Sheinbaum this week called Trump’s “tough line” on arms trafficking historic and praised increased cooperation between the two countries. (@ATFLouisville/X)
Authorities in the United States have seized nearly 9,700 firearms bound for Mexico since U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term Jan. 20, as U.S. agencies intensify efforts to curb cross-border gun trafficking, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
The Trump administration’s designation of major Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations has made stopping arms trafficking to Mexico a major priority of the ATF. (@ATFLouisville/X)
At a press conference last week, the ATF credited the surge in seizures to a renewed focus on dismantling transnational criminal organizations and cartels, which increasingly rely on high-powered weapons to protect trafficking routes and expand their influence.
An ATF press release from Friday noted that favored weapons include large caliber and/or belt-fed automatic rifles such as the FN M240 and FN M249 — long-range, combat machine guns that are widely used by the U.S. military and allied forces and are typically mounted on vehicles and helicopters or used by infantry with a bipod or tripod.
“ATF is on the front line in the fight against gun-related violence associated with organized gangs and drug trafficking organizations,” said John Nokes, special agent in charge of the ATF Louisville Field Division.
While the Trump administration has emphasized its post-Jan. 20 results, the total number of firearms seized in all of 2025 is even higher.
Reports crediting ATF data indicate that 18,286 weapons were seized in ATF operations across the U.S. from Jan. 1 through early May — though this figure includes all firearms, not just those destined for Mexico.
There is no publicly available figure stating the precise number of firearms bound for Mexico seized by the ATF in 2024. Thus, it’s hard to know whether the 9,700 figure since Jan. 20 is a record or massive increase of any sort.
One report published by the newspaper La Jornada noted that the ATF’s Operation Southbound, launched in 2020 under the Biden administration, seized 2,000 weapons bound for Mexico in the first half of 2023, for a 66% increase over a like period in 2022.
Sheinbaum called Trump’s “tough line” on firearms trafficking historic and praised increased cooperation between Mexico and the United States.
In addition to the press conference last week in Louisville, Kentucky, ATF officials also participated in press conferences in Columbus, Ohio and Nogales, Arizona, to “announce achievements in the interdiction of outbound weapons” and “combatting firearms trafficking to Mexico.”
Bulkmatic's new terminal will feature more capacity than its existing facilities in Tula, Hidalgo, and Salinas Victoria, Nuevo León. (Alejandro Doria/X)
Bulkmatic de México, a logistics company for Mexico’s main railway terminals, will invest US $250 million in a new intermodal terminal in Pesquería, Nuevo León, as it seeks to improve supply chain infrastructure in the country.
The terminal will occupy a 100-hectare site near the Monterrey International Airport and industrial complexes housing KIA and Ternium. The move is part of a larger investment plan in excess of US $600 million, which the company plans to implement over the next ten years.
Bulkmatic, a North American leader in bulk trucking and rail logistics, is expanding in Mexico thanks to its emphasis on sectors that have benefited from the nearshoring boom. (Bulkmatic/on X)
Camilo Gómez, commercial manager of Bulkmatic, said the new terminal will have the capacity to handle commodities such as steel, paper, lumber and, primarily, grains – sectors that are growing thanks to the nearshoring boom.
The terminal will also be able to receive up to two unit trains, primarily focusing on grain storage. It will have the capacity to handle up to 1,300 rail cars, making it one of the largest in the country.
For context, the company’s largest terminal in Tula, Hidalgo, has capacity for 380 cars, while its terminal in Salinas Victoria, Nuevo León, handles 230 cars.
The terminal will feature advanced infrastructure, including silos for grains and minerals, tanks for petrochemicals, and warehouses for hazardous chemicals and plastic resins, as well as a 23-hectare area to store automobiles and steel. It will also be connected to the rail networks of CPKC de México and Ferromex, facilitating logistics and enhancing the competitiveness of its customers.
Bulkmatic CEO Alejandro Doria noted that logistics integration in North America has been key to regional prosperity, driven by the USMCA and the rail systems of Mexico, the United States and Canada.
