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MND Local: Safety spotlighted in Los Cabos during high season peaks, plus other news and updates

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Chris Sands
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Spring Break Los Cabos
Over 52,000 Spring Breakers had a great time in Los Cabos this year; over 60,000 if you count the parents that tagged along. (LVIN)

Spring Break and Semana Santa — the Holy Week before Easter and a traditional family travel period in Mexico — are the one-two punch that marks the peak of high tourist season in Los Cabos. This year, for the third year in a row, hotel occupancy rates hit 90% during Semana Santa. For context, the average occupancy rate during the rest of the year is 70%, and the only other time 90% has ever been reached is during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. 

So Semana Santa on its own is noteworthy. But following, as it does, hot on the heels of Spring Break, a monthlong period in March during which college students from the U.S. flock to Médano Beach in Cabo San Lucas and other areas of Los Cabos, this period of intense tourist activity provides an annual bellwether, not only for how robust Los Cabos remains as a tourist market, but also how it is being perceived in terms of safety.

Spring Break goes off without a hitch

Spring Break in Los Cabos
Los Cabos continues to cement its status as one of Mexico’s Spring Break capitals, drawing increasing numbers of students each of the last four years.

As has been noted before, Los Cabos is one of the safest travel destinations on the planet. But this reputation is always tested during Spring Break, not only because of the participants’ age, but also because of the amount of booze they consume and the media attention the event receives. The spotlight on this year’s Spring Break was further enhanced by the February incidents following the death of CJNG cartel leader “El Mencho,” with cards and businesses set on fire in numerous mainland states, including in tourist hotspots Puerto Vallarta and Cancún.

There were no incidents in Los Cabos, as per usual, and the destination was actually expected to benefit from the negative perception attached to Puerto Vallarta, with up to 20,000 Spring Breakers thought to be considering a switch of travel plans from PV to Los Cabos. However, that turned out to be a wildly optimistic surmise. Los Cabos received 52,000 Spring Breakers this March, an enormous number, but only 2,000 more than it had been anticipating all along.

Zero safety concerns

But, importantly for the destination’s reputation, Spring Break went off without a hitch or any safety blemish. Important and also interesting, since as Sudcaliforniano recently reported, over 10,000 parents came along for the party, or about 20% of the college-age kids on Spring Break in Los Cabos this year. This contingent of parents was a new feature and could only have happened in response to safety fears following the aforementioned incidents on the Mexican mainland.

But Los Cabos authorities were up to the task of handling the massive influx — in recent years, Los Cabos has typically received not just large numbers of Spring Break and Semana visitors, but over 350,000 tourists in total in both March and April — and as always, the ability to handle security challenges posed by this level of tourism didn’t happen by accident.

New surveillance cameras are being installed on Playa El Médano and other Los Cabos beaches

Keeping Spring Breakers and Semana Santa travelers safe this year required joint efforts between numerous municipal, state and federal agencies, from Zofemat — the federal agency in charge of Mexico’s coastline — to the Mexican Navy, Los Cabos police, firefighters and rescue teams, the Red Cross, Civil Protection and others.

But surveillance cameras were also part of the plan, including a 5 million pesos investment in six new Zofemat lifeguard towers with video surveillance cameras for El Médano and Empacadora Beaches, which frame Cabo San Lucas Bay. The new cameras were specifically installed to protect swimmers during Spring Break and Semana Santa this year, each with a 200-meter range and a 180-degree field of view.

surveillance cameras in Los Cabos
Surveillance cameras are becoming increasingly common on Los Cabos beaches. (Zofemat Los Cabos)

Those are added to the existing surveillance cameras on Médano Beach, which are designed not only to prevent drownings, but also to provide round-the-clock protection against theft, vandalism and unauthorized vendors. 

“We are pleased that this is happening here in Médano, but it will also be in Santa María, Palmilla, Chileno, Acapulquito and others,” Zofemat coordinator Rafael Álvarez Munguía told Sudcaliforniano. “All these certified beaches, which are popular with tourists, will now have this video surveillance to monitor the activities of our concession holders and also to aid in coastal control.”

Baja California Sur is the leading state in Mexico for foreign investment in tourism

Safety, natural beauty and other factors contributed to Baja California Sur — home to popular tourist destinations like Los Cabos, La Paz and Loreto — leading all Mexican states in attracting direct foreign investment for tourism in 2025. The statistics for last year were recently reported by SETUE (the state’s Secretaría de Turismo y Economía), and BCS accounted for over 40% of the national total invested, with just over US $1.29 billion.

