"Miners are in mourning," reads a banner carried by protesting mining industry workers in Zacatecas in mid-February. The protesters called for more attention and resources for the case of 10 miners kidnapped in Concordia, Sinaloa. (Adolfo Vladimir / Cuartoscuro.com)
The Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) announced March 5 that forensic specialists have genetically identified two additional victims in the case of 10 employees of Canadian mining company Vizsla Silver who were abducted in Concordia, Sinaloa. Seven of the ten workers who went missing on January 23 have now been confirmed dead, with three remaining unaccounted for.
According to the FGR, the two newly identified bodies were recovered from El Verde, a small community in the municipality of La Concordia — the same clandestine grave site where earlier remains were found in early February. After government forensic geneticists identified the bodies, they were returned to the families.
In a statement released the same day, Vizsla Silver confirmed the findings. President and CEO Michael Konnert extended condolences to those affected and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the long-term development of its Panuco silver-gold project and to the community of Concordia.
The kidnapping of the ten engineers, geologists and security personnel — seized by an armed commando from a company housing development in the early morning hours — prompted a massive security response, including the deployment of over 1,000 military personnel ordered by President Claudia Sheinbaum. Authorities have attributed the crime to a cell of the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, with Federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch stating that initial detainees claimed the workers were mistaken for members of a rival criminal group. Sheinbaum, however, subsequently cast doubt on that account, saying prosecutors had not ruled out the possibility that the company had been targeted as part of an extortion scheme.
The FGR said the investigation remains ongoing, led by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (FEMDO) with the support of the Security Cabinet. Vizsla Silver, meanwhile, said it continues to cooperate fully with Mexican authorities as search efforts for the three still-missing workers continue.
Mexico News Daily
This story contains press release summaries generated by Claude. It has been revised and fact-checked by a Mexico News Daily staff editor.
The third Foro Nacional de la Bicicleta will be held in San Cristóbal de las Casas this weekend. (FNBM.org)
On March 11-16, the southern city of San Cristóbal de las Casas will be the site of the 3rd National Bicycle Forum (3er Foro Nacional de la Bicicleta), an event organized by bike-loving community volunteers from throughout Mexico.
Participants from throughout the country will converge on the Pueblo Mágico for a range of activities, including workshops on bike construction and maintenance, demonstrations of bike-generated community energy projects, a graphic arts exhibition focused on women riders, brainstorming sessions on increasing the “right to the city,” a film festival, a rodada — a mass convergence of bike riders and bike tours of the city and region.
The Foro Nacional de la Bicicleta will find an eager audience among San Cristóbal de las Casas’ robust cycling community. (FNBM.org)
Organizing committee member Miguel Alberto Hidalgo said the forum will host bike riders from across the country, along with international guests from Spain, Holland and Italy. Participants will exchange stories of successful integration of bike infrastructure into urban contexts as cities worldwide face the imperative of reducing carbon emissions from cars and of diversifying transport options.
The right to the city and San Cristóbal’s security crisis
The organizing committee was formed by passionate San Cristóbal locals who have been engaged in various activities to promote “the right to the city” over the last few years — occupying urban spaces for recreation and assembly and promoting mobility of all kinds.
Hidalgo runs the Rueda Libre bike workshop in San Cristóbal and was motivated to campaign for a safer and more inclusive city when Italian cyclist and activist Michele Colosio was assaulted and killed in San Cristóbal in 2021. One of the first projects created and driven by Hidalgo and other comrades of Colosio is the San Cristóbal Vía Recreativa, a mass community bike ride through the city.
“Personally, I am involved in the Foro because Michele was my partner,” says Laura Villa, who is also an organizing committee member. “He was a victim of violence who had done a lot for bike activism. He was there at the beginning of the project to create the Vía Recreativa, but he didn’t get to see the end result.”
Villa works with Circotik, which promotes social circus-based recreation for children in San Cristóbal and surrounding communities.
Cycling isn’t just good exercise in San Cristóbal de las Casas; it helps strengthen the community. (Facebook)
Strengthening the social fabric
“When there started to be a lot of violence in San Cristóbal, a lot of people started talking about the need to strengthen the social fabric,” she said.
“But it was more of a discourse than a concrete practice… Weaving the social fabric has to be more of a practice — where we go out, we see and recognize each other” in public space, continued Villa.
“This way we can help reduce the fear generated by the violence too.”
Miguel Hidalgo said that this national forum is being held for the first time in a non-capital city — not just in the oft-overlooked southern state of Chiapas, but in “a municipality that is not the capital city.”
This is particularly important for showing engagement with a peripheral part of the country, he added.
San Cristóbal de las Casas is almost 500 years old. (Alex Quiroz/Unsplash)
The first and second forums were held in the cities of Mérida and Querétaro.