Doria added that since its arrival in Mexico in 1996, Bulkmatic has grown along with regional trade. Today, it operates more than 14 terminals in the country and connects to more than 40 points of origin and destination. Some of these terminals are located in Salinas Victoria, Nuevo León; Tula, Hidalgo; and the Valley of Mexico.
Overall, Bulkmatic handles approximately 45,000 rail cars annually, equivalent to four million tons of various raw materials. Ninety percent of the raw materials it receives by rail are distributed to more than 800 Mexican manufacturing plants, where they are transformed into products such as cars, refrigerators and syringes.
Many finished products are exported to North America for the final consumer.
The DEA said that the operation dismantled "one of the largest and most dangerous drug trafficking organizations in U.S. history." (DEA)
United States authorities have dealt what Attorney General Pam Bondi called “a significant blow against the Sinaloa Cartel,” seizing a “record-breaking” quantity of fentanyl and arresting 16 people, including an alleged criminal leader from Mexico, in a “record-shattering” operation across five U.S. states.
Bondi and other U.S. officials, including the acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Robert Murphy, announced the “largest fentanyl bust in DEA history” on Tuesday, the result of a six-month-long investigation. More than 400 kilograms of the powerful synthetic opioid were seized, including 396 kilograms of fentanyl pills (2.7 million pills) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Among the 16 people arrested during the multi-agency DEA-led operation carried out in New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Arizona and Nevada was Heriberto Salazar Amaya, a Mexican national and alleged leader of a drug trafficking organization affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel. Bondi told a press conference on Tuesday that he was detained in Salem, Oregon.
Ryan Ellison, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, said that Salazar, 36, is an “illegal alien from Mexico with two prior removals and direct ties to the Mexican cartel.”
However, “court documents, including a motion by prosecutors to detain Salazar Amaya before trial, do not allege a connection to the [Sinaloa] cartel,” Reuters reported.
Bondi said that the “historic drug seizure, led by the DEA, is a significant blow against the Sinaloa Cartel that removes poison from our streets and protects American citizens from the scourge of fentanyl.”
Attorney General of the United States Pamela Bondi described the operation as “a significant blow against the Sinaloa Cartel.” (@DEAHQ/X)
She also said that the drug seizure and arrests “marks the most significant victory in our nation’s fight against fentanyl and drug trafficking to date.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged the fentanyl seizure in the United States at her Wednesday morning press conference, calling it “very significant.”
“They link it to a criminal group from Mexico but it essentially also has to do with United States nationals on the other side of the border,” she said.
Ten of the 16 people arrested in connection with the record-breaking fentanyl bust in what the DEA called a “record-shattering operation” are U.S. citizens.
United States President Donald Trump has made stopping the entry of fentanyl to the U.S. from Mexico a key priority for his administration. In early March, he briefly imposed 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico as he sought to pressure the Mexican government to do more to stop the northward flow of the opioid, the main driver of an overdose crisis in the United States in recent years. Tariffs on non-USMCA compliant Mexican goods remain in effect.
‘One of the largest and most dangerous fentanyl organizations in US history’
In a statement, the DEA noted that cash, firearms and vehicles were also seized in the operation that resulted in the arrests of 16 people and confiscation of “record-breaking quantities of fentanyl,” a drug made by cartels in Mexico with precursor chemicals smuggled into the country from Asia, predominantly China.
The DEA said that the operation dismantled “one of the largest and most dangerous drug trafficking organizations in U.S. history.”
The drug seizures and arrests occurred in late April when the DEA executed search warrants at addresses in five U.S. states.
In Albuquerque, DEA agents seized 396 kilograms of fentanyl pills, 11.5 kilograms of fentanyl powder, smaller quantities of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, 49 firearms, approximately US $610,000 in cash and two vehicles.
DEA agents also raided addresses in Salem, Oregon, and Layton, Utah, where a total of $3.58 million in U.S. cash, jewelry valued at approximately $50,000 and vehicles were seized.
Properties in Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, were also raided. Close to $500,000 in cash was seized as well as narcotics, including 13 kilograms of fentanyl pills in Phoenix. The DEA said that an “illegal alien” was “apprehended and removed” in Las Vegas, but didn’t state the person’s nationality.
All told, 420.5 kilograms of fentanyl (including more than 3 million pills), with a street value of over $80 million, was seized.