The U.S. led the way, providing 84% of the money invested, followed by Canada and Spain. But interesting, not only were the U.K. and the Netherlands also investors to the tune of US $28 million combined, but that was less than the amount invested in 2025 by Kazakhstan ($32.5 million). The United Arab Emirates also kicked in $4.4 million.

“This national leadership confirms that Baja California Sur continues to consolidate its position as one of the most attractive tourist destinations for investment in Mexico,” said SETUE head Rosa Maribel Collins Sánchez. “The confidence of international capital strengthens economic growth, generates jobs and contributes to the well-being of families in Baja California Sur.”

Update on the Fonatur roundabout infrastructure project

For close to a year now, the massive infrastructure upgrade adding a four-lane underpass to the Fonatur roundabout in San José del Cabo has been affecting traffic. The goal of the 470 million pesos project is, of course, to improve traffic at the busiest traffic node in Los Cabos, traveled by more than 62,000 vehicles daily. But before traffic could be improved, it had to be slowed even further for a year by construction work.

Fonatur roundabout in Los Cabos
Not only is the Fonatur roundabout underpass project to improve traffic and mobility in Los Cabos nearing completion, but it will be done early. (Ayuntamiento de Los Cabos)

Thankfully, the Fonatur roundabout upgrade, which has been in progress since May 2025, is now nearly 80% complete, according to Roberto Flores Rivera, head of urban development for the Los Cabos municipality. The initial target goal was for the project to be finished by summer 2026, but shockingly, those expectations may be surpassed. In fact, if the current pace continues, work will be done by mid-May.

New design gallery opens in San José del Cabo

The Fonatur roundabout project has certainly affected businesses in San José del Cabo, but it hasn’t kept new ones from opening. One of the most notable to open its doors in 2026 is Diálogo Gallery, a design space that launched on March 5 in the heart of the Gallery District, and features a curated selection of art, furnishings and jewelry. These include pieces from the multidisciplinary design studios Atra Form and Dema Taller in Mexico City, art from Galerie Nordehake and jewelry from Ángel Bimbaro, also from Mexico City. 

Chris Sands is a writer and editor for Mexico News Daily, and the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He has also contributed to numerous other websites and publications, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise and Travel, and Cabo Living.

300-kg crocodile alarms bathers at Puerto Escondido’s Bacocho Beach

By
MND Staff
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crocodile being removed from beach
The 3-meter, 300-kg crocodile was not what tourists at Bacocho Beach were expecting to see during their Puerto Escondido visit. (Facebook)

Authorities captured a 300-kg crocodile that had wandered into a bathing area in the popular Oaxaca beach destination of Puerto Escondido, known for its laid-back vibe and good surfing.

Tourists reported the presence of the giant 3-meter-long reptile on Monday morning on Bacocho Beach in Puerto Escondido. According to authorities, the animal posed a real threat to humans if it remained in the crowded area.

In a video shared on social media, Civil Protection’s personnel are seen capturing the animal and transporting it on an ATV to another location. 

After it was confirmed that the animal had no injuries, it was taken to the Lagunita de Punta Colorada, a coastal body of water that authorities considered suitable within the crocodile’s habitat in the coastal area of ​​San Pedro Mixtepec.

Authorities said that the reptile may be one of the crocodiles that emerged from the small lagoon at Playa Marinero after a recent swell event in the region.

In another part of the state, in the municipality of San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, two crocodiles were also seen in the area known as Rodeo Arroyo Pepesca. They were captured and turned over to the Municipal Civil Protection agency.

Civil Protection authorities urge residents and visitors to avoid approaching crocodiles, not to attempt to handle them, and to report any sightings to authorities immediately. They also reassured beachgoers that surveillance and inter-agency coordination are ongoing in the areas where these animals have been detected, in order to prevent risks.

With reports from La Jornada and López Dóriga

Sheinbaum again dismisses UN disappearances report as attack on the government of Mexico

By
MND Staff
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Sheinbaum at podium on April 7, 2026
According to Sheinbaum, the aim of the CED report is "essentially to criticize the government of Mexico." (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)

President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday reiterated her government’s rejection of a report by a United Nations committee that concluded that there are “well-founded indications” that enforced disappearances have been and continue to be committed as crimes against humanity in Mexico.

At her morning press conference, Sheinbaum asserted that the aim of the report by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) is “essentially to criticize the government of Mexico” rather than present an accurate portrayal of the missing persons problem.

Sheinbaum, standing before an official press release, said that federal officials and "human rights experts" would soon hold a press conference to explain in more detail why her government rejects the CED report.
Sheinbaum, standing before an official press release, said that federal officials and “human rights experts” would soon hold a press conference to explain in more detail why her government rejects the CED report. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)

The UN announced last Thursday that the CED had “decided to request the UN Secretary-General to urgently refer the situation of enforced disappearances in Mexico to the UN General Assembly for consideration of measures to support the State Party [i.e., Mexico] in preventing, investigating, punishing and eradicating this crime.”

