Suspected thief branded with a hot iron in Ecatepec

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January 10, 2019

A suspected thief is branded on his back. — The suspect is held down as the brand is applied on his back.

Impunity and a weak justice system have led to a surge in the number of suspected criminals lynched by angry citizens, and nowhere more than in the municipality of Ecatepec in the state of México.

By one estimate, it accounts for 40% of the total number of lynchings, a figure that — by another estimate — has reached some 800 in the last four years.

But the latest attack on a suspected thief took a twist this week: he was branded like cattle instead, according to a video that surfaced on social media.

Residents of Ecatepec bound, blindfolded and held the man down while they burned the message “Thief” on his back.

The man was allegedly caught in the act ofstealing fuel from a local family, a commodity that is in short supply in some regions of the country following the closure of Pemex pipelines in an operation against petroleum theft.

In the video, one of the attackers can be heard telling the suspected thief, who is crying in pain, to “shut up” as the iron burns the words into his skin. Another tells him, “[We’re doing this] because you’re a thief, pretty boy. And I’m not going to charge you for the tattoo.”

Article 17 of the Mexican constitution prohibits acts of vigilante justice, which are more and more common with high levels of insecurity and continued impunity.

But like every other crime, it is rarely prosecuted.

Source: El Sol de México (sp), Excelsior (sp)

Department of culture will cut millions of pesos in ‘superfluous’ spending

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MND Staff

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January 9, 2019

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tula archaeological site — Culture budget spending on hiring cars for officials was enough to maintain the Tula archaeological site for one year.

The new secretary of culture has vowed to cut “superfluous” spending by federal cultural agencies.

During the six-year term of the previous federal government, organizations funded by the Secretariat of Culture, including the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA) and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), spent an average of 214.4 million pesos (US $11.1 million) a year on parties and events, Mother’s Day gifts, snacks and meals, flowers, bottled water, hired cars, parking, prizes and other non-essential activities and items.

During a meeting with the culture committee of the lower house of Congress in December, Alejandra Frausto guaranteed that under the government led by President López Obrador there would be savings on such “superfluous” expenses.

Days later, the Secretariat of Culture’s social communication director criticized the excessive spending in a post on his personal Facebook page, according to a report published today by the newspaper El Universal.

Antonio Martínez wrote that bottled water was costing the secretariat 600,000 pesos (US $31,200) a year, an amount which he said was enough to “provide a municipal library with a collection” of books.

“A little over 30 million pesos [US $1.6 million]” is allocated to hiring cars for “high-ranking officials,” he wrote, charging that was enough for the annual “conservation and management of the Tula [Hidalgo] archaeological zone.”

However, putting an end to excessive spending that is not directly related to cultural agencies’ core business could be difficult as many of the perks provided to employees are mandated by union agreements.

The Secretariat of Culture has not yet specified which expenses will be terminated.

The federal department was allocated just under 12.9 billion pesos (US $671.2 million) in the government’s 2019 budget, a cut of just over 5% compared to its 2018 funding.

However, in a December 17 statement, the secretariat said that the amount was enough, explaining that it would eliminate “burdensome expenses . . . redirect spending to priority areas and implement a strong policy of creation, development and cultural promotion.”

Source: El Universal (sp)

Following change of government, accusations of corruption in Yucatán

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MND Staff

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January 9, 2019

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The Yucatán government will file 26 complaints against the administration that preceded it, alleging that both resources and movable property are missing from several state secretariats.

State comptroller Lízbeth Basto told a press conference yesterday that six complaints correspond to 533 million pesos (US $27.7 million) that disappeared from the coffers of the Secretariats of Health, Education and Administration and Finance during the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) governorship of Rolando Zapata Bello, who left office on September 30.

The other 20 complaints relate to missing property, such as computers and medical equipment, and administrative discrepancies detected during a review conducted by the new National Action Party (PAN) government led by Mauricio Vila.

They involve the three aforementioned secretariats as well as those of Urban Development and the Environment, Tourism Promotion and General Government, Basto said.

The government will file the complaints with the relevant auditor’s offices on January 14.

The new government also detected irregularities in a range of other government agencies including the state’s Social Security Institute (Isstey) and the Institute of Sport (Idey).

The complaints to be filed on Monday represent only one portion of government funds that were allegedly embezzled during Zapata’s governorship.