“Behind the three million fentanyl pills we seized are destructive criminal acts thwarted, and American lives saved. This wasn’t just a bust — it was a battlefield victory against a terrorist-backed network pumping death into our cities,” said Murphy, the acting DEA administrator.
Bondi does not support deportation of suspects to Mexico
The 16 people detained in connection with the massive drug bust face charges that include conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and firearms offenses. Two women, U.S. citizens Kaitlin Young and Roberta Herrera, were among those arrested.
Fourteen of the 16 defendants were charged together in federal court in New Mexico.
In addition to a fentanyl-related charge, Salazar Amaya “faces three additional immigration-related charges: illegal reentry after deportation, hiring an unauthorized alien, and conspiracy to harbor unauthorized aliens,” the DEA said.
Bondi said that Salazar was one of six suspects arrested who was living in the United States illegally, but didn’t reveal their nationalities. Asked whether any of the defendants would be deported to Mexico, the attorney general said she wanted them “to stay in our prisons as long as possible.”
“… Sending them back to Mexico to continue on with their drug business isn’t going to happen under this administration,” Bondi said.
One concern raised by the US $42 cruise tourist tax is that it could harm local economies more through reduced tourist flow than it would benefit them through increased tax revenue. (Mara Lezama/X)
Following negotiations with some of the world’s largest cruise ship companies, federal authorities have agreed to set the unpopular tax on arriving cruise ship tourists at US $5 starting this July before raising it in yearly increments.
The tax, called the Non-Resident Duty (DNR), was originally $42, and was to be collected starting in January of this year. Instead, it will be phased in gradually to half that amount: from $5 in July, to $10 in 2026, $15 in 2027, and $21 by August 2028.
Cruise ship passengers arriving in Mexico will be greeted as of this July with a US $5 charge. It’s not a popular tax, but considerably lower than the $42 originally planned. (Cuartoscuro)
The reduction in price and phased implementation seek to avoid what the cruise companies insist would be a negative impact on tourism and the local economy, especially in key ports such as Cozumel and Mahahual in the Riviera Maya.
In addition, the new agreement with the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association (FCAA) requires the cruise companies to support the Hecho en México (Made in Mexico) program by buying more products made in Mexico. They also must boost the flow of cruise passengers and assist in the reconstruction of Acapulco, according to Eugenio Segura, president of the Senate Tourism Commission.
The Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association (FCAA), which represents major cruise lines like Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruises, fiercely advocated for the DNR’s removal when it was announced in late 2024.
In a statement, the FCAA said it had written a letter to President Clauda Sheinbaum requesting “that she eliminate the new tax of USD 42 as a duty of migration to cruise passengers,” adding that it could jeopardize the cruise industry’s investment in Mexico, “including billions in planned developments and other projects intended to help rebuild Acapulco and cultivate new Mexican tourist destinations.”
In general, the DNR is a tax applied to tourists entering Mexico by land or sea.
In Quintana Roo, Mexico’s top cruise tourism destination, the DNR’s reduction to $5 will benefit small businesses in the area, as several cruise routes had eliminated or were considering eliminating Riviera Maya ports in favor of tax-free destinations.Additional tax incentives, such as reducing the value added tax or even income tax, are also being considered to further boost local economies that are dependent on cruise tourism.
The wide variety of fresh veggies available in your typical Mexican mercado can cheaply add bright colors, interesting textures and tons of vitamins and minerals to your meals. (Jacopo Maiarelli/Unsplash)
I’m so lucky to live in Mexico. The abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables available for recipes makes me drool. And best of all, it’s in season pretty much all year round.
Great news for your health, but not so great for my wallet. Why? Because every time I get groceries, something always ends up added to my basket — just because it’s so fresh, at peak ripeness and looks amazing. So, the recipes start running through my head. Then I can’t resist.
Radishes are practically always in season in much of Mexico. Take advantage of them to make salads and also the Black Bean Lettuce Taco recipe below.
Today it was radishes.
Does this ever happen to you? Do you love to cook too? If so, you’re in the right place. Let’s discuss what’s in season this month, plus some recipes on how to use them.