According to the United Nations’ own definition, “an enforced disappearance is considered to be the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State.”

Sheinbaum’s remarks on Tuesday came after her administration issued a statement last Thursday that said that “Mexico rejects the Committee’s report as biased and dismissive of the observations, analysis, and updates submitted by the Mexican Government.”

The statement also said that “the report primarily addresses events from 2009 to 2017 — under the administrations of Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto — and is limited to four states.”

In addition, it stated that “the Mexican Government does not tolerate, permit, or order enforced disappearances” and “has pursued legislative and institutional reform, in coordination with families’ collectives, to address this scourge.”

Human rights activists and relatives of the disappeared promptly condemned the government’s response, demanding that it accept international aid to face a crisis that has resulted in more than 132,400 missing persons in Mexico, more than 4,500 clandestine graves and nearly 72,000 unidentified human remains.

Sheinbaum: Enforced disappearances ‘no longer occur in Mexico’

On Tuesday morning, a reporter asked the president about the response of CED president Juan Pablo Albán to Mexico’s rejection of the CED report.

In a lengthy social media post on Monday, Albán wrote that the CED’s analysis of enforced disappearances in Mexico is “not limited” to a specific period but rather “examines the evolution of the situation up to the present day.”

Among various other points, he said that Mexico’s disagreement with the CED’s findings is “legitimate,” but its condemnation (or disqualification) of the committee’s report is “questionable.”

Among various declarations on Tuesday morning, Sheinbaum said that:

  • The CED used an analysis of enforced disappearances from 2009 to 2017 in four states “to extrapolate up to 2025.”
  • The CED didn’t take into account “several observations” that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Interior Ministry made in response to a draft of the committee’s report that they were sent.
  • Enforced disappearances “no longer occur in Mexico.”
  • No government institution gives orders for people to be abducted.
  • The government is working to combat — and “wants to eradicate” — abductions committed by organized crime groups.
  • The government has “developed and approved new laws” aimed at combating abductions.
  • The government is “helping to search” for all people reported as missing in Mexico.
  • It is unjust for the CED to “equate” abductions committed by organized crime groups to enforced disappearances.
  • The CED itself highlighted that “it found no evidence of a federal policy to commit enforced disappearances.”
  • The CED “is not recognizing the effort” the Mexican government is making to combat the crime of abductions and locate missing persons.
  • The aim of the CED report is “essentially to criticize the government of Mexico.”
  • The CED report has “a lot of weaknesses.”

Sheinbaum said that federal officials and “human rights experts” would hold a press conference to explain in more detail why her government rejects the CED report.

“We can bring experts if you like … so that they clearly say what the [content] in this document means and why the government is rejecting it,” she said.

Sheinbaum — who has said that “attending to the problem of missing persons” is a “national priority” for her government — also posed a number of questions to the CED. Among them:

  • “Why is there no recognition that a search commission was established [in 2018]?”
  • “Why don’t they acknowledge everything the Mexican government has done [to combat abductions] and its firm commitment to keep making progress on this issue?”
  • “Why do they want to take [the issue] to the United Nations [General] Assembly?”
  • “Why don’t they recognize the difference between one form of disappearance and another?”
  • “Why don’t they recognize that the Interior Ministry meets with [search] collectives once a week, once a fortnight?”
  • “Why don’t they recognize the number of searches they have been carried out in the country?”

Sheinbaum asserted that there is “no recognition” of anything the Mexican government has been doing to respond to the missing persons crisis.

Sheinbaum rejected a suggestion that the Mexican state is “overwhelmed” by the situation of disappearances, asserting that it is acting in response to a “phenomenon” that “arose” (or, more accurately, worsened) after former president Felipe Calderón launched a militarized war on drug cartels shortly after he took office in late 2006.

Mexico News Daily 

Border BioBlitz is back! Here’s how you can help document biodiversity in the borderlands

By
MND Staff
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Bioblitz volunteer
Using their cell phone cameras and the iNaturalist app, BioBlitz volunteers gather together to record the occurrences of plants and animals within 15 kilometers of either side of the border. (Borderlands Restoration Network/Facebook)

Along a border better known for razor wire, patrol trucks and hundreds of miles of steel fencing, volunteers this spring are fanning out with smartphones to count wildflowers, lizards and birds.

Border BioBlitz 2026 — El BioBlitz de la Frontera in Spanish — is a binational “community science” species survey in April and May taking place in various canyons and desert regions adjacent to the 3,145-kilometer U.S.-Mexico border.