San Cristóbal’s host role comes as the city has been battling to regain tourism income lost from the security crisis. T2028 will be the 500th anniversary of the city’s founding.
Miguel Hidalgo says the city faces particular challenges in basic infrastructure to guarantee the right to the city.
“There’s a lack of accessibility for people with reduced mobility — there are no access ramps,” for example, he says.
He adds that “the quality of the sidewalks” is also a persistent problem for getting around.
Could biking be the key to revival?
Getting more people to ride bikes — and making San Cristóbal de las Casas more bikeable — could be the key to the city’s revival. (Facebook)
Traffic accidents driven by poor street design are also a concern. Misión Cero, a project of concrete company Cemex, has identified a series of so-called “black spots,” where accidents frequently occur, that could be improved by speed-control measures in road design and “adequate pedestrian infrastructure.”
More than 7,000 bicycles circulate through San Cristóbal every day.
Hidalgo says improved mobility for bicycle users and people with reduced mobility alike could be key to the city’s revival.
Tourism is “decisive” to San Cristóbal’s economy, he observed.
Poor access to “safe mobility” also reduces the number of people who use the city, including tourists, Hidalgo added.
He notes that bicycle tourism in the region has also been increasing in recent years.
Bikeability — local and national challenges
San Cristóbal de las Casas is a good place for cyclists, thanks to the fact that drivers can’t go very fast. (Facebook)The forum committee is hoping the municipal government of San Cristóbal will adopt federal guidelines on the structure and design of urban spaces. The guidelines establish minimum standards for the construction or rehabilitation of streets from a “safe systems” approach and integrate principles of universal design, accessibility, sustainability and road safety.
To be sure, the forum also comes at a moment when urban megaprojects are sweeping the country, many of which prioritize transport by car and have been critiqued by advocacy organizations on environmental and human rights points.
Dedicated cyclist Linda Lönnqvist has lived in San Cristóbal for the past 12 years and will be attending the forum. Before San Cristóbal, she got around by bike in Manchester and Oxford in the U.K., Dar-e-Salam in Tanzania and in her hometown of Vanda in Finland.
“San Cristóbal has many benefits for cyclists,” she said. “Most streets are one-way, so you have to stop at every corner, and there are lots of blind corners. So anyone on any kind of vehicle has to stop and look around and decide who has the right of way to cross — so you don’t get people coming at you at 80 kilometers per hour.”
Ann Louise Deslandes is an independent journalist and consultant in San Cristóbal de las Casas.
Monarch butterflies make an annual migration from Canada to Mexico. (Derek Ramsey/Wikimedia Commons)
My father died exactly one year ago, which has rendered me sensitive to the life cycle.
What happens to the energy stored inside a body once that body has shut down? In Mexico, the answer rides on the wings of monarch butterflies.
Winged migration
The monarch migration requires future generations to complete, as it’s longer than the average lifespan. (Rhododendrite/Wikimedia Commons)
Each year, millions of the orange-and-black beauties make their way from Canada to Mexico and back again, drifting along high-altitude air currents through dense oyamel and pine forests. Here, they cluster at the tops of trees, where the cool, humid air keeps them from drying out — a deliberate act of survival against a climate that would otherwise kill them.
Their arrival in Mexico in late October to mid-November coincides with Day of the Dead, when the souls of deceased loved ones return to visit their living relatives, eat a good meal and have a tequila or two. The belief that the butterflies carry these souls from Mictlán — the Mexica realm of the dead — back to earth has endured for centuries.
The migration is indeed an environmental cause; in Mexico, it remains a sacred one.
Perhaps it’s fate that brought me to Valle de Bravo’s butterfly sanctuary this year, with the first truly significant calendar cycle of my father’s death coming to a close. The idea that he could be a butterfly actually makes me laugh out loud — if anything, he’s a squirrel — but knowing that one’s energy continues, albeit in another form, resonates on a deeper level.
I can’t wrap my head around death being the absolute end. Earthly life works on too intricate a system for there not to be a bigger purpose, and I think the butterfly migration is a prime example of exactly that.
A generational journey northward
In March, after mating, monarch butterflies travel 2,500–3,000 miles from Michoacán and México state to the northern United States and southern Canada in search of milkweed. While the southward-migrating generation of monarchs survive longer than the usual six-week lifespan — thanks to their bodies going into a lower metabolic state for the fall journey called diapause — it takes several generations of monarchs to complete their return journey northward: The first generation of these monarchs generally makes it as far as Texas, and it’s usually the grandchild that finally touches down in the United States and Canada.
The death of monarchs along the migratory path returns nitrogen to the soil, keeping forests alive. (Steve Corey/Wikimedia Commons)
Along the way, females lay eggs on milkweed before dying on the forest floor — where their decomposing tissue feeds ants, spiders and birds, and their exoskeletons return nitrogen to the soil. I keep coming back to that detail. Without it, the ecosystem would collapse — their death keeps the forest alive.