Radishes
This was my lunch. Those delicious-looking radishes did come home with me and were quickly made into a filling lunch bursting with Mexican flavor. The radishes were the star of the show, adding a nice crunch. Zesty lime and cilantro dressing and a few slices of avocado on top, and I was in heaven.
I call them lettuce tacos, but I’m sure there’s a proper name for them out there somewhere. If you know it, please pop it in the comments.
The humble radish is packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and can be beneficial for heart and kidney health. High in Vitamin C, it is a good immune system booster.
My lunch: black bean lettuce tacos. (Bel Woodhouse)
Black Bean Lettuce Tacos
Ingredients
3 cups cooked black beans, or 2 cans (14oz) black beans
2 large ears of corn (kernels only) or 2 cups corn kernels (canned or frozen)
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
5 radishes, diced
1 large jalapeño, finely chopped
¼ cup lime juice (about 2 limes)
½ tsp grated lime zest
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 avocados, cut into long, thin strips
Lettuce of your choice; I used a small one to make cups
Directions
To make the salad: combine the beans, corn, feta, cilantro, radishes, jalapeño, and lime zest in a large bowl. Drizzle the olive oil, lime juice, and vinegar over the salad and add the salt. Stir to combine and add more salt to taste if necessary.
Make lettuce tacos: Spoon the black bean salad into each lettuce leaf. Place a couple of slices of avocado on top and enjoy!
Note: Leftover black bean salad will keep well in the fridge, chilled, for 3 to 4 days.
Chayote
May is peak season for chayote. This vegetable is a favorite of mine. Back home in Australia, we call it choko. It’s a favorite because one of my earliest memories is eating it with my mother, and I haven’t stopped since.
Chayote, as it’s known in Mexico, is a heart-smart, diabetes-friendly vegetable. But it’s also tasty! (Bel Woodhouse)
But it’s also a powerhouse of health, helping boost liver health and function as well as being diabetes friendly. Chayote’s powerful phytochemicals can increase blood flow and lower blood pressure, making it a heart-smart veggie.
I have many chayote recipes, from simply steamed with butter, salt and pepper to baking them into chips. Coming into the warmer months, I’ll be making chayote salads. I first found this salad on a Mexican cooking site and love it.
Chayote Salad
Ingredients
2 large chayotes
¼ red or white onion, thinly sliced
½ cup Mexican queso fresco (optional)
Dressing
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp mild vinegar, I like either red wine or white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp water
1 tsp Mexican oregano
¼ – ½ tsp salt to taste
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Cover the chayotes in water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15–20 min. Until a knife can be inserted easily. Remove from heat, drain and leave to cool.
In a small bowl, mix olive oil, vinegar, water, salt and pepper. Mix well, then crush the oregano between your fingers and add to the dressing. Add the onion.
Once the chayotes are cool enough to handle, peel them and cut them into cubes. Once on the plate, drizzle with the dressing and serve. If adding queso fresco, add before serving.
Move over, carrots: Cauliflower has eye-boosting health benefits too. (Louis Hansel/Unsplash)
Cauliflower
What’s your favorite way to eat cauliflower? Raw, cooked, oven-baked, steamed, stir-fried or pickled?
I’ll take it any way I can get it. I love cauliflower. It’s between cauliflower and broccoli as to which is my favorite cruciferous vegetable, and honestly, I can’t decide.
Okay, so we all know that cauliflower is healthy. But did you know it excels in folate and vitamin B6 content? Best of all it’s high-fiber and low-calorie content make it excellent for weight loss. It also excels in boosting eye health.
This Mexican Cauliflower Rice recipe can be served with any meal or as the main course.
Mexican Cauliflower Rice
Delicious and light, you may want to double the recipe because everyone comes back for more. Best of all, it’s vegetarian and vegan-friendly.
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower
¾ cup vegetable or chicken stock
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tomato diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 ½ Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp paprika
Directions
Cut the florets off the cauliflower to remove thick stems. Place in a food processor, and pulse until it looks like rice. If you don’t have a food processor, grate the cauliflower into a large bowl.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, sauteé the onion, tomato and garlic until onions are soft, for about 10 minutes.