During its final three years in office, the previous administration allegedly diverted around 900 million pesos (US $46.8 million) to ghost and shell companies that were supposedly contracted to provide services to government agencies.

Many of the companies that benefited from the suspected embezzlement scheme were created in the first years of Zapata’s six-year term, which began in October 2012. Some share the same fiscal domicile.

Former Yucatán governor Patricio Patrón Laviada, who governed for the PAN between 2001 and 2007, filed a complaint about the alleged scheme in June last year, describing it as “the Yucatecan version of the master fraud,” in which 11 federal agencies were found to have diverted over 3.4 billion pesos (US $176.8 million at today’s exchange rate) during the government of past-president Enrique Peña Nieto.

The scheme in Yucatán was allegedly controlled by two men who, according to sources who worked in the last government, were very close to ex-governor Zapata.

Late last year, the ex-governor was seen shopping with his family at a Gucci store on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

Source: Diario de Yucatán (sp)

Super Bowl avocado shipments threatened by fuel shortages

By

MND Staff

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January 9, 2019

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The prolonged fuel shortage currently afflicting several states could have an unwelcome consequence in the United States: a lack of avocados with which to make guacamole on Super Bowl Sunday.

Mexican producers ship thousands of tonnes of the fruit to the U.S. in late January and early February to meet increased demand for game day, which this year is February 3.

But the gasoline shortage, caused by the federal government’s decision to change distribution methods as part of its anti-fuel theft strategy, could affect producers’ capacity to get their avocados to people’s homes north of the border.

Mexico’s biggest avocado-growing state, Michoacán, is also the worst affected by the fuel shortage crisis, which has now entered its second week.

Producers in the state expect to send 120,000 tonnes of avocados across the northern border in the lead-up to this year’s Super Bowl, 20,000 more than last year.

“Our three most important weeks of the year are this one and the next two. This is when we ship for Super Bowl week,” Ramón Paz, a spokesman for the APEAM avocado growers’ association, told the news agency Reuters.

“We have from now to January 24, 25 to ship all that volume. If we don’t ship it [by then], we can’t do so later,” Paz said.

To date, 27,000 tonnes of avocados have been shipped for the big sports event.

Paz said the fuel shortage hasn’t yet affected exports to the U.S. but explained that it has begun to make it difficult for workers to get to avocado plantations and to transport the fruit within Mexico.

He added that producers also have regular commitments they need to be able to meet with supermarkets and restaurants in the United States, which depend heavily on Mexican imports.

The avocado growing season in California and Peru won’t restart until March or April and there is only a small quantity of the fruit currently being shipped from Chile, Paz explained.

President López Obrador said yesterday that the government’s anti-fuel theft strategy, which has included the closure of some pipelines, has generated savings of 2.5 billion pesos (US $129.1 million).

Source: Reuters (sp)

Light vehicle sales down 7% in 2018; Nissan continues to lead in market share

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Madison Koen

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January 9, 2019

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The Mexican automotive industry registered its worst December in four years with a 10.68% decline in sales of light vehicles, closing a year in which sales were down 7% compared to 2017.

Last month’s sales totaled 141,963 units, the worst December on record since 2014 when 133,273 vehicles were sold, and down from last year’s 158,898, according to the Mexican Automobile Industry Association (AMIA).

Vehicle sales for the year totaled 1,421,458, down from the 2017 figure of 1,530,498. The decline in sales began in June of 2017, which was followed by 18 months of consistently lower numbers.

Despite the bad streak, December’s sales numbers were actually a breath of fresh air for the domestic market: it was the best month of 2018, with sales up 6.11% over November according to the AMIA.

Nissan continued to be the market leader with 22% of the market, although its sales declined by 14.4% to 312,034 units. General Motors’ sales were down 8.7% but the auto maker is still No. 2 in the market with 16.6% market share.

(In terms of production the two companies swapped places after figures revealed that General Motors led production between January and November, bumping Nissan from top spot.)

Volkswagen was third place in sales in 2018 with 196,402 units, down 16% from 2017.

Fourth-place Toyota recorded a 3.1% increase in sales while KIA’s sales grew 8.7%, making it No. 5.

