Home Blog Page 472

Taste of Mexico: Micheladas

By
María Meléndez
-
9
michelada beer with clamato
Whether you choose Modelo, Pacífico, Victoria or something else — this is definitely the best way to drink Mexican beer. (Clamato)

Before we begin, I ask for your cooperation to pretend that we are anthropologists studying the way that Mexicans drink beer. I advise you to read this whole thing in a 1950s narrator’s voice with a mariachi jazz tune in the background.

It is undeniable that Mexico’s fascinating culinary tradition is closely linked to the chile pepper. Researchers have often pondered why this small (but feared) fruit has such a predominant presence in Mexican cuisine. The answers are simple. Chile grows in regions with hot climates, low humidity, and abundant sunlight, much like the weather in Mexico. Due to these conditions, and probably to the scarce variety of fruits and vegetables (otherwise, why would someone torture themselves getting spiced up), the earliest human settlements in Mexico domesticated chile peppers around 6,000 years ago. This marked the beginning of Mexican identity. Its importance remains so significant that Mexicans regularly consume chile, and some even dare to include it in their drinks.

Do you know the difference between a michelada and a chelada? With summer on the way, it’s time to brush up on how to order a refreshing beer. (T. Tseng /Flickr)

Today, 8 billion liters of beer are consumed annually, making us the fourth-largest beer-consuming country in the world. But how do we drink our beer? In any way we can, but a michelada is one of the most popular ways. 

What is a michelada?

The original michelada is a beer, preferably light, served in a glass rimmed with salt, ice, and lime juice. However, when most of us think of this cocktail, we imagine it with Clamato. It is said to have emerged in the 1970s in San Luis Potosí, in northern Mexico. The invention is attributed to Michel Ésper, who frequently attended a sports club where he would end his day with a well-deserved beer with a unique mix of his own invention. The cocktail became so popular at the club that people started ordering their michelada.

Another theory suggests that the word “michelada” is a mispronunciation of the phrase “mi chela helada” (my chilled beer), which was used in Nuevo León and other northern states  to refer to beer with ice and lemon. Before everyone had a refrigerator at home, keeping beer at the right temperature was complicated. This might be one of the reasons why people in Mexico started adding ice to their beer. Truth be told, its origins remain uncertain.

The recipe

  • 1 cup of tomato juice with clam sauce (Clamato)
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • Worcestershire sauce to taste
  • Black seasoning sauce (Maggi) to taste
  • Drops of Tabasco sauce to taste
  • Ice to taste
  • 1 celery stick
  • 1 light beer

Moisten the rim of the glass with half a lime and salt. Add ice with the Clamato. Add the lime juice along and sauces to taste. Finish with the light beer and mix with a previously washed celery stick. You’ll have a lot of beer left over but that’s okay. Just keep refilling your glass and enjoy.

So why do Mexicans drink micheladas?

Oh, the taste! All the flavors that the tongue can identify in just one sip! Sweetness, saltiness, and sourness work together to create a perfect balance, and then, when everything is just right: a punch of spiciness! Just writing it down makes me feel like I’m in some sort of Mexican heaven. 

Apart from the flavor, we argue that Clamato contains electrolytes that can rehydrate us, vitamin C from the lime juice that can strengthen our immune system, antioxidants from the tomato that can help maintain our youthfulness, and the capsaicin from the chili that can help keep us alert. While these claims haven’t been scientifically proven, we feel that our health improves every time we drink it. 

If you truly want to experience and understand the Mexican way of life and culture, you need to have a michelada con Clamato. They are now found everywhere including restaurants, bars and street stalls. Identifying them has become increasingly complicated due to Mexican beer becoming more creatively expressed in variations such as licuachelas (michelada in a blender jar), gomichelas (michelada with gummy candies)*, cocochela (michelada with coconut), micheladas with seafood or micheladas with fruit. I suggest starting your michelada journey in moderation, then gradually trying the variations as you become more adventurous. ¡Salud! 

*The author is a purist who believes micheladas can only be the recipe described above. She has expressed her concerns regarding why anyone would want seafood or gummies in their beer, or worse, smear their hand with a thick, sticky sauce that will destroy their intestinal health with combinations that seem to be taken from a science fiction book. With these thoughts in mind, try them at your own risk.