BorderBli¿tz 2026 volunteers
The U.S.-Mexico Border BioBlitz has been an annual event since 2018, when participants logged more than 800 species along roughly 500 miles of border. In recent years, the number of volunteers has been around 1,000. (terrapeninsular/ Instagram)

Individuals and teams roam priority areas within 15 kilometers north and south of the international border from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico There are also organized events at different points.

Participants use the iNaturalist app to upload photos and GPS-tagged records of plants and animals they find.

Recent observations include a Southwestern speckled rattlesnake and a sweet clover root borer moth, and many people are coming across a rare, mushroom-shaped, parasitic desert plant called “sand food.”

The project’s online “statistics page” includes rankings for most observations and what species (such as saguaro cactuses and California poppies) are spotted most often.

In Ciudad Juárez, tours on April 18 and 26 will send residents into the Muleros/Cristo Rey range and along the Rio Bravo, opposite Sunland Park, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, to document borderland species. Similar outings are planned from south Texas to Southern California and from Ciudad Juárez to Tijuana.

The effort is led by the Next Generation of Sonoran Desert Researchers (N-Gen), with the San Diego Natural History Museum and Botanical Community Development Initiatives, in partnership with local groups such as the Sierra de Juárez collective.

“It doesn’t matter if you have experience or not,” said Raymundo Aguilar, coordinator of Sierra de Juárez. “Everyone is welcome. You just need curiosity and a desire to connect with nature.”

Participants are urged to leave rocks, plants and animals undisturbed, and to have their phone loaded with iNaturalist, an app being used in part to build open biodiversity data.

Organizers say the BioBlitz aims to “record as many species as possible,” filling data gaps in an environmentally rich but politically fraught region. 

Past editions have discovered rare or little-known plants, such as Tecate cypress and carpets of common goldfields growing right up against a portion of border wall.

The volunteer work dovetails with efforts by botanists who have named dozens of new plant species in the border region and used field data to flag sites that might deserve new protections.

The original U.S.-Mexico Border BioBlitz in 2018 logged more than 800 species at 11 locations along roughly 500 miles of border. In recent years, roughly 1,000 volunteers have participated.

For more information, visit the BioBlitz 2026 home page.

Mexico News Daily

Portugal has a message to the soccer world: ‘Mexico is a safe country’ for the World Cup

By
MND Staff
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Portuguese team in Mexico
Legends of the Portuguese national soccer team had some fun in Tepito before the March 28 Portugal-Mexico friendly. (Facebook)

Portugal’s national soccer team has stated clearly and publicly that they never felt unsafe during their visit to Mexico City for the March 28 friendly match at Banorte Stadium (Estadio Azteca), adding their voice to the counternarrative to the media-driven assumption that Mexico is too dangerous to host the World Cup.

Joao Madjer, head coach of the Portuguese national team, told ESPN that before the friendly match that inaugurated the still-being-remodeled stadium, they were able to judge the security situation. Their experience in the country was positive.

“We were delighted,” Madjer said. “We saw several landmarks in Mexico City, and there were no problems at all. We even went to Tepito, which they say is a very dangerous area.”

In an event organized by the Portuguese Football Federation on the eve of the match, a group of Portuguese legends made their way to the neighborhood of Tepito — on foot, weaving through the neighborhood’s famous street stalls selling jerseys, sneakers and micheladas — to play a cascarita at the storied Maracaná court, a beloved seven-a-side pitch in the heart of the city.

Former players, including goalkeeper Rui Patrício and forwards Nuno Gomes and Hélder Postiga, along with Ricardinho and Fernando Meira, faced off against a local team in the tricolor. After the match, they signed autographs and posed for selfies with residents and vendors from the neighborhood.

Madjer, who took part in the visit, reflected on the experience on social media. “In one of the most challenging neighborhoods in the world, we always felt safe,” he wrote, adding that the hospitality and warmth shown to the delegation made them feel at home.

The positive statements about Mexico by the Portuguese coaching staff and players are especially meaningful as they follow earlier statements of concern issued by the Portuguese Football Federation in February on the heels of the wave of violent events in reaction to the capture and death of drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Rubén Oseguera Cervantes.

At that time, team officials said they would assess the security situation to determine whether the necessary conditions were in place for the team to travel to Mexico. 

Paulinho, a member of the Portuguese national team, was in a good position to reassure his national teammates, being a resident of Mexico as a forward for Toluca. He acknowledged that there have been recent violent incidents in Jalisco, but stressed to his teammates that they are not daily occurrences.   

“My role was to talk to my teammates, to tell them that Mexico is a safe country,” he said in an interview the day of the match. “I talked to them and reassured them.”