Source: El Economista (sp), El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)

Auto exports to Italy tripled between January and November

By

César Hernández

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January 9, 2019

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The Jeep Compass, made in Mexico, is one of the more popular models in Europe.

Mexico tripled its auto exports to Italy between 2017 and 2018, making the European Union one of the top 10 growth markets for the industry.

Data compiled by the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA) showed that 42,575 vehicles were exported to Italy between January and November last year.

Still, Germany remains the strongest market for vehicles assembled in Mexico: 140,600 were shipped during the same period, a year-on-year increase of 61.3%.

The figures explain why Europe is the sixth most relevant region in the world for assembly firms that operate in Mexico.

Figures compiled by INEGI, the national statistics institute, show that the two most popular made-in-Mexico brands in Europe are Mazda and Fiat Chrysler, as both represent nearly all vehicle exports. The most popular models are the Mazda 2 and 3 and the Jeep Compass.

Closing off the list of the top 10 importers of automobiles manufactured in Mexico is China, to which 17,128 were exported between January and November, up 40.6% over 2017.

AMIA president Eduardo Solís Sánchez told the newspaper El Financiero that “the auto sector has positioned itself as one of the top sources of foreign currency in Mexico due to its exports.”

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Gas shortage hits Coahuila capital; panic buying blamed

By

Madison Koen

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January 9, 2019

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Panicked gas station customers last night in Saltillo.

At least 20 gas stations in Saltillo, Coahuila, were left without fuel earlier today due to panic buying triggered by rumors of fuel shortages.

Miguel Dainitín Ferreira, president of the National Organization of Petroleum Distributors (Onexpo), blamed the rush to buy fuel on information posted to social networks and asked consumers not to change their refueling habits to avoid prolonging the situation.

He indicated that a regional distribution center supplies 145 gas stations, most of which did not experience interruptions in supply. Those that did were mostly in northern Saltillo and were only affected for a matter of hours.

Dainitín said Coahuila and specifically Saltillo are located close to the region’s oil refinery, which is why the state has not faced a fuel shortage crisis as in Tamaulipas. He said there have been no reports of supply interruptions in the north and central parts of the state.

Shortages are a result of President López Obrador’s closure of Pemex pipelines, meaning that for markets like Saltillo fuel must be transported by truck.

“It slows everything down, especially given that right now the demand is higher than normal because of the reopening of schools, and the little that is being delivered is not enough to maintain reserves.”

Dainitín also explained that the cost of transporting fuel over land is 14 times more expensive than pipelines, a cost that the federal government has absorbed until now.

Onexpo has asked that more tanker trucks be put into service while pipelines remain closed.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Court hears FBI recordings of El Chapo Guzmán’s incriminating phone calls

By

MND Staff

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January 9, 2019

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Jurors at the New York trial of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán heard excerpts of phone calls yesterday that were made by the former drug lord and intercepted by the FBI.

The calls, in which Guzmán speaks openly about the illicit activities of the Sinaloa Cartel he allegedly headed, represent the most damaging evidence presented thus far at the trial, which began in mid-November.

The 61-year-old ex-kingpin faces a probable sentence of life imprisonment if convicted of drug trafficking, conspiracy, money laundering and weapons charges.

Stephen Marston, a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent, told the court that the FBI infiltrated Guzmán’s encrypted communications system with the help of a Colombian info-tech expert who developed it.

Marston testified that in February 2010, FBI agents posed as Russian mobsters at a meeting with I.T. specialist Cristian Rodríguez at a Manhattan hotel.

He said that an undercover agent told Rodríguez that he was interested in acquiring an encrypted communications system so that he could speak to criminal associates without law enforcement listening in.

Around a year later, Marston said, the FBI agents convinced Rodríguez to give them his system’s special encryption keys after he had moved the servers for Guzmán’s network from Canada to the Netherlands to avoid arousing the suspicion of the Sinaloa Cartel.

With the permission of Dutch authorities, the FBI intercepted 1,500 telephone calls between April 2011 and January 2012, including around 200 made by Guzmán from his hideouts in the mountains of Sinaloa.

Among El Chapo’s interlocutors were business partners, criminal associates, hired guns and corrupt Mexican officials, Marston said.

The witness explained that Guzmán was easily identifiable in the calls the FBI intercepted by his high-pitched voice, which had “kind of a sing-songy nature to it” and a “nasally undertone.”