The monarch butterfly tour experience
The British Society in Mexico organized the trip, chartering a private bus from Mexico City for the 2 1/2-hour transfer westward. I’m sensitive to motion sickness, and by the time we arrived, I was downright spinning from what felt like a near-endless series of hairpin turns.
The entrance is a short walk from the parking area, where we paid 150 pesos for access to the sanctuary. Dozens of stands selling quesadillas, fresh fruit, monarch butterfly magnets, pan dulce and beverages of all kinds line the base of the mountain.
At the ascent’s starting point, visitors choose between hiking or horseback. I chose to hike — about 90 minutes to the top. The first stretch is a steady incline before reaching a platform where walking sticks are available and the trail steepens considerably — this is also where hikers and horses part ways — though the paths briefly reunite higher up with little warning.
The mix of visitors is striking: parents carrying babies on their backs and grandmothers navigating the slope alongside teenagers, some in full hiking gear, others in jeans and heeled cowboy boots.
The soft hum of flapping wings eventually replaced familial chitchat. The pathway narrowed enough that only one person could comfortably fit, and the temperature dropped several degrees. Flutters of color — orange, yellow and black — sparkled beneath the sun with increasing frequency.
In a sense, the process of monarch migration never really finishes. (Kenneth Dwain Harrelson/Wikimedia Commons)
Beneath my feet, dead butterflies lay scattered across the ground, some in small piles, still quite colorful. Above my head, swarms of the living swirled among the trees. I walked slowly, gaze locked on the kaleidoscope of paper-thin wings. And then — a bump: I had gently collided with the person in front of me — luckily, a friend. The line had stopped; most onlookers were too busy documenting the experience through their phone screens to keep walking, and for the next 30 minutes, we were forced to creep along at their pace.
Despite the rampant obsession with documenting every moment, the sense of interconnection was powerful. Here we were, a group of strangers, walking among the dead and the living, both of which contribute critically to something bigger than any of us: the survival of the forest, and everything that depends on it.
Once through the roosting area, we made our way back down at our leisure. The descent took about half the time, not without a close encounter with an overzealous horse. My friend and I beelined to a fruit stand — fresh papaya, watermelon and pineapple for 50 pesos — before poking around the souvenir shops, where she picked up a monarch magnet for 10 pesos.
Two cheeseless quesadillas and a café de olla later, we wandered back to the bus, not without feeding a stray dog and buying a 15-peso loaf of bread for the ride back.
Where to find your own monarch experience
On the bus, I turned it all over in my mind — the crowds, the long ride, the sea of phone screens and — underneath it all — the color and sound of the delicate movements of millions of translucent wings.
This experience is so distinctly Mexican, not only because it takes place here but also because of what Mexicans have always understood about life and death. The migration, in a way, makes life make sense, a concept I’ve desperately been trying to grasp since my father’s death. We’re all contributing to something that never really dies, so maybe we never really die, we just change form.
For those considering a first butterfly experience, Piedra Herrada makes for an excellent day trip from Mexico City. Those looking for a less touristy, more intimate adventure might consider Michoacán’s Cerro Pelón or La Mesa — both require longer, steeper hikes and see fewer crowds – but for an introduction to the migration, this sanctuary delivers. For more information, check out the Mexican government’s biodiversity page.
Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog or follow her on Instagram.
Though Thursday's press conference was primarily World Cup-focused, President Sheinbaum also addressed Mexico's diplomatic note sent in response to the death of a Mexican man who was in U.S. custody. (Saúl López / Presidencia)
Less than 100 days before the start of the FIFA men’s World Cup, preparations for the quadrennial tournament are ramping up.
Among other issues discussed at the mañanera, Sheinbaum spoke about the recent death of a Mexican citizen who was in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Sheinbaum announces competition to win her ticket to World Cup opener
Sheinbaum announced that a competition called “Represent Mexico in the World Cup Opening Ceremony” will be held to find a young woman to represent her at the opening ceremony and match of the tournament, which will take place in Mexico City on June 11.
The winner of the competition will be given Sheinbaum’s ticket — No. 00001 — for the opening ceremony and match at Estadio Azteca. The president received the ticket from FIFA president Gianni Infantino last August.
The competition, Sheinbaum explained, is a soccer ball juggling contest.
Mexican professional soccer player Charlyn Corral Ang, seen here demonstrating juggling at the morning press conference, will serve as one of the contest’s judges. (Saúl López / Presidencia)
“Young women aged 16 to 25 are going to participate,” she said.
“… What do they have to do? Dominadas for one minute,” Sheinbaum said, using a Spanish-language noun for the juggling of a soccer ball.
She said that participants will submit their entries via the website mundialsocial.gob.mx, where they will enter a link to a YouTube video in which they are shown juggling a soccer ball for one minute. Entries can be submitted between next Monday (March 9) and April 10.