María Meléndez is a Mexico City food blogger and influencer.

Protection spells and amulets: Welcome to mysticism a la mexicana

By
Sarah DeVries
-
5
Tarot Cards
(Viva Luna Studios/Unsplash)

Just because you see churches everywhere in Mexico does not mean the occult has anything but a firm grip.

Last year, I had a Really Bad Week, which was actually the week of Thanksgiving, my favorite U.S. holiday. A disturbing and sad experience at a hacienda had left me feeling downright haunted, a feeling I couldn’t seem to shake.

Santería market in Mexico with votive candles and sacred herbs.
Witchcraft and santería markets can be found throughout Mexico. (Andrea Mayerly Niño Hernández/CC BY-SA 4.0)

A couple of weeks later, I was sitting at a good friend’s table, telling her about it. She was immediately convinced that a bunch of bad spirits had seeped into my pores, and promptly brought out an egg and a glass of water.

She lit a candle, rubbed the egg all over me and cracked it into the glass. “See all those air bubbles coming to the top? Each one is a spirit you’d absorbed there. No wonder you haven’t been able to shake this off.”

This friend is a fan of the occult and a true believer. I am a cynic, bordering on being an asshole, about all things supposedly magical. “If magic worked, it would work,” is my standard line.

And yet…

Witchcraft market in Zacatecas.
Mexican shamanism and witchcraft are the product of traditions from the Americas, Africa and Europe. (Alexandra Lippman/CC BY-SA 2.0)

The possibility of some actual agency in this world is just too intoxicating. Sorcery? I’m in. Protection crystals for this nervous driver’s car? Don’t mind if I do! And sure, let’s go to Mass, too. I’ll keep my scoff to myself as the priest starts out with his standard line: “First of all, we’ve got to remember: we are all just awful. I mean, really terrible. Okay, let’s continue.”

“Please don’t punish me, Great Beyond, for being an ass” is always a part of my prayer when kneeled behind the pew.

My friend does spells and wears protection. She’s 100 percent convinced of her powers of perception. I’ll admit it: she’s hit the nail on the head several times when it’s come to previously veiled situations.

And she’s not the only one. Mexico is full of sorcerers, witches and magic to meet all your spiritual needs.

Protection 101

Milagrito charms pinned onto a red surface.
Milagro charms for sale in San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco. (Luisalvaz/CC BY-SA 4.0)

When it comes to moving the spirit world in your favor, Mexico offers an array of colorful options!

If you’re not yet ready for a trip to see a “brujo” — “witch” has both a feminine and masculine form in Spanish — you might consider some amulets!

The most common protection I’ve noticed of late is from the evil eye, known here as “mal de ojo.” If you’re a baby — the subject of many a superstition — the protection will likely be a red piece of string tied around your wrist, which doubles for good luck.

If you’re older, it will likely be some sort of jewelry or decor item of what’s known in English as a God’s eye. I’ve got one, of course.

What is the “mal de ojo”, you may ask?

Basically, it’s the bad energy that those jealous of you send your way, on purpose or not. Call it involuntary bad-vibe casting, if you want. And others directing these negative feelings your way, some believe, is a sure way to plop right down into a big ‘ol bucket of terrible luck.

Milagros — literally “miracles” — are also common throughout Latin America. They’re basically little metal charms, meant to bring luck, protection and spiritual emphasis where you want them to land.

For more modern and cosmopolitan Mexicans who are further removed culturally from the more traditional traditions, we’ve got crystals galore, too! At least from what I can tell, this seems to be a New Age import from north of the border. 

And if you’re feeling really daring, dip into a tarot-reading joint or let a wandering fortune teller read your palm! The latter can be found wandering among tourists in places like the port of Veracruz.

Fear of the occult

“Limpias,” or ritual cleansings, are a common sight in Mexico City’s Historic Center. (Roldán Feliciano)

These charms, of course, aren’t universal. Devout Catholics especially have been warned — and in turn warn others — about the dangers of black magic. Many stay away in fear, believing that it will invite the devil in. And if that’s not counter-productive, then I don’t know what is.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that they’re not also in need of a little spiritual help! The milagros mentioned above, as well as a good selection of carefully-colored candles, bridge the divide.

