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MND Local: New flights, fashion charity and Michin Aquarium in Guadalajara

By
Dawn Stoner
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Guadalajara city center
New flight routes have been announced for Guadalajara this summer, making it easier to visit the city. (Roman Lopez/Unsplash)

This week in Guadalajara, we look at the four new international routes being added at Miguel Hidalgo International Airport, the charitable activities of BRED and a great opportunity to visit the Michin Aquarium at a reduced cost.

While foreign airlines pull back, Volaris keeps expanding service in Guadalajara

We recently reported on Canadian carrier WestJet’s elimination of the new Guadalajara-Calgary nonstop route for the coming winter. Fortunately for Tapatíos, new routes will be arriving in its place starting in December.

Volaris plane on the tarmac
Mexican carrier Volaris has added two new nonstop routes from the U.S.: Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.  (Tomás Del Coro/Wikimedia Commons)

The ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC in industry jargon) will expand its service at Miguel Hidalgo International Airport this winter to the U.S. East Coast, along with two new international routes in Latin America.

Volaris’ new U.S. nonstop routes are from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). The carrier’s new southbound routes are to José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) in Medellín, Colombia, and La Aurora International Airport (GUA) in Guatemala City.

Three of those four flights are new nonstop routes for Guadalajara, the exception being the Atlanta route, already served by Delta Air Lines. The move cements Guadalajara as a strategic domestic hub for the airline. Volaris now services 60 destinations with more than 110 daily departures from Jalisco’s capital.

A growing network of connections

The new services reflect the Mexican carrier’s broader push to grow its U.S. network and increase its market share. Over the past year, Volaris has increased its U.S. network capacity by 12%, even as the overall market has contracted. From Guadalajara, Volaris offered 17.4% more seats in summer 2026 compared with summer 2025. Its rapid growth over this period drove its share of total capacity at GDL from 53% to nearly 60%.

Volaris’ new routes to Medellín and Guatemala City will provide meaningful improvement for southbound travel from Guadalajara, as the new routes eliminate the obligatory stop in Mexico City and should cut travel time in half. They are a welcome complement to Volaris’ existing nonstop service to Bogotá, Colombia, and San José, Costa Rica, from La Perla Tapatía.

BRED gives new life to the fashion industry’s mounds of unsold clothing

At the recently concluded Intermoda trade show for the fashion industry here in Guadalajara, local businessman Sergio López de la Cerda had more than the latest trends on his mind.

López de la Cerda was intent on making contacts and finding companies with excess goods to donate to the charitable organization he runs, The Clothing and Household Goods Bank of Guadalajara. Better known to locals as simply BRED, the organization’s mission is to distribute apparel, furniture and housewares to economically disadvantaged local families.

“What we are looking for is to link companies that manufacture clothing, that manufacture furniture or the marketers of these products, so that they can donate products to us, and we will take them directly to the families (who need it),” he told El Economista in a recent interview.

Leveraging a network of local textile, clothing, footwear and furniture producers, BRED is helping to reduce product waste while addressing a pressing social need.

A woman holds up a bag from BRED, a Guadalajara-based organization that distributes apparel, furniture and housewares to economically disadvantaged local families.
BRED works to distribute apparel, furniture and housewares to economically disadvantaged local families. (BRED via Instagram)

Not the latest fashions, but fashions nonetheless

At Intermoda, López de la Cerda pointed out that many of the donated garments have no commercial value but are still perfectly usable. “Companies donate … clothing from a season that has already passed,” he explained.

If not for the involvement of social welfare groups, these unwanted goods would most likely end up in landfills. The silver lining for manufacturers and retailers is an opportunity to burnish their public image while reducing waste in their supply chains.

Clothing and household items collected by BRED are distributed through the logistics network of the Guadalajara Food Bank, which already had the infrastructure in place.

According to López de la Cerda, the organization now provides support to 338 communities in 81 municipalities in Jalisco, with regular donations of food, clothing, footwear, furniture and other basic items. It makes a meaningful contribution to helping improve the daily lives of an estimated 1.2 million Jalisco residents experiencing food insecurity.

BRED donation centers encourage public participation

To complement the goods donated by the business sector, BRED’s leadership seeks to boost citizen participation in its efforts. To this end, it operates more than 25 donation centers across the Guadalajara metropolitan area, where people can drop off clothing in good condition to help local families in need.

“We want families to bring in clothes they no longer use, as long as they are in good condition, so we can process them and send them directly to those who need them most,” López de la Cerda said.

Sharks swim in a tank at Guadalajara's Michin Aquarium.
Sharks swim in a tank at Guadalajara’s Michin Aquarium. (Acuario Michin via Facebook)

Take the family on an underwater adventure without leaving the city

The Michin Aquarium is offering a deal to wrap up the summer season. From Aug. 14-30, 2026, entrance fees start at just 99 pesos per person, making a sea adventure accessible to those looking for affordable family fun right here in town.

Since 2017, the Michin Aquarium has been operating in Guadalajara’s historic center next to Alcalde Park. It houses approximately 10,000 marine organisms and serves as an important rescue, education and conservation center in western Mexico. The facility drew acclaim from conservationists back in 2018 as the first in Mexico to successfully breed neotropical river otters.

Popular exhibits include a vast oceanarium featuring bull sharks, nurse sharks and stingrays, which visitors experience up close by strolling through a glass tunnel. Additional exhibits showcase the variety of Mexican water habitats that are home to exotic jellyfish, technicolor reef fish, pink flamingos, crocodiles and more.

If that isn’t enough, a recently added petting zoo with capybaras and miniature pigs is sure to please the little ones.