Add the cumin, paprika, salt and tomato paste, then the broth. Stir until the tomato paste is dissolved, then add the cauliflower rice.
Cook for 3–5 minutes until soft, remove from heat and season with more salt if necessary. Serve with lime wedges and chopped cilantro.
Mexico Correspondent for International Living, Bel is an experienced writer, author, photographer and videographer with 500+ articles published both in print and across digital platforms. Living in the Mexican Caribbean for over seven years now, she’s in love with Mexico and has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.
The 2025 May Cultural Festival will be its 28th edition of the popular arts and culture event in Guadalajara. Many of its events are free. (May Cultural Festival)
The Jalisco May Cultural Festival, which promotes cultural activities across Guadalajara’s metropolitan zone, is back for its 28th year, boasting 400 events.
Featuring Canada as its guest of honor, the festival will feature everything from classical music to mariachi concerts to art exhibits and installations to contemporary dance shows and more. And with such a packed cultural program, it’ll be hard to choose what to see, so here’s our list of the 10 standout cultural events to experience at this year’s festival.
Reckless Underdog ⋯ Teaser ⋯ RUBBERBAND
1. Contemporary dance: ‘Reckless Underdog’
To kick-start the festival, Guadalajara will host the Latin American premiere of “Reckless Underdog” by renowned choreographer Victor Quijada. The event promises an electrifying combination of urban dance and contemporary movement performed by the acclaimed Rubberband Company.
Date: May 8 and 9 Location: Degollado Theater, Centro Histórico, Guadalajara. Admission: 150 to 300 pesos
Derrière le rideau | Écho - le chant de l’inconnu
Take a behind-the-scenes look at how the “Echoes” installation was put up outside the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art in 2022, with an explanation of the artwork by its creator, artist Mathias Gmachl.
2. ‘Echoes: Song of the Unknown’
Austrian artist Mathias Gmachl will explore the connection between nature and technology through an immersive experience running at the festival. The large-format art installation will boast the life-size incarnation of a one-year-old blue whale, at the age when it leaves its mother to begin exploring the ocean. The installation invites spectators to meditate about our relationship with nature and the changing global climate.
Date: May 8–June 8 Location: Plaza de la Liberación, Centro Histórico, Guadalajara. Admission: Free
(May Cultural Festival)
3. Marine immersive experience
Through the installation of interactive geodesic domes, festival attendees will be able to reflect on marine biodiversity and ocean pollution.
Date: May 8–June 8, 2025 Location: Liberation Square Admission: Free
(May Cultural Festival)
4. Exhibition: ‘Inhabiting the North’
The “Inhabiting the North” exhibition brings together 10 Canadian artists, providing multidisciplinary experiences of humanity and living matter specific to life in Canada, featuring painting, photography, video and installations. This exhibit explores the north’s strengths, climate and history, as well as its social, political and cultural conditions.
Canadian groovy music band The Brooks makes a stop at the festival as part of its tour for their new album, “Soon as I Can.” The band is known for its soulful melodies and deep funk rhythms.
Date: 11 May Location: Degollado Theater Admission: 200 pesos
(May Cultural Festival)
6. Nawales Ballet Folklórico
Expect color, music and Mexican traditional dance at this performance by the Nawales Folkloric Ballet. The ensemble was born with the aim of professionalizing Mexican folkloric performance and creating an innovative group to promote Mexican culture and traditions through dance.
Date: May 11 Location: Plaza de la Liberación Admission: Free
(May Cultural Festival)
7. Immersive Hudu Theatre
One of the most anticipated kid-friendly events at this year’s festival is the Immersive Hudu Show. Featuring an immersive theater experience with live music, the show is also suited for neurodivergent people.
Date: May 11–14 Location: Several locations. Check here. Admission: Free
(Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitán/Facebook)
8. Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán in concert
Mariachi, Mexico’s most quintessential music, will also be present at the festival with a special gala featuring mariachi guests, including the ensembles Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán, Los Peques NT and Ballet Folklórico Nuevo Jalisco.