Sheinbaum said that the judges of the competition will be professional soccer player Charlyn Corral Ang, referee Katia Itzel García and commentator Gabriela Fernández de Lara.
“The best [soccer ball juggler], whoever is chosen, will represent Mexico at the World Cup opening ceremony,” she said.
Sheinbaum, who announced last year that she would give away her ticket, said that she would watch the World Cup opening ceremony — which will precede the first match of the tournament between Mexico and South Africa — in the Zócalo, Mexico City’s central square.
“I’ll be here in the Zócalo watching … with the people while a young woman represents me at the opening ceremony,” she said during her press conference at the National Palace, which is adjacent to the central square.
“Why? Because I think that a young woman who plays fútbol is a great representative of our country,” Sheinbaum said.
President Sheinbaum’s ticket will go to a young woman soccer player, who will represent Mexico and Sheinbaum at the World Cup opener. (Saúl López / Presidencia)
“Very few people will be able to go to the opening ceremony, very few people. So, I’m going to watch it here with the people and a young woman will represent us, represent me and the people of Mexico,” she said.
Later in the press conference, Sheinbaum said there was a possibility that at least two runners-up would also be able to attend the World Cup opening ceremony.
“Let’s see if we get other tickets. … We’re working on that, let’s see if we can give [tickets] to second and third place, at least,” she said.
Sheinbaum: Mexico sent US a diplomatic note over the death of a Mexican national in ICE custody
A reporter noted that the Foreign Affairs Ministry (SRE) announced the death of a Mexican national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and asked the president what information she had about the case and whether a “formal diplomatic notice of protest” had been sent to the U.S. government.
Sheinbaum said that a diplomatic note was “immediately” sent to the U.S. government and noted that authorities are supporting the family of the deceased man, identified as 48-year-old Alberto Gutiérrez Reyes, who was originally from Veracruz.
“And the way in which we file a [legal] complaint … [in the U.S.] is through the family. The [Mexican] Consulate can’t do it directly due to legal reasons,” she said.
The SRE published a press release on Sunday, in which it announced “with deep regret the death of a Mexican national while in ICE custody at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California.”
The ministry said it would “demand an immediate and thorough investigation into the conditions that have led to the deaths of Mexicans in this agency’s custody, in order to hold those responsible accountable and ensure no recurrence of such events.”
The SRE also said that “given the seriousness of the situation, the Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino immediately activated its consular protection protocols and communicated urgently with the authorities involved to request detailed information about the circumstances surrounding the death.”
A Mexican national died while in ICE custody at the Adelanto detention center in the High Desert, according to Los Angeles Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez.
Hernandez identified the man who died as Alberto Gutierrez Reyes of Westlake. She claims he died in ICE custody after… pic.twitter.com/lwp50tDA62
“Formal requests have been submitted for the deceased’s medical records, custody reports, and all other documentation necessary to establish a full and clear account of what occurred,” the ministry added.
The Adelanto ICE Processing Center is located around 145 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of central Los Angeles.
ABC 7 reported that Gutiérrez Reyes “lived in L.A.’s Westlake District, according to his family.”
He arrived in the United States in 2001 “in search of better opportunities for his family,” N+ Univisión reported.
Gutiérrez’s wife, Patricia Martínez Hernández, told ABC 7 that her husband had diabetes and high cholesterol. She “alleges the [ICE processing] center knew this but did nothing to help,” ABC 7 reported.
“He would say that he wasn’t feeling well. He wasn’t feeling well. When my son went to go see him Sunday, my son goes every Sunday, he would tell me, ‘Mom, dad’s skin is yellow. His face is yellow.’ Last week, the Sunday before, he told me, ‘Mom, his eyes are yellow,” said Martínez, whose husband was reportedly detained at the ICE center for less than two months.
Citing his family, N+ Univisión reported that Gutiérrez began to suffer from “serious health problems related to the extreme cold and the conditions in the detention center,” located in the Mojave Desert.
The news outlet said that he lost consciousness at around midnight on Feb. 26 and was transported to the Victor Valley Global Medical Center, where he died early on Feb. 27.
Gutiérrez’s death was the ninth in ICE custody this year, according to Eunisses Hernandez, the L.A. council member. The Associated Press reported Thursday that at least nine people have died in ICE custody this year, including a Haitian man who passed away this week.
Cuera Tamaulipeca garments can be designed for men, women and children. (Tamaulipas Culture Ministry)
The Cuera Tamaulipeca, the traditional garment of the northern border state of Tamaulipas, has been legally recognized as a product linked exclusively to its region of origin through Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status.
Granted by the Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property (IMPI), the Protected Geographical Indication protects the product’s name, Cuera Tamaulipeca, and establishes that it may only be used for garments made under the technical and origin conditions registered at the IMPI.