Figures of saints also make for important aids. You might notice homes and businesses with little altars in the corners. They’ll usually feature a picture or a figure of a specific saint, depending on what they want help with. When people will be around to monitor for safety — magic only goes so far — candles will often be lit in front of it.

Plenty of neighborhoods, as well, have larger glassed in altars, usually to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Electric lights are usually used in those, thank goodness.

And actually, there are two in my own neighborhood! The builder of the house I’m renting also inlaid some ceramic images right into the concrete, so I’d say the Virgin has us pretty well covered.

And remember, we’ve got the big guns, too. If things get really bad and you’re sure you’re cursed, take a trip to Catemaco, the Veracruz town famous for its sorcerers. They’ll clean you right up! Or they might just smack you with some tree branches. I am not the authority on whether or not their magical procedures work. But as the Thomas theorem states, if we perceive something as real, then it is real in its consequences. Maybe the real magic is the transformation in how you feel.

Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sarahedevries.substack.com.

Claudia Sheinbaum officially declared president-elect of Mexico

By
MND Staff
-
2
President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum raises a fist as she speaks at a podium.
In the June 2 presidential election Sheinbaum won by a wide margin, taking home 59.75% of the vote in a three-candidate race. (Cuartoscuro)

President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday received official documentation confirming her majority victory in the presidential election on June 2.

Mónica Aralí Soto Fregoso, president of the Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF), handed over the constancia de mayoría (certificate of majority) to Sheinbaum, who won just under 60% of the votes cast in the presidential election.

The TEPJF validated her victory earlier this week after dismissing 240 complaints against the election results.

Sheinbaum, who represented a coalition led by the ruling Morena party, will be sworn in as Mexico’s first female president on Oct. 1.

Soto declared Thursday that “Mexico has broken the glass ceiling.”

“Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo [will be the] first woman to assume the supreme mandate of our republic after 200 years and 65 men in the position,” she said.

President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum smiles, holding the official certificate of her electoral win.
Sheinbaum receives the certification of her electoral victory from Mónica Soto, president of the electoral tribunal. (Claudia Sheinbaum/X)

In an address at the TEPJF headquarters in Mexico City, Sheinbaum also noted she is Mexico’s first ever female president-elect.

“Presidenta, with A,” she emphasized.

“As I have said on other occasions, I don’t assume [the position] as an individual triumph or as [the result of] personal effort. Today, now marked in the history of Mexico, I don’t arrive on my own, all women arrive,” Sheinbaum said.

“… I arrive nourished and full of the strength that comes from our ancestors — our grandmothers, our mothers, our daughters, our granddaughters. Today all of us arrive and … I commit to fighting to continue building equality and freedom for all Mexican women, especially the most vulnerable,” she said.

Sheinbaum, Mexico City mayor between 2018 and 2023 before resigning to seek the Morena party presidential nomination, said that the majority of Mexicans voted for her because they want the continuation of “an honest government” that gets results and loves the country and the people of Mexico.

“Said another way, the majority of citizens don’t want governments at the service of just a few people to return,” she said.

“They don’t want arrogance or cronyism or corruption or privileges to return. That’s the mandate of the people of Mexico and it’s up to us to continue making it a reality,” said Sheinbaum, who has pledged to build the “second story” of the “fourth transformation” initiated by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Claudia Sheinbaum with Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Sheinbaum promised to push forward with the platform and reforms initiated by President López Obrador. (Cuartoscuro)

The president-elect delivered a second, longer speech on Thursday afternoon in front of current and future officials and supporters gathered at the Metropolitan Theater in the historic center of Mexico City.

In that address, Sheinbaum reiterated her support for a packet of constitutional reform proposals López Obrador sent to Congress in February, including a controversial plan to overhaul the judiciary.

“It will be up to our lawmakers to approve the reforms sent by the president,” she said.

Among other remarks, Sheinbaum pledged to “never criticize” López Obrador, her political mentor and former boss when he was mayor of Mexico City in the early 2000s and she was environment minister.

“For me it has been, it is and it will be an honor to be with Obrador,” she said, riffing on the slogan, “Es un honor estar con Obrador.”

“For me, Andrés Manuel López Obrador is the best president there has ever been in history. In the history of Mexico, there hasn’t been any president who has ended his term with the popularity [of López Obrador or] the affection and love that the people of Mexico have for their [current] president,” Sheinbaum said.