Dates: The summer promotion runs Aug. 14-30, 2026.

Location: Calle Mariano Bárcena 990, Zona Centro, 44260 Guadalajara.

Cost: Tickets are available on the aquarium’s website, starting at 99 pesos.

MND Writer Dawn Stoner is reporting from Guadalajara.

Known from scratch: Moving to Mexico and finding a new way to belong

By
Mark Arcuri
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Daytime shot of Peña de Bernal in Querétaro, Mexico.
For Mark Arcuri, a new life in Mexico led to a glorious reinvention. (Gabriel Tovar/Unsplash)

I turned 65 in mid-July, at a dinner that ran well past the hour I would normally have called it a night. I have never made much of my birthday. I am an introvert by long habit, the kind of person who has always preferred a few close friends to a room full of acquaintances, and for most of my life a birthday was something to let pass without much fanfare. 

Yet there I was, in the spotlight at a long table, and instead of enduring the attention I found myself relaxed inside it, glad, receiving the people around me. Somewhere between the toasts I noticed the surprise of it, that this was not a birthday the younger version of me would have chosen, and that I was thoroughly happy to be in it.

A man stares at a birthday cake
(Mark Arcuri)

The friends around that table were Mexican, gathered in their own country, on ground that was theirs long before it was mine. That evening they spoke English, making room for me while my Spanish finds its feet, and the gesture was its own form of welcome. 

That is the part I did not see coming. I had imagined that if belonging arrived here at all, it would arrive through other immigrants, people carrying the same suitcase of questions I was. Instead, it came through people of the culture I moved into as a guest, who met me as I am now, with no earlier version of me to consult, and who simply took me in.

To understand why that undid something in me, you have to know what I carried before. I grew up insecure about who I actually was, in the way many of us learn early to be. The response I built, without quite choosing it, was to keep the fuller version of myself out of view. 

I showed the parts that felt safe and held back the rest, and the cost of that arrangement was a particular loneliness. I was not unseen because no one was looking. I was unseen because I never let the one who wanted to be seen come to the door.

There were seasons in my old life when I tried to change that, to let people meet the truer me, and the attempt carried a real price. Presenting your fuller self to people who have known a more guarded version means asking them to revise years of settled perception. Some relationships managed the revision. Others changed shape, cooled or drifted to the edges of my life. Showing yourself is honest work, and it carries a real cost.

What I did not anticipate about crossing a border was the strange gift of the blank slate. In Querétaro, no one held an earlier draft of me to be undone. There was no established perception to argue with, no history to revise. I could arrive as the person I had spent decades working toward, and the people I met would know only that man. 

Querétaro city, Mexico
For Mark, Querétaro turned out to be the perfect place to find a new version of himself.  (Shutterstock)

The thing I had feared as loneliness, being unknown in a new place, turned out to be the very condition under which I could finally be known.

Carlos is at the center of this story. I have known him for the better part of two decades, though it is here, since the move, that we have become something closer, what we used to call a “brother from another mother.” 

He accepted me without question and without audit, and he proved it in the way that counts, by standing with me through the fears that come with remaking a life in a new country and a new language. He did this without judgment, even when the fear was not flattering, even when I was at my least composed.

The harder confession is that his steadiness met a resistance in me. I wanted to build this life on my own, to lean on him no more than I had to, to prove some independence to myself in the middle of a transition that was already asking a great deal. Being known fully includes being seen in that too, in the reluctance to need anyone, and being helped anyway. 

Carlos let me keep my pride where I needed it and set it down where I did not, and he never once made me feel small for the difference.

I am still an introvert. Nothing about Querétaro rewired that, and I would be suspicious of any story that claimed it had. What changed is subtler and, to me, more valuable. I hide less. I am more willing to push out into an evening than I once was, and I am equally willing to retreat when my social battery runs down, without the apology or the low-grade shame that used to come with needing to withdraw. I step forward more, and I step back more cleanly. Both of those are new, and both belong to the same freedom.

I did not predict any of this. I assumed the price of a new country would be starting over alone, and that my closest friendships were behind me. What I found instead were people of this place who came to know the person I actually am. I am still catching up to it.

So, I sat at that table, past my bedtime, an introvert in the spotlight, and I let myself receive it. That capacity, receiving, is the one thing the hidden version of me could never manage. He was too busy guarding the door. The man at the table that night simply opened it and found the room already full of people glad he was there.

Mark Arcuri, PhD, is an integrative wellness coach, Associate Dean, and writer based in El Refugio, Querétaro. His first book, “A Life Aligned: The Journey to Allowing the Magic in Your Life (A Life Aligned Press, 2026),” is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook, and opens a trilogy on the inner work of transition. The second, “Paradise (re)Discovered,” arrives in Fall 2026. Learn more at drmarkarcuri.com.

Sheinbaum, Carney discuss trade ahead of Trump’s tariff deadline for Canada

By
MND Staff
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1
portraits of Claudia Sheinbaum and Mark Carney
President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney discussed trade and the state of the USMCA deal on a Thursday phone call. (Wikimedia Commons)

President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney discussed North American trade during a call on Thursday. Their conversation came exactly 50 days after the U.S. government announced it hadn’t agreed to renew the USMCA free trade pact “in its current form.”

A statement released by Carney’s office said that the “Prime Minister and the President discussed ongoing developments affecting North American trade” during Thursday’s call.

“They underscored the importance of renewing the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) as soon as possible to provide greater certainty for North American businesses and workers,” the statement said.

The USMCA, which superseded NAFTA in 2020 and reached a trilateral review deadline this year, is known as CUSMA in Canada and T-MEC (Tratado entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá) in Mexico.