Date: May 24 Location: Degollado Theater Admission: 150–300 pesos
(Louis Lortie/Facebook)
9. Louis Lortie piano recital
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of French composer, pianist and conductor Maurice Ravel, the renowned Canadian pianist Louis Lortie will perform live. Lortie has performed with more than 70 orchestras in 25 countries.
Date: May 28 Location: Degollado Theater Admission: 200 pesos
(Government of Jalisco)
10. Ravel tribute by the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra
To wrap up the festival, the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra will also give a concert celebrating the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth. Spanish artistic director José Luis Castillo will conduct, with Louis Lortie as a guest pianist.
Date: May 30 Location: Degollado Theater Admission: 150 to 350 pesos
Gabriela Solis is a Mexican lawyer turned full-time writer. She was born and raised in Guadalajara and covers business, culture, lifestyle and travel for Mexico News Daily. You can follow her lifestyle blog Dunas y Palmeras.
Sheinbaum noted on Tuesday that in response to Trump's offers to help Mexico in the fight against organized crime, she has repeatedly asked the U.S. to crack down on the smuggling of firearms to Mexico. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
The United States’ efforts to stop gun smuggling to Mexico and the Mexican government’s controversial telecommunications law proposal were among the issues President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about at her Tuesday morning press conference.
Here is a recap of the president’s May 6 mañanera.
Sheinbaum acknowledges US efforts to stop gun smuggling to Mexico
Sheinbaum told reporters that U.S. President Donald Trump has asked her on several occasions how the United States can help Mexico in the fight against organized crime.
She said she has stressed to the U.S. president “the importance of attending to fentanyl use” in the United States “as a public health problem.”
She then described as “historic” a recent statement released by the United States government declaring what she called a new “mano dura” (heavy hand or iron fist) approach to gun smuggling from the U.S. to Mexico.
BREAKING: CBP Announces Huge Interdiction of Weapons Bound for Mexico
Sheinbaum was apparently referring to a press release issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last Friday after a press conference at which U.S. authorities “announced significant achievement in the interdiction of weapons and ammunition, investigation and prosecution of weapons traffickers.”
Among the U.S. officials quoted in the release were Guadalupe Ramírez, a CBP field operations director, and Timothy Courchaine, a United States Attorney for the District of Arizona.
“Our frontline CBP officers and agents continue to serve as the tip of the spear and their dedicated efforts through a series of operations … contributed to the successful interdiction of a substantial amount of weapons and ammunition this year,” said Ramírez.
Courchaine said: “The U.S. Attorney’s Office stands ready to support our law enforcement partners and prosecute weapons trafficking cases, especially those that support Foreign Terrorist Organizations engaged in violent activity throughout Mexico and other countries.”
The ‘essence’ of the proposed telecommunications law won’t change, says Sheinbaum
Sheinbaum noted that an “open parliament” process will be carried out to allow people to express views about the federal government’s proposed changes to the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law.
Opposition lawmakers claimed that the original legislation promoted censorship as digital content platforms such as Facebook would be prohibited from publishing in Mexico any advertising or propaganda financed by a foreign government, except for cultural or touristic information.
Sheinbaum has countered that “the government of Mexico is not going to censor anyone, especially not what is published on digital platforms.”
On Tuesday, the president said the government is reviewing some suggestions with regard to potential changes to the telecoms law.
She said the “essence” of the proposed law she submitted to Congress last month won’t change, but reiterated that no modifications that “restrict freedom of speech” will be made.
Her original reform bill aimed to achieve a range of things beyond banning foreign government advertising and propaganda, including a bridging of the nation’s persistent digital divide.
‘A little song’ encourages Mexicans to vote on June 1
Sheinbaum told reporters that “una cancioncita de promoción,” or “a little promotional song,” has been created to encourage citizens to vote in Mexico’s first ever judicial elections on June 1.
Retail trade and e-trade — with Walmart and Mercado Libre as the big players here — are gaining ground as key shelters for FDI in Mexico. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
U.S. trade policies are reshaping Mexico’s foreign investment profile, temporarily knocking the manufacturing sector off its perch as the country’s most attractive investment.
According to the news magazine Expansión, the commercial sector has displaced manufacturing as the largest target of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico, with 42% of all investment announcements made during the first quarter of the year going to profit-driven stores and businesses.