With reports from El Financiero, ESPN and Record

Vizsla Silver confirms 9 of 10 missing Sinaloa mine workers have been found dead

By
MND Staff
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The father of Jose Ángel Hernandez Vélez, one of 9 miners who had gone missing and were later found dead in a clandestine grave, receives a hug from a fellow miner during a march for justice in Zacatecas in February.
The father of Jose Ángel Hernandez Vélez, one of 9 miners who had gone missing and were later found dead in a clandestine grave, receives a hug from a fellow miner during a march for justice in Zacatecas in February. (Adolfo Vladimir/Cuartoscuro)

Canadian mining company Vizsla Silver said on Monday that nine of 10 workers who were abducted in Concordia, Sinaloa, in January had been found dead.

“The Company confirms that nine colleagues have now been found deceased,” Vizsla Silver said in a statement.

The Vancouver-based company said it “remains in close contact with the family of one colleague who remains missing and continues to support the authorities in their ongoing investigation.”

The announcement came after the remains of Saúl Alberto Ochoa Pérez and Miguel Tapia Rayón were identified this month. The bodies of seven other Vizsla Silver workers were previously identified. The worker who remains missing is Antonio Esparza.

The remains of the workers who have been identified were found at a clandestine grave site in El Verde, a small community in Concordia, a municipality that borders the state of Durango. The deceased workers were originally from various Mexican states, including Sinaloa, Sonora, Guerrero, Chihuahua and Zacatecas. Most were aged in their 30s or 40s.

On Monday, the president and CEO of Vizsla Silver, Michael Konnert, said that the confirmation of the deaths of Ochoa and Tapia was “a devastating outcome.”

“… Our heartfelt condolences are with all the families impacted. We stand beside them with continued support as we mourn our colleagues and friends,” he said.

Canadian mining company confirms mass kidnapping of employees in Concordia, Sinaloa

Konnert added that “we will always carry this loss with us” and “will honor our colleagues through the work we do every day and our ongoing commitment to their families, our community in Sinaloa, and the values that define us.”

The ten Vizsla Silver workers — including engineers, geologists and security personnel — were abducted from a company housing development in the early hours of Jan. 23. The housing estate is located near the company’s flagship Panuco silver-gold venture.

On Feb. 10, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said that four people arrested in connection with the abduction told authorities that the victims were mistaken for members of a rival cartel faction. He said that the four people arrested were “from the cell of Los Chapitos,” and noted that that faction of the Sinaloa Cartel is engaged in a “fight” with the Los Mayos faction of the same criminal group.

President Claudia Sheinbaum subsequently said that investigators did not necessarily accept the notion that the abduction was a case of mistaken identity.

According to the newspaper Reforma, former and current Vizsla Silver workers have claimed that the abduction was related to the company’s refusal to pay protection money.

With reports from Milenio, Reforma, UNO TV and CBC

Tainted vitamin drips kill 7 at Sonora clinic: Tuesday’s mañanera recapped

By
MND Staff
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Sheinbaum at podium April 7, 2026
President Sheinbaum on Tuesday also expressed satisfaction that a gun shop owner in Arizona has been formally accused by U.S. authorities of selling weapons to Mexican cartels, mentioning that it could help the Mexican government pursue similar legal actions. (Juan Carlos Ramos Mamahua/Presidencia)

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

  • 🚫 No corruption, no exceptions: Sheinbaum pushed back on a question about irregular government contracts, insisting her administration has zero tolerance for improper conduct and that no one in her personal circle — family, friends or past associates — has any sway over procurement decisions.
  • 💉 Tainted vitamin drips kill 7 in Sonora: Health Minister Kershenobich confirmed that 10 people fell ill after receiving IV vitamin infusions at a Hermosillo clinic, with the death toll now at seven. Lab tests point to a bacterial contaminant in the drips; the clinic has been shut down and final test results are pending.
  • 🔫 Arizona gun shop owner charged: Sheinbaum welcomed the formal U.S. accusation against an Arizona firearms dealer accused of supplying Mexican cartels, calling it a historic first. The Foreign Affairs Ministry is now exploring how to fold the case into Mexico’s existing lawsuit against five Arizona gun stores — a suit filed in 2022 that remains unresolved.

Why today’s mañanera matters

At her Tuesday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum took the opportunity to underscore her commitment to combating corruption. Her predecessor and political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was elected in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform and, like AMLO, Sheinbaum holds herself up as an example of rectitude.

Still, more than seven years after AMLO and the Morena party came to power, Mexico ranks very low on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

Tuesday’s mañanera was also noteworthy as the federal government acknowledged two significant recent developments: a healthcare-related tragedy in Sonora and a significant legal case across that state’s border in Arizona.