With reports from El Financiero and Expansión Política

Come como chilango: A new guide to CDMX street food

By
MND Staff
-
3
The cover of "Come como chilango," a guide to Mexico City street food
"Come como chilango" is a new bilingual street food guide by the Mexico City Tourism Ministry. (CDMX Secretaría de Turismo)

Interested in exploring Mexico City’s diverse street food scene but don’t know where to start? A new guide called “Come como chilango” or “Eat Like a Mexico City resident” could be your savior.

The Mexico City Tourism Ministry launched the guide — in book form and a bilingual (Spanish/English) website — this week.

“Walking through the streets of Mexico City awakens the appetite,” says a message on the website from Tourism Minister Nathalie Desplas.

“The aroma of corn in the form of tortilla or tlacoyo, the hiss of suadero or the vapors of epazote-scented esquites invite you to taste, discover and confirm that in the metropolis that has everything, you can eat very well at street level.”

The “Come como chilango” website features sections on a variety of comida callejera (street food) including tamales and guajalotas; basket tacos; and elotes and esquites.

The descriptions — accompanied by vibrant illustrations, photos and digital rótulos (hand-painted signs commonly seen on street food stalls) — are quirky and engaging.

“Tamal sandwich, blessed guajolota, queen of Mondays in Mexico City, mistress of the take-away breakfast, provider of just enough calories to get the body going in the metropolis that never stops,” says one description.

“The soul of chilanga cuisine lies in a basket, wrapped in brown paper and blue plastic. It is a ‘sweaty taco,'” says another.

The site also recommends CDMX street food stalls, or puestos, to try different kinds of snacks. In addition, it has sections on “how to eat like a chilango” and “street food characters.”

Worried about getting sick? The guide has some advice:

“If it smells good and you crave it, that’s the place! Also, check that everything is clean and fresh: meat in good condition, fresh limes, and cooks who don’t handle money with ungloved hands. If there are a lot of people or lines, trust! Use your instincts and common sense.”

The guide is the result of a collaboration between writer Alonso Vera Cantú, the Mexico City food tour company Sabores México and the Mexico City government.

The illustrations are by Lena Zolotareva, who told Mexico News Daily that her participation in the project gave her the opportunity to express her love and admiration for Mexico and its street food purveyors.

A screenshot from "Come como chilango," a Mexico City street food guide
The site includes bilingual, illustrated guides to a wide variety of common CDMX street foods. (Come como chilango)

“I was glad to have an opportunity to show through my art how important they are,” Zolotareva said.

During the presentation of the guide at the Interactive Museum of the Economy, Desplas described Mexico City’s markets and street food stalls as not just places to get something to eat but also “centers of culture, communication and tradition.”

“Come como chilango” pays homage to those who “delight us with their creations” and is also “an invaluable tool” for visitors to Mexico City who are interested in exploring the capital in a culinary sense, the tourism minister said.

Vera, the writer, said that street food in Mexico City encompasses culinary history, a variety of cooking techniques and food from all of Mexico’s states.

“Here in Mexico City we can eat the true Mexican food, which is this union of techniques and ingredients,” he said.

Rodrigo López Aldana, CEO of Sabores México, noted that a lot of restaurants — including fine-dining establishments — now take inspiration from the Mexico City street food scene.

Around one-quarter of more than 50,000 eateries in Mexico City are street food stalls, according to Desplas.

In 2021, a geographer from the National Autonomous University mapped all of the taquerías in Mexico and concluded that 95% of people in Mexico City have a taco stand within 400 meters of their home.

I’ll eat to that. ¡Provecho!

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

A bad omen? Rain causes pyramid to collapse in Michoacán

By
MND Staff
-
1
A pyramid that collapsed in Michoacán, on a cloudy day
The pyramid stood for roughly 1,000 years before crumbling under recent heavy rains. (Ramiro Aguayo/INAH)

A promise by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) to extensively repair a rain-damaged, pre-Columbian structure in Michoacán doesn’t change the fact: Some Purépecha descendants have taken the pyramid collapse as a sign of impending doom.

On July 29, heavy rains caused portions of a stone-slab foundation — built roughly 700 years ago to support a pyramid — to crumble at the Ihuatzio Archaeological Zone on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro.