The statement issued by the Canadian prime minister’s office said that Carney and Sheinbaum also discussed “the progress between Canada and Mexico on cross-border trade.”

“They emphasized that strong bilateral cooperation is essential to shared continental security and prosperity,” it said. “Prime Minister Carney and President Sheinbaum agreed to remain in close contact.”

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, neither Sheinbaum nor her office had commented on the call with Carney.

Sheinbaum has stressed that Mexico, the United States and Canada could reach an agreement to extend the USMCA for an additional 16 years “at any time,” although the Trump administration has various concerns about the pact and its trade relationships with its neighbors, including ones related to trade deficits, energy policy and China.

The USMCA — which took effect when Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau were in office — governs trade worth around US $2 trillion annually. Even with the free-trade pact in place, Trump last year imposed tariffs on various Mexican and Canadian goods, including vehicles, steel and aluminum. In trade talks with U.S. officials, Mexico is seeking the reduction, or ideally the elimination, of the tariffs.

On Tuesday, Trump agreed to delay planned 50% tariffs on Canadian goods worth about $20 billion annually. However, the duties could take effect on Saturday if Canada doesn’t reach a deal with the U.S. before then.

Carney thanks Sheinbaum for Mexico’s support in combating wildfires in Canada

According to the Canadian government’s readout of Thursday’s call, Carney thanked Sheinbaum for “Mexico’s support in combating wildfires in Canada this summer, including through the deployment of more than 400 firefighters and support personnel.”

Mexican firefighters and technical personnel specializing in forest fires traveled to British Columbia earlier this month to support emergency efforts during intense wildfires in the western Canadian province.

Mexico News Daily 

Vietnam’s exports to Mexico double amid fears of Chinese tariff-dodging

By
MND Staff
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Aerial view of cargo ships docked at Cat Lai terminal in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's busiest port.
Cargo ships docked at Cat Lai terminal in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's busiest port. (Huy Thoai / Shutterstock)

The value of Mexico’s imports from Vietnam more than doubled in the first six months of 2026, raising suspicions that Chinese goods are being passed off as Vietnamese goods to avoid steep tariffs when entering the country.

According to Bank of Mexico data, Mexico imported products worth US $18.4 billion from Vietnam between January and June, an increase of 103% compared to the same period of 2025.

The value of imports from Vietnam in the first six months of the year was equivalent to 82% of Mexico’s total outlay on Vietnam-sourced products in 2025. Imports from the Southeast Asian country totaled a record high of $22.37 billion last year.

Bank of Mexico data shows that Mexico’s imports from Vietnam have increased significantly since 2010. Mexico’s outlay on products from Vietnam last year was almost 26 times higher than in 2010, when goods worth $836 million came into the country from the Southeast Asian nation.

Mexico’s main imports from Vietnam are currently tech products such as electronic circuits, telephones, computers and machinery parts, according to the news outlet Expansión.

The sharp increase in imports from Vietnam in the first six months of 2026 came after Mexico, on Jan. 1, imposed new and higher tariffs on goods from China and other countries with which it doesn’t have free trade agreements.

Vietnamese goods can enter Mexico tariff-free as both Vietnam and Mexico — along with 10 other countries including the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and Australia — are signatories to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP for short.

Vietnamese or Chinese?

Expansión noted that if a Chinese product only goes to Vietnam to be relabeled as Vietnamese or to undergo “a minor process before arriving in Mexico,” it shouldn’t qualify for tariff-free status under CPTPP.

“The risk arises when customs controls don’t differentiate between legitimate [Vietnamese] manufacturing and insufficient transformation” of a Chinese product in Vietnam, Expansión reported.

The United States — which has imposed very high tariffs on imports from China during a long-running trade war with the East Asian nation — has identified Vietnam as a transshipment hub for Chinese goods. In “The Great Transshipment Scam,” a report published by the White House this month, Vietnam is listed among countries on “Tier 2” of a “shadow transshipment network.”

Countries are listed on “Tier 2” if they show “significant transshipment volumes combined with deeper integration into China-linked supply chains, input sourcing, manufacturing platforms, logistics systems, or regional rerouting channels.”

The same report identifies Mexico as a “Tier 1” country in the so-called “shadow transshipment network,” with “large absolute volumes of China-linked goods; diversified industrial bases and major U.S.-bound export platforms where transshipment risk is embedded within broad legitimate trade flows.”

The U.S. government’s argument is essentially that Mexico facilitates the tariff-free entry of Chinese goods to the United States. Given that Mexico imposed new and higher tariffs on imports from China this year — a move aimed at protecting Mexican industry but also widely seen as an attempt to placate the U.S. — Chinese exporters now have added incentive to route Mexico-bound goods through third countries that have free trade agreements with Mexico, such as Vietnam.

This practice — if it is indeed occurring — would undermine Mexico’s efforts to protect its domestic industries. Mexican industry, Expansión reported, is concerned about Chinese companies with export-oriented operations in Vietnam, even though many manufacturing companies that operate in Mexico use Chinese inputs due to their low cost, or because no alternatives are made locally or within the region.

In its report, the White House said that “every year, the United States loses tens of billions of dollars to the illegal transshipment of goods from higher-tariff countries through more than 40 lower-tariff jurisdictions before those goods enter the American market.”

Congress approves new tariffs on goods from China and non-FTA countries

“Historically, much of this activity has involved Chinese-origin goods,” the report added.

U.S. President Donald Trump has long accused Mexico of being a transshipment hub for Chinese goods that eventually enter the United States. Mexico has denied that claim.