Sheinbaum reiterates her commitment to combating corruption 

Asked about alleged irregularities in government contracts, Sheinbaum said that any improper conduct that is detected must be punished.

“We don’t tolerate corruption. That has to be made very clear, and there is no impunity,” she said.

Sheinbaum went on to say that no one close to her — “not my children, not my husband, not my friends” — has any influence in decisions related to government contracts.

She said that officials in her government have instructions not to meet with anyone who is personally close to her, or has been close to her in the past.

“Fortunately, my children are dedicated to other things, my mother has an academic career, my relatives don’t participate in any way in actions of this kind,” Sheinbaum said.

“… There can be no influence of any kind for any government contract. None,” she added.

7 people die in Sonora after receiving vitamin drips

Health Minister David Kershenobich told reporters that 10 people became ill after receiving intravenous vitamin infusions in Sonora.

He said that six of those people passed away, two remained in the hospital and two had been discharged from the hospital. According to reports published on Tuesday morning, the death toll has risen to seven.

The vitamin drips were prepared and administered by a doctor at a clinic in Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora.

Kershenobich said that laboratory tests had detected possible evidence of “a bacterial contaminant” in the vitamin infusions that were administered. He said that authorities are still waiting for final results to confirm the cause of the deaths in Sonora. Kershenobich also said that the clinic where the vitamin drips were administered has been shut down by authorities.

Sheinbaum comments on accusation against US gun shop owner 

Sheinbaum expressed satisfaction that a gun shop owner in Arizona has been formally accused by U.S. authorities of selling weapons to Mexican cartels.

“It’s great that, really, for the first time, there has been an action of this kind,” she said.

AZ gun store owner accused of arming 2 Mexican cartels

Sheinbaum also said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is analyzing how it can “incorporate” the accusation against the gun shop owner in Arizona into the Mexican government’s lawsuit against gun retailers in the same state.

In 2022, the federal government filed a lawsuit against five gun stores in Arizona, accusing them of involvement in illegal arms trafficking to Mexico, where criminal organizations use U.S.-sourced weapons to commit a range of crimes, including homicide. Around 3 1/2 years after the lawsuit was filed, the case still hasn’t been resolved.

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

Blockade update: Protests still impacting 4 Mexican highways

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MND Staff
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Farmers in Costa Rica, Sinaloa, protested unfair prices for their harvests and insecurity on the highways.
Farmers in Costa Rica, Sinaloa, protested unfair prices for their harvests and insecurity on the highways. (José Betanzos Zarate/Cuartoscuro)

Protesting farmers and truckers decried intimidation tactics while declaring on Tuesday that the highway blockades would continue, though to a lesser extent.

On Monday, blockades were established on a dozen federal highways in protest of highway insecurity and rising business costs, including high fuel prices and extortion. As of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the only active blockades were in the states of Guanajuato (Federal Highway 110 at several points), Baja California (San Luis Río Colorado-Mexicali), Tamaulipas (Ciudad Victoria-Matamoros) and Michoacán (a stretch of the Mexico City-Guadalajara highway near Contepec).

A Monday evening Interior Ministry press release said “constant coordination with state governments and representatives of the sectors involved” throughout the day led to the dissolution of six of the 11 highway blockades across the country. 

Citing the goal of minimizing the impact on citizens, while “respecting the right to free expression,” the government urged the remaining protesters “to use institutional channels of dialogue and clear the roads to … guarantee free transit on the country’s highways.”

In contrast, the National Association of Truckers (ANTAC) and the National Front for the Rescue of the Mexican Countryside (FNRCM) said the government had “sabotaged” their protests, while insisting the strike had not been canceled.

ANTAC spokesperson Jeannet Chumacero accused the authorities of using strikebreakers in the transport and agricultural sectors to sow confusion among truckers and farmers.

Chumacero also criticized the intimidation tactics and said the government would be held responsible for any aggression against leaders and participants in the strike action.

The newspaper El Universal reported that ANTAC claimed some protesters in the state of Tlaxcala were threatened at the point of a gun and beaten, while insisting several others were allegedly “disappeared.”

The Tlaxcala government said any action taken by the authorities was in strict accordance with the law, adding that there was no record of anybody being detained.

“State intervention was carried out under containment protocols and proportional use of force,” the government said, insisting that officials employed non-lethal deterrent agents such as water and tear gas to disperse the protesters.

Although ANTAC insisted the blockades would continue, the federal government said protesters had withdrawn from blocked highways in Tlaxcala and Morelos early Tuesday morning. 