Though it had stood for centuries, the foundation developed cracks during the periods of intense heat and drought that preceded the recent downpours, scientists said. The presence of fissures allowed a lot of water to seep in, causing the crumbling.

While Ihuatzio is not a large archeological site — only seven of its more than 84 structures are visible — it was the first main center of the Purépecha Empire, a civilization that resisted conquest attempts by the Aztecs and, later (at least initially) by Spanish colonizers.

Its pyramids, built around the 14th century, were used for astronomical observation and religious ceremonies and rituals, including human sacrifices dedicated to deities such as K’eri Kurikaueri, the “Great Fire.”

From Ihuatzio, meticulously built on an artificially leveled plateau, the Purépecha (also known as the Tarascan people) managed to conquer smaller communities, consolidating their control over a vast region.

A map showing the location of the collapsed pyramid within the Ihuatzio archaelogical site in Michoacán.
The collapsed pyramid was one of the “Twin Structures” (Estructuras Gemelas) in the ancient capital’s central plaza. (INAH)

The collapse of the pyramid base was interpreted as a “bad omen” among descendants of the Purépecha community in Michoacán, at least according to dozens of media reports that seemed to rely either on one Facebook post or on earlier media reports.

Apparently, similar events occurred before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the early 1520s. And since the Spanish eventually conquered the Purépecha in the late 1530s, those events came to be interpreted as signs of impending doom.

“For our ancestors, the builders, this was a bad omen that indicated an important event was approaching,” Purépecha descendant Tariakuiri Alvarez wrote on Facebook. “Before the arrival of the conquerors, according to historical accounts, something similar happened, and in the worldview of the Purépecha of the time, it was because the gods Nana Kuerhaépiri and K’eri Kurikaueri were angry.”

In a press release issued last week, INAH ignored the “omen” angle while pointing out that restorative work was underway. In addition to repairing visible damage, it will also include extensive work to improve the stability and future of the structure, INAH said.

Officials said this will be done using modern techniques not used in previous restorations — which actually had negative effects on the condition of the structure, officials added.

INAH also noted that the site was insured, and that the agency is working with the Agroasemex Insurance Company to get funds necessary for the repairs.

According to the online newspaper Infobae, the National Water Commission (Conagua) indicated that localities in Michoacán received, on average, 268.6 mm (10.75 inches) of rain in July, following 93.6 mm in June. The total in each of the preceding five months was no more than 14 mm.

INAH said at least six areas of the foundation suffered damage.

The incident left archaeologists and others wondering whether increasingly extreme weather is putting Mexico’s cultural heritage at risk.

With reports from DW, La Jornada Oriente, Daily Mail, Infobae and MiMorelia.com

Mexican slang 101: Regional natives

By
Alasdair Baverstock
-
4
Man and woman folkloric dancers performing the hat dance.
Do you know your chilangos from your regios? (Nspirement)

Mexico is a big place. With 32 states and a population of nearly 130 million, the cultural and regional diversity of this country is enormous. So how can you tell the norteños from the chilangos? Start with what they call themselves.

The author of “The Mexican Slang Dictionary,” Alasdair Baverstock, gives us 15 lesser-known Mexican expressions and phrases to describe the diverse people of Mexico.

Alasdair Baverstock
Alasdair Baverstock is the author of “The Mexican Slang Dictionary.” (Alasdair Baverstock)

Caballero – noun A native of the city of Córdoba, Veracruz, given its historical founding by the heads of 30 local noble families. The word means both gentleman and knight, or cavalryman.

Calentano – adj Of something or someone native to the Tierra Caliente region of Michoacán, Guerrero and México state. 

Chayote – noun

  1.   1. A popular vine-grown vegetable native to Central Mexico. A mirliton squash in English.
  2.  2. A native of the city of Orizaba, Veracruz.

Chilango – noun A native of Mexico City. For older generations, the word used to describe a Mexican migrant who moved to the capital from a different part of the country. Today, among younger generations, it is a universal term. 

The etymology of the word is hotly debated. Among the most common explanations are that it was a term for chili pepper vendors and that it comes from the Nahuatl “chilan-co” — the red ones — or the Maya xilaan, meaning “frizzy hair.” The latter two terms reference the Valley of Mexico’s cold winds. Formerly, Defeño, Capitalino.