La cuera tamaulipeca es una prenda tradicional que nació en Tula, Tamaulipas. Se hace con piel de becerro o gamuza de venado y lleva grabados de flores blancas y largos flecos. Cada cuera guarda la historia de las manos que la crean y el conocimiento que pasa de padres a hijos,… pic.twitter.com/FYGMi6CfgG
“The Cuera Tamaulipeca is not only a work of art crafted with skill and patience; it is an emblem of the strong, noble, and hardworking character of our people,” Tamaulipas Tourism Minister Benjamín Hernández Rodríguez said.
The official recognition was the result of a technical process carried out by the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (UAT) to ensure that producers met the criteria required by IMPI. These studies documented the historical and cultural link of the garment with the Tamaulipas highlands encompassing the municipalities of Tula and Ciudad Victoria, where the craft has its deepest roots and most production.
Here, artisans have been manufacturing the Cuera Tamaulipeca for over a century using traditional methods. The jacket is typically made from calfskin or deerskin, featuring light leather prints and floral designs, along with long fringes on the sleeves, back, and front.
Following the Protected Geographical Indication recognition, producers must now use the phrase “Protected Geographical Indication Cuera Tamaulipeca” or the acronym “PGI” on their garments to protect the piece from misuse or imitation and to guarantee buyers an original piece.
Furthermore, the IMPI will work on obtaining international recognition of this Geographical Indication through the international trade treaties and agreements in force in Mexico.
Hernández added that this legal protection represents one step towards integrating the Cuera Tamaulipeca as a central symbol of tourism promotion campaigns at fairs, exhibitions and digital platforms, to showcase the quality, creativity and authenticity of Tamaulipas.
This is the first time a product originating from Tamaulipas has received protection under the Geographical Indication designation.
The PGI should not be confused with the Origin Denomination (DO). While both recognize a product exclusive to a certain region, the DO recognizes the natural and environmental conditions of the area of origin as an essential condition for the existence of such a product, while the PG distinguishes a product due to its reputation and identity in the region.
Creel, which draws its share of tourists for Day of the Dead commemorations, is one of five Chihuahua Pueblos Mágicos that will benefit from a public-private partnership bringing digital payment tools to area merchants. (Chihuahua State Government)
Spanish banking giant BBVA and the state of Chihuahua this week announced an alliance to provide digital services to the northern state’s Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns).
Chihuahua, where 70% of tourism businesses are unbanked and lack tools for cashless payments, is the first state to establish an Avanzamos por México partnership.
“Many tourism businesses here lack the basic tools to compete in a market where visitors demand easy payment options, formality and trust,” Chihuahua Tourism Minister Edibray Gómez said.
The Chihuahua Tourism Ministry (Sectur Chih) said the goal is to promote digitization and financial inclusion, while also boosting tourism, particularly in the state’s five Magical Towns — Batopilas, Casas Grandes, Creel, Guachochi and Parral.
“Promotion and infrastructure open the door [to tourists], whereas quality service and ease of payment prompt the visitor to return,” Gómez said.
Recorriendo México cada día conozco y amo más a mi patria y a mi pueblo. Eso me hace feliz. Esta semana cruzamos más de 700 kilómetros para visitar Guachochi, corazón de la Sierra Tarahumara. pic.twitter.com/VT4kTNh6Yt
In addition to the Pueblos Mágicos, municipalities and tourist locations will also benefit from easier access to banking services for micro-, small and medium-sized tourism businesses, as well as safer and more transparent payments for tourists. Additionally, the program is designed to strengthen financial inclusion through training in digital finance.
“The global trend is towards digital payments, which is why this strategy actively integrates the tourism value chain to modernize it,” Gómez said.
A publicity program will position the “Mexico” and “Magical Towns” brands in more than 8,000 ATMs in Chihuahua, as well as 6,000 self-service kiosks, 4,700 screens, 25 mega-screens and 1,600 branches, in addition to digital channels.
Furthermore, financial access and banking services will be provided for community tourism projects, financial and technological education will be provided to entrepreneurs in the sector, and financial incentives will be offered to tourists such as reward programs, interest-free periods and cashback programs.
The animal welfare policy includes plans for a new 500-dog shelter and aims to increase public funding for independent shelters. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar / Cuartoscuro.com)
In a push to promote responsible pet ownership, Mexico City plans to crack down on dog-biting while aiming to become free of dog feces.
During a canine and feline sterilization service event in the borough of Tláhuac on Tuesday, Mayor Clara Brugada said her government is moving to strengthen animal welfare policy, outlining 10 proposals to “make Mexico City a very animal-friendly city.”