Although Trump has imposed tariffs on various Mexican goods, including vehicles, steel and aluminum, the majority of Mexico’s exports to the U.S. enter that country tariff-free under the USMCA free trade pact. Mexico — where a significant number of Chinese companies have opened plants in recent years — is thus an attractive “back door” to the United States.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Vietnam would continue to address U.S. concerns about ​the transshipment of goods in a ‌constructive manner, according to Reuters.

With reports from Expansión

Mexico City launches drive to plant a million native trees in underserved boroughs by 2030

By
MND Staff
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Clara Brugada tree-planting annuncement
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada presented the new massive urban forestation project on Tuesday, and it's no coincidence that she made the announcement in Iztapalapa. No borough in the capital has fewer trees per square meter than Iztapalapa, which resembles a mass of pure concrete in aerial photos, save for a beautiful hill in the middle of it. (Clara Brugada / X)

Not regarded as one of the country’s top tree cities, Mexico City has begun an urban reforestation drive that aims to turn sidewalks, medians and other “gray” spaces into 1 million new shade points by 2030.

The program is built around the international 3-30-300 guideline: Residents should be able to see at least three trees from each window of their homes; all neighborhoods should include at least 30% tree canopy covering; and households should have a park or green area within 300 meters, about 1,000 feet.

Corolin
The árbol colorín or flame tree is one of the several native species that will be planted throughout the capital. (Unspash)

Launched Tuesday by Mayor Clara Brugada at a housing complex in Iztacalco — which has the fewest trees of any of Mexico City’s 16 boroughs — the program calls for planting 200,000 native trees annually across the capital.

Officials said the plan calls for 100,000 trees to be planted this year, with priority for the eastern boroughs, where green-space shortages are most acute: Iztacalco, Iztapalapa, Venustiano Carranza, Gustavo A. Madero and Tláhuac.

The initiative will focus on streets, medians, sidewalks and other urban sites, separate from tree-planting efforts in nature, and neighborhood residents are expected to participate.

The project will rely on native species selected for their suitability to the capital’s climate and streets, such as having root systems that are less likely to damage sidewalks.

These include sweetgum, cazahuate, colorín (a coral tree), guaje, guamúchil, palo verde, ash, macuil and ceiba (also known as kapok).

The selected trees also don’t require a lot of maintenance, aren’t as vulnerable to pests and disease as nonnative ornamental trees, and can support air quality and pollination, Julia Álvarez Icaza, head of Mexico City’s Environment Ministry (Sedema), said in a press release.

The trees are expected to be young, nursery-grown saplings rather than mature or full-grown trees. “The tree will be the size of the child,” Brugada said in urging schoolchildren to care for a tree as it grows.

Brugada said the 1 million trees could capture at least 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide and remove pollutants equivalent to taking 4,000 cars off city streets annually. She also said that “where today [rain]water runs over cement, there will be soil that absorbs the water.”

The government plans neighborhood meetings before planting days to recruit residents to care for trees near their homes. Schools also will be invited to participate.

“We need to raise environmental awareness, and it is children and young people who are sometimes the most aware of the need to plant trees,” Brugada said.

With reports from El Universal, Chilango.com and Talla Política

Sinaloa capital’s Independence Day celebrations set to return after 2 years

By
MND Staff
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For the first time since 2023, residents of the Sinaloan capital of Culiacán can join in the revelry of the Independence-Eve Grito after the last two September 15 events were canceled due to the threat of cartel violence. (José Betanzos Zárate / Cuartoscuro .com).

For the first time since 2023, the state of Sinaloa will stage Independence Day celebrations in Culiacán, its capital city, incuding the traditional public Grito. 

Interim Governor Yeraldine Bonilla this week announced that the  Grito will be celebrated in the Governor’s Palace Esplanade, declaring that preparations are already under way to resume the popular Sept. 15-16 festival and the massive celebrations that accompany it.

Interim Sinaloa Governor Yeraldine Bonilla’s announcement was succinct and to the point: “There will be Independence Day celebrations!” Then she turned it personal: “I hope to see you there.”   (Yeraldine Bonilla)

Culiacán’s “Grito” — an event that commemorates Father Miguel Hidalgo’s Sept. 16, 1810, call to arms which launched the initial insurrection of Mexico’s War for Independence — was canceled in 2024 and 2025 due to widespread cartel violence.

The cancellations were imposed because authorities were unable to contain a civil war that broke out within the Sinaloa Cartel in mid-2024. Local media reports indicate that there have been more than 3,700 violent deaths and nearly 4,300 people have been kidnapped and/or disappeared since the violence began.

State authorities preferred to prioritize public security, canceling the capital’s broader Independence Day festivities the past two years and opting for restricted civic ceremonies.

After telling reporters on Tuesday that “there will be an Independence Day celebration” next month, Bonilla said, “I hope to see you there,” encouraging Sinaloans “to get ready to celebrate” the Grito and to participate in the traditional patriotic revelry that accompanies it.

The governor said her administration is negotiating with several artists and entertainers, adding that the musical line-up will be announced in the coming weeks. Bonilla said organizers have been in contact with performers who were scheduled to appear at last year’s event, including El Coyote, Marisela and Miguel Bosé.

The Grito — or Cry for Independence — is celebrated in public squares across the country on the night of Sept 15, with a local official presiding over thronging crowds by ringing a bell and shouting out names of heroes, interspersed with cries of “¡Viva México!”

Sept. 16 typically features military and civic parades, street parties and cultural events. Sinaloa officials said they will release an official program for the Sept. 16 events in Culiacán by the end of the month.

