade lawyer Dan Ujczo said the window for serious NAFTA negotiations has closed for 2018 due to the electoral processes in both countries.

Mexico’s central bank is also pessimistic about reaching a new NAFTA deal this year, warning that talks could drag on until 2019 and consequently impact “even more” on investment and public and private spending.

That assessment, gleaned from the minutes of a Bank of México meeting held before the new tariffs were announced, acknowledged that talks have continued to stall despite repeated indications from leaders and officials in all three NAFTA countries that a deal was close.

A proposed meeting between Trump, Trudeau and Peña Nieto this week that could have potentially led to the signing of an agreement in principle was cancelled because the United States insisted that the Canadian prime minister first agree to a so-called sunset clause.

Trudeau told reporters yesterday that he thought the three countries were “quite close to reaching an agreement and perhaps the time had come” for the three leaders to sit down in Washington to finalize the NAFTA deal.

“We already had the bones of a very good agreement for all parties, and I thought it might be opportune for all of us to sit down for a few hours and discuss it,” the prime minister said, adding that Trump appeared to like the idea.

But Trudeau said he received a call from U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence Tuesday saying that the White House was happy to host the proposed summit but only on the condition that Trudeau — and presumably Peña Nieto — agreed to the provision that would see NAFTA automatically terminated after a five-year period if the three countries didn’t negotiate to renew it.

Trudeau said he had answered that “unfortunately, if that was a precondition to our visit, I was unable to accept.”

The sunset clause is one of a range of issues on which the three countries have been unable to reach a consensus.

Others include rules of origin and wages in the automotive sector, access to government procurement markets and a United States proposal to eliminate settlement dispute panels.

The Bank of México said the value of the peso against the US dollar is one of the variables that will suffer the most amid the continuing uncertainty surrounding the deal and that inflationary pressure could follow.

Some analysts said last month that the Mexican peso could trade at up to 22 to the US dollar before the presidential election.

Source: Milenio (sp), The Canadian Press (en), El Financiero (sp), El Sol del Centro (sp)

Federal Attorney General to investigate Nuevo Laredo disappearances

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June 1, 2018

Human rights committee poster asks the navy, 'Where did you leave our family members?'

The federal Attorney General’s office (PGR) has announced it will investigate the 23 forced disappearances in Tamaulipas that were revealed by a United Nations report.

But 16 may already have been located — in hidden graves.

The PGR’s announcement came the day after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it had documented the disappearance of 21 men and two women in Nuevo Laredo from February until May 16, and that there were “strong indications” that federal forces were responsible.

Yesterday, a local human rights group that claims there are more than just 23 people missing said the bodies of 16 people had been found in secret graves. The bodies showed signs of violence and each had a bullet wound in the head, said Raymundo Ramos, president of the Nuevo Laredo Human Rights Committee.

Ramos said his organization has documented 57 cases of people who have disappeared.

He said the search for more bodies will continue but with caution. Relatives of the disappeared have received threats after reporting the cases to authorities, Ramos said.

As part of the investigation, federal human rights specialists will travel to Nuevo Laredo to interview the relatives of the missing.

Family members have been protesting the disappearances in Nuevo Laredo in recent weeks, charging that authorities have done little to help find their loved ones. One protest closed a truck crossing on the border on May 21.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Gunmen assassinate Guerrero municipal candidate

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June 1, 2018