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada outlined some of her government’s animal welfare policy goals during a sterilization event in the borough of Tláhuac. (Camila Ayala Bernabib/Cuartoscuro.com)
One top priority is to guarantee a city free of fecal matter in public areas, especially on sidewalks. To achieve a poop-free city, the government will target pet owners with an awareness campaign and will enforce fines and penalties that already exist.
Brugada said the government will establish a dedicated phone line so that “citizens can report anyone who does not comply with the measure” of picking up their dogs’ feces.
The mayor also acknowledged that the capital leads the nation in dog-biting incidents. Olivia Garza, a member of the Mexico City Congress, said she intends to submit legislation to address the problem.
Garza said her bill strengthens penalties for dog owners whose pets bite someone else (25-36 hours of administrative arrest and 12-18 hours of community service), while also increasing administrative detention from 24 to 36 hours for owners who walk their dogs without a leash.
“Responsible guardianship is not optional,” Garza said. “Protecting children, the elderly, and animals themselves is an obligation.”
Brugada told reporters that the city’s new pet registration system (launched in June 2023) has attracted 200,000 new canine members since October 2024, reaching 300,000 registrations overall.
“Our goal is to have zero street animals,” she said.
Mobile units that will be sent into all 16 boroughs will not only allow owners to register their pets, but can also provide free vaccinations.
Other goals of the Animal Welfare Plan are to build 100 free veterinary clinics, 200 dog parks (40 new parks are scheduled to be completed this year), a shelter with capacity for 500 rescued animals and a fund for independent animal shelters. The city is also building a new veterinary hospital that is expected to open next year.
Additionally, Brugada said that the city hopes to provide 150,000 sterilizations this year, more than doubling the 65,000 performed last year.
The new cell phone alerts, modeled after Mexico's earthquake alert system, aim to warn the public of risks like flash flooding, landslides or other rain-related dangers dangers. (Gabriel Larios Heredia/Cuartoscuro)
In addition to earthquake alerts, cell phone users in Mexico will soon receive alerts warning them of extreme rain events.
During this year’s hurricane season, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) will trial an “extraordinary rain” alert system, which will send cell phone messages to people in areas where extreme precipitation is forecast.
Flooding, mudslides and other rain-related damage can be one of the most costly and dangerous aspects of a hurricane. That was the case for Hurricane John in 2024, which dumped nearly a meter of rain on Acapulco over the course of several days, causing severe flooding. (Carlos Alberto Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)
SMN chief Fabián Vázquez Romaña announced the initiative in Mexico City this week at a meeting of the World Meteorological Organization’s Region IV Hurricane Committee, which includes meteorological experts from North American, Central American and Caribbean countries.
He said that 2026 will be a “trial year,” but added that he believes sufficient progress has been made on the development of the SMN alert system for it to be a “very good approximation” of what it will eventually become.
Vázquez said that when there is a forecast of “extreme rain” in an area of the country, cell phone users in that area will receive a message advising them to take precautions. He said that people would receive the alert “a few days” before a torrential rain event is forecast to occur.
The greatest value of a such an alert system would be to advise people in a timely manner of the risk of flash flooding, landslides or other dangers in the area where they are located. It could also advise people to take additional precautions when a hurricane intensifies rapidly, as was the case with Hurricane Otis, which devastated Acapulco in October 2023.
The Atlantic hurricane seasons starts June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.
Vázquez said that a forecast on the number of hurricanes expected in each ocean has not yet been formulated.
“We’re still doing the analyses, it’s very early,” he said at the Hurricane Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Vázquez said that the SMN is monitoring climatic conditions, and noted that an El Niño event could begin in September.
“With El Niño, the number of tropical cyclones generally falls in the Atlantic, but increases in the Pacific,” he said.
The last El Niño cycle lasted from September 2023 to April 2024 and fueled Hurricane Otis, which wreaked havoc in Acapulco after unexpectedly escalated to a Category 5 storm. (Carlos Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)
In 2025, there were 13 named storms in the North Atlantic, including three category 5 hurricanes. Mexico wasn’t directly affected by any of the category 5 hurricanes, but Tropical Storm Barry made landfall in Tamaulipas last June.
‘Risks associated with tropical cyclones are both real and increasing’
At the Hurricane Committee meeting in Mexico, the secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization Celeste Saulo said that “the risks associated with tropical cyclones are both real and increasing.”
“It only takes one landfalling tropical cyclone to roll back years of development. And this was unfortunately the case with Hurricane Melissa,” she said, referring to the powerful hurricane that devastated Jamaica last October and claimed more than 90 lives.
According to a statement issued by the SMN, Vázquez told his fellow Region IV Hurricane Committee representatives that it is “essential to jointly strengthen observation, forecasting, and communication capabilities in order to cope with increasingly intense meteorological phenomena.”