By making the announcement, Bonilla confirmed that large civic events — including concerts and public celebrations — will gradually return to Culiacán’s public squares and plazas across the state.

With reports from Animal Político, Debate, Eje Central and Excelsior

Mexico in Numbers: A 2025 security snapshot

By
MND Staff
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President Sheinbaum smiles in front of a pile of confiscated firearms
President Claudia Sheinbaum attends an gun destruction ceremony in Mexico City in July, part of the government program Yes to Disarming, Yes to Peace. Government agents seized over 20,000 firearms in 2025. (Galo Cañas Rodríguez / Cuartoscuro.com)

On Aug. 13, the national statistics agency INEGI published the results of the 2026 National Census of Federal Public Security and National Census of State Public Security.

This “Mexico in Numbers” article looks at some of the key results. It also includes some of the security statistics presented by the federal government last week.

Security spending by National Guard and state forces exceeded 136 billion pesos in 2025 

INEGI reported that the “total budget” exercised by the National Guard (GN) and state public security authorities in 2025 was 136.16 billion pesos (US $8 billion).

Just over one-fifth of that amount — 20.7% — was spent by the GN, while the remainder was used by security authorities in Mexico’s 31 states. (Security spending in Mexico City wasn’t included in the 2026 security census.)

INEGI said that using prices from the second quincena (15-day period) of July 2018 — i.e. before Mexico’s inflation rate spiked significantly in the early 2020s — spending by the GN and state security authorities last year amounted to 97.13 billion pesos.

That figure represented a 17.5% decrease compared to spending by the GN and state security authorities in 2024, although expenditure in Mexico City was included in the previous security census data.

Firearm seizures increased by more than 70% in 2025

INEGI reported that the National Guard and state security forces seized 21,088 firearms in 2025, an increase of 72.4% compared to the 12,232 guns they confiscated in 2024.

State security forces seized 12,910 firearms last year, representing 61.2% of the total. The National Guard confiscated 8,178 guns, representing 38.8% of the total.

The number of firearms seized by state security forces increased 36% annually from 9,490 in 2024.

Meanwhile, the year-over-year confiscations by the National Guard soared 198.2% from 2,742 in 2024.

The combined total of firearm seizures trended up in the past five years, but the increase in 2025 was easily the largest.

State authorities received more than 13.7 million emergency calls in 2025 

INEGI reported that 13.74 million “emergency incidents” were reported to state security authorities in 2025 via calls to the “911 system.”

That number represented a 2.8% increase compared to 2024.

Mexico news daily graphic showing most common 911 emergency reports: The five most common incidents reported by citizens last year were: The presence of an "aggressive person": 754,385 reports (5.5% of the total number of 911 calls) Excessive noise: 664,120 reports (4.8%) Domestic violence: 568,064 reports (4.1%) The presence of a "suspicious person": 501,973 reports (3.6%) Intimate partner violence: 281,410 reports (2%)

The GN and state security forces arrested more than 400,000 people in 2025 

INEGI reported that in 2025, the National Guard and state security forces arrested 413,127 people were subsequently handed over to authorities. The number of arrests declined 4% compared to 2024.

In 2025, state security forces arrested 389,921 people, representing 94.4% of all detentions. The number of arrests made by state security forces declined 7.3% on a year-over-year basis.

The GN arrested 23,206 people in 2025, an increase of 137.4% compared to 2024.

INEGI detailed the reasons why some 413,000 people were arrested last year. It divided the causes into two categories: “alleged civic infractions” and “alleged crimes.”

The five most common civic infractions allegedly committed by people who were arrested in 2025 were:

  1. Causing scandals or noise that threatens people’s tranquility and health: 71,227 arrests (17.2% of the total)
  2. Consuming drugs on the street or in other public places: 33,838 arrests (8.2%)
  3. Consuming alcoholic beverages on the street or in other public places: 33,180 arrests (8%)
  4. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 15,569 arrests (3.8%)
  5. Preventing the use of public roads or restricting the freedom of movement of
    people without just cause (e.g. protesting on the street without “just cause”): 12,518 arrests (3%)

The five most common crimes allegedly committed by people who were arrested in 2025 were:

  1. Small-scale drug trafficking: 66,968 arrests (16.2% of the total)
  2. Robbery: 28,178 arrests (6.8%)
  3. Crimes involving weapons, explosives and other “destructive materials”: 9,704 arrests (2.3%)
  4. Assault: 9,701 arrests (2.3%)
  5. Crimes involving weapons and “prohibited objects”: 7,615 arrests (1.8%)

In 2025, the National Guard and state security authorities arrested 2,869 people for allegedly committing homicides. Murder was the ninth most common crime for which people were arrested in Mexico last year.

Graphic showing the most common crimes driving 2025 arrests: The five most common crimes allegedly committed by people who were arrested in 2025 were: Small-scale drug trafficking: 66,968 arrests (16.2% of the total) Robbery: 28,178 arrests (6.8%) Crimes involving weapons, explosives and other "destructive materials": 9,704 arrests (2.3%) Assault: 9,701 arrests (2.3%) Crimes involving weapons and "prohibited objects": 7,615 arrests (1.8%)

The federal government’s monthly ‘security census’ 

Federal security officials provide their own “security census,” of sorts, on a monthly basis at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s weekday morning press conferences.

Here is a recap of the statistics presented on Aug. 11.