Other protesters ended blockades in northern Mexico, allowing the Mexicali–San Luis Río Colorado highway — the main interstate linking Baja California to Sonora — to reopen.

Although truckers have shown support for the strike, freight companies have distanced themselves from the blockades. 

The National Chamber of Freight Transportation said that while it is sympathetic to the issues motivating the mobilizations, dialogue is the best way forward.

With reports from La Jornada, El Financiero and El Universal

Guadalajara to host ‘masculinity congress’ featuring right-wing celebrities

By
MND Staff
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Fearless Congress
Tickets for the three days of the congress cost between 7,490 (US $422) and 1,450 pesos (US $82) and attendance is expected to surpass 10,000. (Fearless)

A so-called religious event in the state of Jalisco being promoted as an opportunity to address men’s mental health is attracting criticism for advocating traditional gender roles and discourses associated with the “manosphere.”

Set for April 17-19 at the Sanctuary of the Martyrs in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco (a suburb of Guadalajara), the Fearless Congress 2026 is being billed as “the largest masculinity congress in Latin America.”

Among the sponsors of the congress are the state government of Jalisco and the municipal governments of Guadalajara and Zapopan, all headed by members of the Citizens’ Movement party (MC).

Although MC is classified as a center-left, social-democratic and progressive party, Jalisco has long been considered a socially conservative state, featuring deeply rooted Catholic and traditional values.

The speakers range from entertainers like Eduardo Verástegui (an ultra-conservative actor/singer/producer who actively supports U.S. President Donald Trump) to footballers like Carles Puyol (former Spain and Barcelona captain), Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and Spanish psychologist Isabel Rojas Estapé.

“We are living through a silent crisis: men confused, empty and disconnected from their purpose,” reads the website of event organizers Fearless. “Masculine identity has weakened, leaving profound questions: Am I enough? Do I have what it takes?”

Tickets for the three days of the congress cost between 7,490 (US $422) and 1,450 pesos (US $82) and attendance is expected to surpass 10,000.

Andrés Villaseñor, the event organizer, says the project arose in response to a “crisis of male identity.”

In a message widely disseminated on social media, he asserts that “men have lost their way,” and face problems with depression, addiction and a lack of purpose. Villaseñor insists that men should “return to the original plan” to become “defenders, protectors and providers.”

Critics suggest that such statements reinforce traditional gender stereotypes and reduce the complexity of male issues to a conservative vision with a strong religious component.

The manosphere is described as a growing network of online communities that promotes masculinity and spreads misogyny and hate by trivializing gender-based violence and reinforcing discriminatory stereotypes, while suggesting that men are victims of the modern world.

The United Nations has labeled the manosphere a serious threat to gender equality.

Complaints have also arisen about the promotion the congress has received from channels linked to government agencies in Jalisco, Guadalajara and Zapopan, prompting debate about the use of public platforms to promote events with a specific ideological and religious focus.

With reports from La Jornada, El Sol de México, El Occidental, Debate and Espejo magazine

MND Local: The Guadalajara International Film Festival returns, and Zapopan struggles to protect green spaces

By
Dawn Stoner
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A sun-drenched, tree-lined walking path in the Guadalajara, Mexico, suburb of Zapopan. It's lined with blooming purple jacaranda trees and magenta bougainvillea under a clear blue sky. Cyclists are in the distance.
Springtime on Avendia Aurelio Ortega in the Guadalajara suburb of Zapopan. (Dawn Stoner)

April in Guadalajara means enjoying top foreign films screened at the annual film festival in cool, dark theaters to beat the springtime heat. In this week’s article, we also take a look at how Zapopan is doing in protecting its dwindling tree canopy.

Guadalajara International Film Festival returns 

The Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) is one of the city’s most significant cultural events of the year. It’s also one of Latin America’s largest and longest-running film festivals, now in its 41st edition.

Poster for the 41st edition of the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG), happening April 17-25, 2026. The art on the poster shows an illustration of a young man with brown eyes, wearing a white shirt, standing in front of a tree branch that has several yellow bellied birds on it. They are obscuring most of his face.
The 41st Festival Internacional de Cine in Guadalajara is your chance to see up-and-coming art films. This year, Chile is the guest country of honor. (FICG)

The event showcases both Mexican and Ibero-American cinema, including full-length features, documentaries, animated films and shorts. In many cases, directors attend the screenings and host post-film Q&As, enabling attendees to gain behind-the-scenes insights into the creative process. 

The FICG this year features 192 films from Mexico, Latin America, Europe and the United States. As the guest country of honor this year, there will also be 28 films from Chile, including works that tackle challenging but timely themes, such as political oppression, violence, political resistance, morality and death.  