Mexico's federal security minister, interior minister, defense minister and foreign affairs minister were among those in attendance at the meeting with FIFA on Wednesday in Mexico City. (Omar García Harfuch/X)
Just over three months ahead of the opening match of the FIFA men’s World Cup in Mexico City, Mexican officials met with FIFA representatives on Wednesday to discuss the security arrangements for the quadrennial tournament.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch announced on social media that federal authorities and authorities from the three Mexican entities that will host World Cup matches — Mexico City, Jalisco and Nuevo León — met with FIFA representatives to “coordinate the security actions” for the tournament, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada.
— Rosa Icela Rodríguez Velázquez (@rosaicela_) March 4, 2026
He said that the meeting, which took place at the Security Ministry headquarters in Mexico City, was held on the instructions of President Claudia Sheinbaum. García Harfuch, Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla, Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente and the government’s World Cup coordinator Gabriela Cuevas were among the federal officials in attendance. The FIFA representatives included the organization’s chief tournament officer in Mexico, Jurgen Mainka.
A total of 13 World Cup matches will be played in Mexico at stadiums in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Mexico and South Africa will play the opening match of the tournament at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca on June 11. Up to 5 million World Cup tourists are expected to visit Mexico during the 5-week tournament.
At Wednesday’s meeting, García Harfuch said that Mexican officials and FIFA representatives reviewed “the intelligence, prevention, and operational deployment protocols that will be implemented during this international event.”
Asked whether there was any risk for World Cup tourists, she replied: “No risk, none.”
The federal government conveyed a similar message after Wednesday’s meeting with FIFA representatives.
According to a statement issued by Mexico’s Security Ministry (SSPC), García Harfuch said that “coordination” between federal authorities and the authorities in Mexico City, Jalisco and Nuevo León will allow “security conditions” to be guaranteed for Mexicans and international visitors during the World Cup.
According to the SSPC, Trevilla said that an “unprecedented” security strategy based on “inter-institutional coordination” is being developed for the tournament, while Rodríguez “reiterated the commitment of the government of Mexico to work in coordination with FIFA to guarantee the stay of visitors during the event, through the streamlining of visa processes, permits and immigration control.”
The meeting in Mexico City came a week after FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that the organization he leads has “full trust in the authorities in Mexico” and “full confidence” that the country will be a successful World Cup host. Those remarks came just three days after fiery narco-blockades appeared in states across the country and Jalisco New Generation Cartel members set banks and OXXO stores on fire and engaged in gunfights with National Guard officers.
“Mexico is a football country, and the Mexicans, the authorities but also the people, will do everything they can to ensure that the World Cup and the playoffs [in Guadalajara and Monterrey this month] … will be a celebration of football,” Infantino said.
On Wednesday, FIFA representatives “expressed their appreciation for the coordinated work of the various departments of the Government of Mexico in organizing the World Cup, particularly regarding security at the venues where the matches will be held,” the SSPC said.
According to the Security Ministry statement, they also “reiterated their confidence in the progress of the preparatory actions” ahead of the FIFA men’s World Cup in Mexico, which will become the first country to host the event three times.
Shashanda Trujillo volunteers across Pueblo Vallarta and her work has made her an important part of the community —both human and furred. (Shashanda Trujillo)
I’ve met Shashanda Trujillo once, and our encounter lasted maybe 10 minutes. But she’s stayed on my mind.
I was covering a free spay-and-neuter clinic in the Independencia neighbourhood of Puerto Vallarta when I noticed a woman smiling as she tenderly cared for a nervous little kitty. Her smile was easy and unforced, the kind that immediately puts animals and people, at ease. There was a natural kindness about her that didn’t demand attention; it simply registered in the room.
Sashanda has been in Mexico since 2021, when she left Texas. She spends her time between a number of different animal charities. (Shashanda Trujillo)
I could tell she had a story, and I knew I’d want to tell it one day.
Trujillo moved to Puerto Vallarta on Christmas Day 2021, leaving Dallas behind for this bright, humming city by the sea. Four years later, she’s become one of those quietly indispensable people. She’s the volunteer who remembers names, brings extra bandages and stays late to finish the paperwork.
“I always wished I had more time to give,” she said in that warm, unhurried way she has.
Before retiring, Trujillo supported organizations financially, but, like many of us juggling busy lives, she never felt she had enough hours.
“When I knew I was coming to Mexico, I saw it as a golden opportunity,” she said, “because finally, I would have more time!”
That gift of time has been the hinge of her generosity. She didn’t suddenly become a superhero. She simply chose, deliberately, to invest her days where they could do the most good.
Her approach is small, practical and wise.
“Sometimes the need seems endless,” Trujillo said, “but if we all do just a little, it goes a long way.”
That sentence could be a motto for her volunteer efforts. It’s not about dramatic rescues or a single sweeping act; it’s the thousand tiny things that make life kinder: the folding of flyers, the answering of phones, the calming of a scared pup in pre-op, and the decision to sit and listen to someone who’s had a rough week, without needing to fix them.