Citing data from the Economy Ministry (SE), Expansión reported that the 39 investment announcements made during the first quarter of 2025 surpassed a total of US $25.8 billion, but only 24% of that targeted the manufacturing sector, which has been a priority for FDI.
Last year, an SE report described Mexico as “a specialized manufacturing center with a growing need for investment capital to develop the country’s industrial base.”
SE data revealed that during the first quarter of 2024, more than $8.5 billion of the $20.3 billion in FDI (42%) received by Mexico went to the manufacturing sector, primarily in the autoparts industry.
The next most-favored sector in 2024 was financial services (25%), followed by mining (12%), transportation (6%) and trade, which was broken down into wholesale trade (5%) and retail trade (3%).
This year, Expansión reports, uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs has prompted foreign investors to reconsider the reliability of Mexico as an export platform.
“The uncertainty has impacted long-term decisions, especially for companies with cross-border flows,” Expansión wrote.
In northern Mexico — home to automotive, aerospace, electronics, and heavy metal manufacturing enterprises — executives told Expansión that industrial expansion plans are being paused not due to lack of capital, but because of uncertainty.
The volatile environment has also resulted in higher logistical costs, prompting some multinationals to contemplate relocating their production chains.
This phenomenon has produced a paradox. “The country that appeared to be the principal beneficiary of nearshoring is now facing unexpected obstacles,” Expansión wrote.
Expansión cited a report by Spanish financial services company BBVA indicating that Mexico’s manufacturing remains the most important “structural recipient” of FDI, because of the viability of its products. However, the increase in investment announcements prioritizing the trade sector hints at an important evolution.
Retail trade and e-trade — with Walmart and Mercado Libre as the big players here — are gaining ground as key shelters for FDI in Mexico.
As evidence, first-quarter investment announcements in this sector surpassed $11 billion, nearly double the $6 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
Mexico's share of the United States' $948 billion market for imports in the first three months of the year was 13.8%. (Carlos Sánchez Colunga/Cuartoscuro)
Tariffs couldn’t stop Mexico from recording strong first-quarter growth in its earnings from exports sent to the United States.
Mexico exported goods worth US $131.29 billion to the world’s largest economy in the first quarter, up 9.5% compared to the same period of 2024.
Mexico beat out Canada and China to retain its position as the top exporter to the United States. Canada’s earnings from exports sent to the U.S. increased 7.9% annually in the first quarter to $108.93 billion, while China’s revenue rose 5.1% to $102.65 billion.
Mexico’s share of the United States’ $948 billion market for imports in the first three months of the year was 13.8%.
Mexico, Canada and China all increased their earnings from exports sent to the United States in the first quarter of 2025 despite U.S. President Donald Trump imposing new tariffs on imports from those countries, and many others.
U.S. tariffs on Mexican steel and aluminum, as well as other Mexican goods not covered by the USMCA free trade pact, were in force for most of March, having taken effect on March 12 and March 4, respectively.
Esta estrategia debe reconocer la importancia del tamaño del mercado estadounidense, pero debe construir una base de exportaciones de alta tecnología sustentada en la industria de componentes electrónicos que ya existe en el país. Necesitamos generar más energía, @LuzElena_GE, pic.twitter.com/DugfCSlqZZ
— México, ¿cómo vamos? (@MexicoComoVamos) May 6, 2025
More than 80% of Mexico’s export revenue comes from goods shipped to the United States.
Mexico’s export earnings surge 15.4% in March
Despite the imposition of U.S. tariffs on Mexican steel, aluminum and goods not covered by the USMCA — as well as all Mexican products for a brief period in early March — the value of Mexico’s exports to the United States increased 15.4% annually in March to $47.98 billion.
Mexico’s strong growth in export revenue in March can be partially attributed to the fact that Holy Week fell in March last year, while the week leading up to Easter Sunday was in April in 2025. Consequently, there were more working days in March 2025 than in the same month last year.
Mexico’s growth in revenue from exports shipped to the United States in March was well above the 4.2% annual increase in earnings for Canada, which shipped goods worth $35.66 billion to its southern neighbor in the third month of the year.