  • There were 10,309 homicides across Mexico in the first seven months of 2026. The daily murder rate between January and July was 48.6, a reduction of 30.8% compared to the same period of 2025.
  • Between Oct. 1, 2024 — the date Sheinbaum was sworn in as president — and July 31, 2026, authorities arrested 63,564 people for allegedly committing high-impact crimes such as murder, kidnapping, extortion and violent robbery.
  • Authorities seized 518.7 tonnes of drugs between October 2024 and July 2026.
  • The Mexican military dismantled 2,725 clandestine drug laboratories between October 2024 and July 2026.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

Mexico refuses to support US-led push to address Nicaragua’s election ban

By
MND Staff
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Alejandro Encinas at the August OAS meeting
Mexican OAS representative Alejandro Encinas's justification for the abstention was consistent with his country's longstanding foreign policy philosophy of respect for sovereignty, non-interference and self-determination. But he also pointed out that treating an internal political crisis as a regional security issue is counterproductive. (Permanent Mission of Mexico to the OAS / X)

Mexico abstained from voting on a United States proposal for an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) on how to respond to Nicaragua’s decision to bar opposition politicians from running for office.

Despite Mexico’s objections, the OAS on Wednesday approved a resolution summoning foreign ministers to an emergency council session by a lopsided 29-1 vote. The OAS is the leading international political forum for Western Hemisphere nations.

Claudia 20Aug 2026
President Sheinbaum echoed her OAS representative’s words during her Thursday mañanera. Asked why Mexico didn’t support the proposal for a special meeting to discuss Nicaragua, she said, “We would have no reason to. We believe in non-intervention and in self-determination of peoples — not just out of conviction, but also because it is established in the Constitution.” (Camila Ayala Benabib / Cuartoscuro.com)

Brazil was the lone “nay” vote, while Haiti and Venezuela were absent. Nicaragua, which withdrew from the OAS in 2023, was also absent.

The resolution — which invokes Articles in the OAS Charter that demand a collective response — defines developments in Nicaragua as “a problem of an urgent nature and of common interest to the American States.”

Alejandro Encinas, Mexico’s representative to the OAS, said Mexico does not consider it appropriate to characterize Nicaragua’s internal situation as a threat to regional peace or security. 

He warned that doing so could open the door to actions that exceed the OAS’s authority, describing these potential actions as “incompatible with the principles of respect for sovereignty, self-determination of peoples, non-intervention and peaceful settlement of disputes.”

Encinas also argued that treating an internal political crisis as a security issue does not necessarily help resolve it. On the contrary, he said, it can generate confrontation, deepen isolation and lead to measures that hinder a peaceful solution and produce greater destabilization.

The OAS action came in response to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s vow to end elections and to promote constitutional amendments aimed at blocking opposition figures from power. Ortega announced the decision in July at the anniversary of the country’s Sandanista Revolution, which first brought him into power in 1979.

Argentina, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay joined the United States in advancing this week’s measure — titled “Convocation of a Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs to Consider the Situation in Nicaragua” — at an Aug. 5 special session of the Permanent Council. 

The U.S. insists the emergency meeting must take place before Sept. 1, when the Ortega regime is set to codify its latest policy reforms, including the suspension of future elections. 

The OAS as a bloc cannot impose economic or trade sanctions on a country, limiting itself to diplomatic condemnation or suspension of a member state or recommending that its members punish a nation that violates democratic norms. 

With reports from Animal Político, EWTN News, Al Jazeera and Buenos Aires Times

Sheinbaum unveils Olinia Carga, a Mexican-made electric cargo vehicle: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

By
MND Staff
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4
The Olinia Carga electric vehicle, filled with flowers
President Sheinbaum on Thursday shared the first prototype of Olinia Carga, the second model in Mexico's domestically produced line of electric vehicles. (Presidencia)

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

  • 🚗 Government presents Olinia Carga, its second EV prototype: The light-cargo vehicle, unveiled 11 weeks after the Olinia 1 prototype, can carry up to 650 kg and has a range of over 120 km. Olinia will launch a public tender for private-sector partners, with Olinia Carga set to go on sale in late 2027 for around 150,000 pesos.
  • 🚔 New arrest in “El Mayo” Zambada kidnapping case: Fausto Corrales Rodríguez, who allegedly accompanied former Culiacán mayor Héctor Cuén to the meeting where Zambada was kidnapped in July 2024, was arrested in Mexico City. Sheinbaum said the arrest was “important” and could help clarify what happened that day.
  • 🇦🇷 ✈️ Navy officer’s extradition delayed by legal issue: Sheinbaum said Rear Admiral Fernando Farías Laguna, accused of leading a huachicol fiscal network and arrested in Argentina in April, raised a legal matter there that delayed his transfer to Mexico. She added that officials told her his extradition “is not in doubt.”

Why today’s mañanera matters

A prototype of a new Olinia electric vehicle was unveiled at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Thursday morning press conference. The presentation of Olinia Carga — a light-cargo vehicle — came around 11 weeks after the government debuted a prototype of Olinia 1, a small car.

The Olinia project is an initiative of the Sheinbaum administration. The aim is to produce, in conjunction with private sector partners, electric vehicles that are more affordable than EVs that are currently available in the Mexican market.

Also of note at today’s mañanera were Sheinbaum’s remarks about a new arrest linked to the 2024 kidnapping of Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. The president also commented on the expected extradition to Mexico of a Mexican Navy officer who was arrested in Argentina earlier this year in connection with a fuel smuggling/tax evasion (huachicol fiscal) scheme.

Government presents prototype of second Olinia vehicle 

At the start of the press conference, Sheinbaum noted that officials and reporters were gathered in the courtyard of the National Palace “because today we’re presenting Olinia Carga — the second Olinia model.”

“… Olinia, as you’ll remember, is a project that began when we came to government and the objective is to promote mini-electromobility in our country,” she said.