Trujillo divides her time among groups that address different needs, but the throughline is always the same. Be present, be useful, and do what you can.
What Trujillo really understands, and what she carries like a gentle instruction for anyone who wants to help, is how much difference love and attention can make.
Shashanda doesn’t just care for sick animals. (Shashanda Trujillo)
“Being shown love and care changes lives, not only that of the receiver but also the giver,” she said. “My purpose is to share my passion for helping others in any capacity that I can.”
I love that phrasing: helping “in any capacity.” It’s permission to plug in where you fit, whether lifting heavy boxes or offering quiet company. That humility is what keeps volunteers from burning out and keeps organizations functioning with heart rather than heroics.
Burnout is real, and Trujillo admits it candidly.
“Volunteering is easy,” she said, “but it takes commitment.”
When she first arrived, she was out six days a week. She was eager, generous and perhaps a little overzealous. She learned quickly that her enthusiasm needed guardrails.
“I can’t do it all, at least not all at once!” she said.
That realization freed her to be more strategic and sustainable.
“I incorporated these things to ensure I could be the best version of myself,” she said, “while supporting others!”
She built self-care into her calendar. Days off, yoga, walks, reading, travel and time with friends. It’s a model that’s deceptively radical. Treat your own well-being as part of your volunteer plan so that you can keep giving without emptying yourself.
There’s something restorative about Puerto Vallarta that feeds Trujillo’s work.
“Puerto Vallarta and its people have given me so much,” she said. “It is a place where time slows down, and occasionally even stands still. I feel healthier and more grounded than ever before.”
That grounding shows in the way she moves through the city’s volunteer circuits: steady, kind, unfussy.
Puerto Vallarta’s sunset are one of Shashanda’s favorite parts of living in Mexico. (Secrets Vallarta Bay Puerto Vallarta)
And then there are the small joys she returns to, the ones that stitch her days together.
“My favorite thing about living in Puerto Vallarta is sunsets,” she said. “No two are the same, but they are all absolutely beautiful!”
Picture finishing a clinic shift, with sandy shoes and tired hands, and then catching a sky that softens everything. That’s the kind of simple balm that reminds you why you keep showing up.
Shashanda Trujillo’s volunteering touches both people and animals, and that dual focus is part of what makes her contribution so full-bodied. With Vallarta Cares, she helps neighbors access essentials and services; with Friends of Puerto Vallarta Animals and the Cuale Spay Neuter Clinic, she helps reduce suffering and prevents future generations of stray animals through fostering, adoption and humane sterilization. RISE brings together rescue, education and support in ways that require a patchwork of talents.
Invite someone to volunteer, and you’ll often hear the same hesitations: I don’t have the time; I don’t know where to start; I’m afraid I’ll get overwhelmed. Trujillo’s answer is the simplest and smartest I’ve heard.
“Start with what you can, protect yourself, and keep your heart open,” she said. “Sometimes the need seems endless, but if we all do just a little, it goes a long way.”
Shashanda says her purpose in Vallarta is to “share my passion for helping others in any capacity that I can.” (Josef Kandoll Wepplo)
You feel the truth of it when she says it. It’s not a call to martyrdom; it’s a practical invitation to add a stitch to the whole cloth. One hour a week. One afternoon a month. A few dollars. An offer to foster. Those small, steady things add up.
Trujillo sees the potential in the broader community.
“I hope that the volunteer community continues to grow,” she said. “People come here from every walk of life. They have ideas, experience and passion for what they do that can help make Puerto Vallarta an even better place to visit and live!”
That’s civic optimism grounded in experience, and it’s a reminder that newcomers and longtimers alike bring different gifts that all matter. Skills-based volunteering, such as bookkeeping, translation marketing or grant writing, can have outsized effects because it frees up hands-on volunteers to be in the field.
Trujillo’s story is both an example and an invitation. She didn’t arrive with a grand plan to save the world; she arrived wanting a life that felt fuller and kinder. Four years later, that life looks like yoga mornings, books in the afternoon and volunteer shifts that make a neighborhood a little safer and a few more animals a little healthier.
If you’re reading this and you feel a tiny tug — maybe you have a skill, an extra hour on weekends or simply the willingness to sit and listen — take it from Trujillo, and bring what you have. Start small, be consistent and give yourself permission to rest.
Whether you’re in Puerto Vallarta or somewhere altogether different, your community will reward you with steadier rhythms and the quiet satisfaction of having made life kinder.
Shashanda Trujillo’s story reminds us that thriving communities are built by ordinary people doing ordinary things with extraordinary care. And maybe if we all give a little — while remembering to keep a little back for ourselves — we might just surprise ourselves with how much that balance can change things.
For everyone.
Charlotte Smith is a writer and journalist based in Mexico. Her work focuses on travel, politics and community.