In a sign that hefty U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are hurting China, the value of the east Asian nation’s exports to the United States fell 1.9% annually to $29.38 billion in March.
Mexico’s trade surplus with the United States, a point of frustration for U.S. President Donald Trump, reached $47.25 billion in Q1 2025. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
Mexico’s trade surplus with US increased 19% in Q1
The Census Bureau data shows that the United States exported goods worth $84.04 billion to Mexico in the first three months of 2025, a 4.8% increase compared to the first quarter of last year.
Mexico thus had a trade surplus of $47.25 billion with its northern neighbor in the first quarter of 2025. Mexico’s surplus with the U.S. in the first three months of 2024 was $39.68 billion.
Mexico’s surplus thus increased 19.1% in the space of a year.
The U.S. president has cited the United States’ trade deficits with Mexico and Canada as one of the reasons for imposing tariffs on imports from those countries, despite the three nations being signatories to the USMCA and having high levels of integration between their economies.
She said that she and the U.S. president “agreed to keep working” on ways in which the trade imbalance can be reduced by Mexico importing more goods from the United States.
Affordable books from the “25 for 25” collection aim to foster a culture of reading in Latin America.
(Magdalena Montiel/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s Fondo de Cultura Económica,or Fund for Economic Culture (FCE), plans to launch a Latin American-wide initiative called “25 for 25,” which will provide 2.5 million books for youths and adults across the region, the organization’s director, Paco Ignacio Taibo, announced on Friday.
The FCE publishing group has produced 98 low-cost titles, totaling 3.1 million copies, priced between 9 and 20 pesos (US 46 cents to $1), or around the value of half a sandwich, to make reading more accessible to Mexicans, Taibo said during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s daily press conference.
Gabriel García Márquez and other LATAM literary giants will gain a new generation of readers under the plan. (Galo Cañas Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro)
“The book is the great vehicle, the transporter of information,” Taibo said. “From 2019 to the present, 21 million books have been produced and 24 million sold” by the FCE.
Taibo said the “25 for 25” collection, which includes 25 book titles, will launch simultaneously by the end of the year across Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Chile, Paraguay, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.
The collection features a wide variety of Latin American literature, including works by Colombian Gabriel García Márquez; Uruguayan writers Mario Benedetti and Eduardo Galeano; the Mexican author Adela Fernández; and poet Piedad Bonnett.
The new project is supported by Cuba’s Casa de las Américas, one of Latin America’s most influential cultural institutions.
The Mexican government and FCE aim to remove the stigma of books as elitist or inaccessible and encourage adolescents to read for pleasure.
The launch of this initiative comes as Mexico and other Latin American countries have scored low on international literacy tests.
In Mexico, one in three third-grade students struggles with reading comprehension. On the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) exam, Mexican students ranked 49th internationally in reading, scoring 415 points — well below the OECD average of 487. This places Mexico among the lowest-performing countries globally, with one-third of students at the lowest proficiency levels.
On the same PISA test, many Latin American countries scored even lower than Mexico. Colombia ranked 54, Peru 55, Argentina 58, Guatemala 66 and Paraguay 68. Only Chile did better, in 37th place.
“Books enable critical thinking, create role models of how to live and what to live for, destroy damaged neurons, are the great builders of active thought and the destroyers of racism and machismo,” Taibo said.
While creating the collection with retail prices from 11 to 20 pesos was complicated, FCE’s initiative has been highly successful.
“We discovered that the price of books was a fundamental obstacle to promoting reading, that teenagers, who were struggling to find the money to buy the book they wanted, were unable to afford it,” Taibo explained.
“We managed to lower prices with new printing tools, new distribution networks, and reduced production costs,” he said.
FCE plans to participate in 100 book fairs in Mexico and 103 abroad. It also aims to use other media, including mobile applications and digital tools, to make reading more accessible.
The organization already has an information network, with five television programs and five radio programs available on public media.
“Perhaps the biggest step has been promoting reading in the reading rooms,” Taibo said of FCE’s progress to date. “We started with 3,000 rooms, and now we have 21,118 registered citizen reading rooms in the country.”
The new initiative is expected to be one of the largest publishing efforts to promote reading in Latin America in recent years.