An Olinia Carga prototype — loaded with wooden crates filled with flowers — was unveiled a short time later.

Roberto Capuano, director of the Olinia project, told reporters that the Olinia Carga is “a vehicle designed for work.”

“To design it, we went to see how cargo is moved in our towns and cities,” he said.

“… Small businesses use private cars, which weren’t designed for work, or motorbikes, which limit the volume [of cargo that can be moved],” Capuano said.

He said that small businesses in Mexico need “something compact, low-cost and designed for work” to move cargo.

“In this space, our second vehicle was born,” Capuano said.

He said that Olinia Carga has the capacity to transport cargo weighing up to 650 kilograms. Its range is more than 120 kilometers, Capuano said.

“It’s designed to hold a lot of things, including one of the most common cargo units in Mexico, which is the wooden crate,” he said.

“Twelve wooden crates fit on the [vehicle’s] bed, and they can be stacked on multiple levels,” Capuano said.

He also noted that the vehicle has “what we call a low trunk.”

As the Olinia Carga is an electric vehicle, “the space below the bed is empty,” Capuano said.

Roberto Capuano, director of the Olinia project, presents the Olinia Carga electric vehicle at Sheinbaum's August 20 morning press conference
Olinia Project Director Roberto Capuano explained the features offered by the newest Olinia model. (Presidencia)

That space, he said, can be used to transport additional items such as folding furniture, which can be used to set up an outdoor stall. Capuano noted that two people can travel “comfortably” in the vehicle.

He said that the Olinia project has shown that “in Mexico we can design and develop technological products for our own needs.”

“Now, the next step is to become a company capable of making, distributing and selling these vehicles across the entire country,” Capuano said.

“For that reason, … we’re going to launch a public tender to select our strategic allies,” he said, explaining that Mexican and foreign companies will be eligible to participate.

“… What we’re mainly looking for is not money, … what we’re seeking is industrial and commercial capacity,” Capuano said.

The Olinia chief said that Olinia 1 is slated to go on sale in the summer of next year, while Olinia Carga will be available starting in late 2027. He said that Olinia Carga will be sold for around 150,000 pesos (US $8,800). Olinia 1 is set to be sold for the same price.

New arrest in connection with the kidnapping of ‘El Mayo’

A reporter raised the arrest in Mexico City on Wednesday of Fausto Corrales Rodríguez, who allegedly accompanied former Culiacán mayor Héctor Cuén to a meeting at which “El Mayo” Zambada was kidnapped by Joaquín Guzmán López in July 2024.

Zambada was subsequently forced onto a private plane and flown to New Mexico, where he and Guzmán López — a son of convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán — were arrested by U.S. authorities on July 25, 2024.

Cuén was murdered the same day and Corrales is alleged to have given false information to authorities about the homicide.

The reporter asked the president whether the arrest of Corrales would help uncover more information about Zambada’s “transfer” to the United States.

“This arrest is important,” Sheinbaum said.

She said she expected that Corrales’ statements to authorities would help shed light on what happened in Sinaloa on the day that Zambada was kidnapped, an event that caused a major escalation in a long-running battle between Los Chapitos and Los Mayos, rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Sheinbaum: Fernando Farías’ extradition to Mexico is delayed due to a legal issue  

A reporter asked the president whether she had received any information about the transfer to Mexico of Rear Admiral Fernando Farías Laguna, who was arrested in Buenos Aires in April. Farías, a nephew of former Navy Minister José Rafael Ojeda Durán, is accused of leading a huachicol fiscal network.

Sheinbaum said she had been informed by government officials that Farías “raised a legal matter in Argentina and for that reason his arrival in Mexico was delayed.”

She said that the Federal Attorney General’s Office would provide more information about the suspect’s extradition to Mexico.

“Today in the Security Cabinet [meeting], representatives of the attorney general told us that his transfer to Mexico is not in doubt,” Sheinbaum added.

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)

Is Mexico really dangerous? Why travel advisories don’t tell the whole story

By
Charlotte Smith
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Chichén Itzá pyramid in Mexico
Mexico is an enormous country. Just because there's a travel advisory for specific regions doesn't mean the country at large is unsafe. (Marv Watson/Unsplash)

If you’ve ever mentioned an upcoming trip to a friend or family member, chances are someone’s told you to “check the travel advisory.”

And they’re not wrong.

Botanical Garden in Zapotitlán Salinas, Puebla
Is Mexico safe? Most of it is, but it depends where you want to visit. That’s why travel advisories are useful. (Andrés Sanz/Unsplash)

Travel advisories exist for a reason. They can provide genuinely important information about crime, political unrest, natural disasters, health concerns and other risks that could affect your trip.

But there’s a problem with the way we sometimes use them. We treat a travel advisory as though it were a map, but it isn’t. It’s more of a compass. It can point you toward areas where you need to pay attention, but it can’t tell you what life looks like on every street, in every city or for every traveler.

A vast country of distinct realities

Mexico is a perfect example of why context matters.

Mexico is enormous. It’s a country full of numerous different realities. It stretches from the Pacific to the Caribbean, from deserts in the north to tropics in the south, with sprawling cities, tiny mountain villages, beach communities, agricultural regions and everything in between.

So, when someone asks me, “But isn’t Mexico dangerous?” my first question is usually, “Where in Mexico?” Because that’s a very different question.

I live in Bucerías, just outside of Puerto Vallarta, but I’ve also traveled the country extensively. Places like Guanajuato, Guadalajara, León, Puebla and Mexico City each have their own personalities, challenges and rhythms.