Films are screened at various locations around the city, but most happen at Cineteca FICG in north Zapopan, which is owned and operated by the University of Guadalajara. The vast majority of the festival’s films are shown in Spanish, but a handful are screened in English, Portuguese or German, with subtitles.

To check out the full calendar of screenings and purchase tickets, visit the FICG 2026 homepage. 

Date: April 17-25

Location: Cinteca FICG, Centro Cultural Universitario, Av. Perif. Pte. Manuel Gómez Morín 1695, Rinconada de La Azalea, Belenes Norte, Zapopan, plus other locations. View the full schedule here.

Tickets: Available from Cineteca (University of Guadalajara). Most films cost 60 pesos.

Dwindling green spaces in Guadalajara

A color-coded map showing the public urban tree inventory of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (ZMG) in Jalisco, Mexico, with red, orange and green zones.
Guadalajara’s new tree census shows the tree canopy is healthier and denser on the city’s wealthier west side. Green areas denote neighborhoods with the most trees per hectare, while red is the least. (Imeplan)

As we approach Earth Day celebrations on April 22, one of the things Guadalajara residents frequently hear is that theirs is the most arboleda (wooded) major city in Mexico. And yet, a new tree census of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (GMA) published in January by IMEPLAN (the city’s urban planning institute) suggests that the city’s green spaces are coming under increasing pressure.

The GMA’s tree canopy has been steadily declining over recent decades, according to analyses of satellite imagery. Beyond the ubiquitous towers springing up in the city center, an urban sprawl westward (into Bosque la Primavera) and northward (into Bosque El Nixticuil) has consumed vast swaths of local forest in recent years. 

Large infrastructure projects have also contributed, with the Line 3 light-rail route that was completed in 2020, removing roughly 8,000 mature trees along the city’s north side. The tree census found that the Guadalajara Metro Area (GMA) contains 1.3 million trees, or one tree for every four residents. But the distribution is far from equal. 

A green space disparity

One of the census’s more surprising findings is that the city of Guadalajara is doing a better job in tree conservation than its suburbs. It also revealed wide disparities in conservation across municipalities — the GMA is made up of nine municipalities — and between wealthier and lower-income neighborhoods. 

The city of Guadalajara, which encompasses a mere 6% of the total land area in the GMA, accounts for 42% percent of the total tree cover. Zapopan, which occupies 40% of the GMA’s land area, contains just 29% percent of its tree cover. Examined from another angle, Guadalajara’s wealthier neighborhoods like Monraz, Providencia and Bugambilias contain far more trees per hectare than the city’s poorer areas.

Utilizing these latter insights, Guadalajara’s city government has identified priority areas for reforestation as part of its 2025 tree planting plan. Residents interested in adopting a tree to plant on their sidewalk can request one by sending an email to arboladourbano@guadalajara.gob.mx. 

Zapopan residents decry tree removals 

A highly pruned tree in front of an apartment building in Zapopan, Jalisco, part of the Guadalajara metropolitan area.
An aggressive tree pruning in Zapopan’s historic center. (Pablo Toledo)

To better understand what’s happening to Zapopan’s trees, we examined earlier urban canopy management in several of its northern neighborhoods. 

In February, neighbors in Zapopan’s historic center reacted angrily to the city government’s aggressive pruning and removal of multiple healthy trees. City officials defended their decision, stating that their actions were intended to discourage homeless people from sleeping under the trees. 

Area residents bemoaned the aesthetic damage and loss of migratory bird habitats. Others are concerned about how the tree losses will impact temperatures in the historic center. 

“People complain so much about the heat, and it’s precisely because of the lack of trees,” a historic center resident who gave her name as Elizabeth told UDGTV. 

A short walk east of the historic center, residents who live alongside Villa Fantasia Park were similarly caught off guard when city workers removed 10 trees inside the park last month. When residents sought answers, the government stated that the trees had been eliminated because they were not native species.

Citizen input is not being taken into account

Residents also learned that the trees were cut as part of a park rehabilitation project, created without citizen input. The plan, not yet fully implemented, calls for a total of 36 trees to be removed. 

Neighbors have mobilized to seek changes to the plan so that mature trees aren’t sacrificed. As of now, no decision has been made.

Separately, in expat favorite Colonia Ecológica Seattle, residents have been increasingly dismayed by the aggressive culling of more than 80 trees from the Parque Lineal Aurelio Ortega over the past year. This neighborhood is famous for its well-preserved tree canopy, low density and bikeability. 

With so much conflict lately, it seems that Zapopan’s municipal government and residents are not well aligned when it comes to the importance of preserving what’s left of the city’s tree canopy.

MND Writer Dawn Stoner is reporting from Guadalajara.

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