The calls were compared with other recordings of the former drug lord, including a video interview he gave to Rolling Stone magazine in 2015, Marston said.

In one excerpt presented to the jury yesterday, El Chapo orders a criminal associate identified as El Gato (The Cat) to continue making monthly payments to members of the now-dissolved Federal Investigation Agency as well as the “azules” (blues) and “yanquis.”

According to the court testimony of Vicente Zambada Niebla, a former Sinaloa Cartel operative and eldest son of the cartel’s current leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, azules referred to members of the Federal Police while yanquis was a nickname for commanders of the federal Attorney General’s office (PGR) who were stationed in Sinaloa.

In another excerpt played in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn, Guzmán warned one of his enforcers, Orso Iván Gastélum Cruz, not to provoke police.

“Don’t be chasing cops,” Guzmán said. “They’re the ones who help.”

“Well,” Cruz responded, “you taught us to be like a wolf, to act like a wolf, remember?”

Prosecutors played dozens of other snippets of calls in which Guzmán incriminated himself. In one call, he advised an associate to pay off “a big fish” for protection.

In another, a woman told Guzmán that soldiers had discovered one of his warehouses but not a tunnel that led to it. “You have to cover the hole,” replied the notorious drug lord, who infamously escaped from prison in 2015 via a tunnel.

A report by The New York Times said that the FBI recordings represent “one of the most extensive wiretaps of a criminal defendant since the Mafia boss John Gotti was secretly recorded in the Ravenite Social Club.”

Guzmán listened nervously to his self-incriminating calls as they played, the newspaper Milenio reported.

Several cartel witnesses have testified against Guzmán since the trial began on November 13.

Jurors have heard testimony about bribes the kingpin paid to corrupt officials, the life of luxury he led, his first prison break inside a laundry cart, multi-tonne drug shipments and bitter cartel wars, among other tales.

Guzmán’s defense team has attempted to portray him as a mere underling to El Mayo Zambada.

Witnesses testifying against Guzmán are “liars,” “degenerates” and “scum” who are speaking in the hope that their own prison sentences will be reduced, one lawyer said in late November.

The trial is expected to continue for at least a few more weeks.

Source: Milenio (sp), Reuters (en), The New York Times (en)

Mexico’s first aerospace laboratory will offer courses to students of all ages

By

MND Staff

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January 9, 2019

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Mexico’s first aerospace laboratory has opened in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

The lab is the brainchild of Eduardo Guizar Sainz, an industrial engineer and former NASA collaborator, and will offer aerospace courses to students from kindergarten age right up to the university level.

Guizar said that one of the skills students will learn is how to make rockets that can be launched to reach an altitude of more than three kilometers.

He said aerospace experts will be invited to the laboratory to share their expertise with students.

“We have a relationship with the Autonomous University of Baja California . . . We’ll also bring people from NASA, the National Polytechnic Institute, UNAM [the National Autonomous University] and universities in the United States,” Guizar said.

The engineer said the support of the Sinaloa government had enabled the lab to open in a scientific facility that was previously abandoned.

Guizar explained that he hoped to equip the lab with laser cutters, CNC routers, 3D printers and soldering irons among other equipment.

He added that the lab will be named after United States astronaut José Moreno Hernández, whose parents hail from Mexico.

Guizar also said the federal government and the private sector have to increase investment in Mexico in order to provide greater opportunities for the country’s young scientific talent.

“We can’t allow ourselves the luxury of exporting our brains, they have to stay here in Mexico . . . .”

Source: Milenio (sp)

Seven nominations for Roma at British film awards

By

César Hernández

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January 9, 2019

0

A scene from Roma, up for seven BAFTA nominations.

The nominations for the 72nd British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) are out, and Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma is in the running for seven.

The black-and-white drama written and directed by Cuarón, who also produced, co-edited and filmed it, earned nominations for best film, film not in the English language, director, original screenplay, cinematography and editing.

The filmmaker earned six of those nominations; the film was also nominated for production design.

The BAFTA awards will be announced on February 10 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, marking the start of the home stretch before the most important date in the awards season.

The Oscar nominations will be announced on January 22.

Roma has picked up a slew of awards since its release last year. The most recent were two Golden Globe awards for best director and best foreign film.

Mexico News Daily

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