Tulum, Mexico beachfront setting
Can you imagine issuing a blanket warning for the U.S. based on something that happened in one neighborhood in Chicago? Nuance is necessary when it comes to travel advisories. (Spencer Watson/Unsplash)

Walking around a busy neighborhood in Mexico City isn’t the same experience as traveling through a remote rural area. The concerns you might have visiting one state may be completely irrelevant in another. Yet when someone sees a headline about crime or a government advisory warning about Mexico, the entire country suddenly becomes one giant red zone in their imagination.

That’s not really how countries work, though.

Imagine issuing a single travel warning for the United States based on what happens in Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit or a particular border region, and then applying that warning equally to someone visiting a small town in Vermont. It wouldn’t make much sense.

The same principle applies to Mexico.

Broad tools rather than local guides

Government advisories are deliberately cautious, and they should be. The U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and other governments have systems designed to warn their citizens about potential risks abroad. Those warnings can be incredibly useful, particularly when there’s a serious and immediate threat. But they’re broad tools. They aren’t designed to tell you whether the café you’re planning to visit is safe, whether the neighborhood around your hotel feels comfortable or whether a demonstration taking place hundreds of kilometers away is likely to affect your weekend.

That’s where the rest of your research comes in.

Ángel de la Independencia in Mexico City
Mexico City is one of the world’s great cities, but visiting is far different from going to a remote rural community. (Alejandro Giraldo Ortega/Unsplash)

A national warning should be the beginning of the conversation, not the end of it.

If an advisory makes you nervous, don’t simply cancel the trip. Dig a little deeper. Look at the specific region you’re visiting. Many governments provide much more detailed information once you get beyond the headline.

Check local news and see what’s actually happening in the city or state you’re planning to visit. Talk to people who live there or have recently traveled there, and check embassy or consulate notices for local developments, demonstrations, weather events or transportation disruptions.

It’s also worth thinking about the kind of traveler you are. Someone traveling alone through a remote region with little Spanish and limited access to transportation has a very different risk profile from someone staying in an established tourist area with reliable transport and plenty of local support.

Neither is necessarily right or wrong. They’re simply different.

Acknowledging risk without assuming danger

Living here has made me much more aware of the difference between acknowledging risk and assuming danger. It’s taught me to look at the whole picture.

Santuario de la Virgen de los Remedios, San Pedro Cholula, Mexico
There’s no reason to be afraid of an entire country, especially one as remarkable as Mexico. (Pedro Lastra/Mexico)

Crime exists in Mexico. Of course it does. So do hurricanes, earthquakes, protests, road accidents, medical emergencies and all the other things that can go wrong when you’re traveling anywhere. But those realities don’t automatically define every person’s experience.

I’d never tell anyone to ignore an official warning. Quite the opposite. If multiple governments are warning against travel to a particular region because of serious, ongoing threats, pay attention. If there are reports of targeted attacks, widespread unrest or a major natural disaster, that’s not the moment to decide you’re going to prove everyone wrong. Being adventurous doesn’t require being reckless. But neither does being cautious require being afraid of an entire country.

Why government advice varies

One thing I’ve always found interesting is comparing travel advisories from different countries. They don’t always say exactly the same thing. That’s not necessarily because one is right and another is wrong. Governments have different thresholds, different information and different approaches to risk.

If several governments are highlighting the same specific threat, that’s certainly worth taking seriously. If their advice differs considerably, though, that’s a reason to investigate further.

The goal isn’t to find the advisory that tells you what you want to hear. It’s to understand why the advice differs.

Practical details and insurance fine print

There are also plenty of risks that have nothing to do with crime, so don’t dismiss the practical stuff. What will the weather be like? Are there hurricanes or extreme heat at that time of year? How good is medical care where you’re going? Will you have reliable transportation? Are there areas where cell service is limited? What happens if you get sick or stranded?

Xochimilco Canal boats in Mexico City
Travel advisories often show a map of Mexico. But these alerts should be used more like a compass. (Roberto Carlos Román Don/Unsplash)

And check your travel insurance. That one is particularly important because some policies have exclusions related to government travel warnings. A destination being somewhere you can travel doesn’t necessarily mean your insurance will cover you if you’re traveling against official advice. So read the fine print before you need it.

Informed decisions over absolute fear

There’s no such thing as completely risk-free travel. There isn’t even such a thing as a completely risk-free life. We accept a certain amount of risk every time we get into a car, cross a road, fly somewhere or try something unfamiliar. Travel is about managing that risk intelligently rather than pretending it doesn’t exist.

Places change. Situations change. Advisories change. That’s why context matters.

A destination that appears in a warning today may look very different six months or a year from now. And a country that’s broadly considered safe can still contain places where travelers should exercise considerable caution. The important thing is knowing the difference.

So yes, check the travel advisory. Please do! But then keep reading to better understand the risks that apply to you, rather than simply the risks attached to an entire country.

Travel advisories are there to help us make informed decisions, not to make those decisions for us. Let them point you toward the questions you need to ask, because being a smart traveler isn’t about eliminating every possible risk. It’s about understanding where the risks are, preparing for them and making an informed decision about whether the experience is worth it.

Tulum beachfront neighborhood
The places travelers are warned about in Mexico are often very different from what was imagined. (Spencer Watson/Unsplash)

And sometimes, once you’ve looked beyond the headline, you discover something quite wonderful. The place you were warned about isn’t necessarily the place you imagined. It’s a real place, filled with real people, complicated realities, beautiful moments and stories you never would have found on a government website.

Charlotte Smith is a writer and journalist based in Mexico. Her work focuses on travel, politics and community. You can follow along with her travel stories at www.salsaandserendipity.com.

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