Chilangada – noun A rude or uncourteous action undertaken, befitting of a Chilango. For example, running a red light in your vehicle, or being cut off in traffic. Also Chilangazo.

Culichi – noun

  1. A native of Culiacan, Sinaloa. 
  2. Compound word signifying a woman with “mucho culo, poca chichi”: “A lot of buttocks, not much breasts.”

Hidrocálido – noun A native of the state of Aguascalientes. 

Jarocho – noun A native of Veracruz state. The source of this word is said to come from the jara, a pole used by cowboys to herd cattle, given the importance of Veracruz state as a cattle producing region. 

Juarense – noun A native of Ciudad Juarez. A more derogatory term for people from this city is juareño.

Lagunero – noun A native of the city of Torreón, Coahuila. This term comes from the region’s many lagoons.

Loco – noun A native of Ciudad Mendoza, Veracruz. They’re called “crazies” because their town is situated in a particularly windy geographical location, and consequently find it hard to keep their hair in order, making them look “loco.”

Meridano – noun A native of the city of Mérida.

Pipope – noun A pejorative term for a native of Puebla state that abbreviates the phrase “Pinche Poblano Pendejo” – “Freakin’ Idiot from Puebla.”

Regio – noun Short for “regiomontano,” this word designates a native of the city of Monterrey.

Tapatío – noun A native of the city of Guadalajara. This word comes from a measure of five tortillas in 19th-century Guadalajara, which was known as a “tapatía.” A more derogatory term is jalisquillo. 

You can buy The Mexican Slang Dictionary on Amazon in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Alisdair Baverstock is the Mexico City based author of The Mexican Slang Dictionary.

Mexican feds consider treason charges for alleged kidnapping of ‘El Mayo’ Zambada

By
MND Staff
-
13
Attorney General Alejandro Gertz
The federal Attorney General's Office (FGR), led by Attorney General Alejandro Gertz, is considering treason charges for the alleged kidnapping and delivery to a foreign government of 'El Mayo' Zambada. (Secretarías del Estado/Cuartoscuro)

Who piloted the plane that transported alleged Sinaloa Cartel leaders Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García and Joaquín Guzmán López to an airport near El Paso, Texas, and into the hands of United States law enforcement authorities on July 25? And was that alleged kidnapping an act of treason against Mexico?

Where was former Culiacán mayor Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda murdered the same day?

They are among the questions the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) is seeking to answer as it investigates the events that occurred both before and after Zambada and Guzmán boarded a plane that landed at the Doña Ana County International Jetport in New Mexico just over three weeks ago.

The FGR said in a statement on Thursday that the main focus of its investigation into the Zambada-Guzmán case was to establish whether treason was committed given that kidnapping a person in Mexico for the purpose of handing him or her over to the authorities of another country constitutes that crime.

Zambada, via a statement issued by his lawyer, claimed he was kidnapped and forced onto a U.S.-bound private plane after traveling to Culiacán with the belief that he was going to help resolve a dispute between Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and Cuén.

With regard to the murder of Cuén, the FGR raised doubts about the Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office’s finding that the former mayor was shot and killed at a gas station in Culiacán.

Men on a motorcycle next to a white SUV in a gas station at night.
The Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office (FGE) said the men at left on a motorcycle appeared to be the murderers of politician Melesio Cuén. (Youtube screenshot)

Was the alleged kidnapping of El Mayo treason?

The FGR said that the “fundamental evidence” needed to determine whether the crime of treason was in fact committed is in the United States and “directly linked to an illegal flight” to the U.S.

It said that the registration of the plane — a Beechcraft King Air — was “cloned,” or fake, and that the conduct of the person who piloted the aircraft was “completely irregular.”

The pilot “hid all the information about his flight in Mexican territory until arriving at the border, where he only gave notice of his approach and landing in United States territory, where they were waiting for him,” the FGR said.

The agency said it carried out investigative tasks at the Doña Ana airport with the authorization of the U.S. government, but didn’t obtain the evidence needed to determine whether treason was committed in the alleged kidnapping of El Mayo.

In that context, the international affairs division of the FGR and Interpol México asked the United States Department of Justice for a range of information that “until today has not been provided,” the FGR said.

Among the information they requested was the document showing the prior authorization of U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the flight carrying Zambada and Guzmán López to enter the United States.

The plane in which 'El Mayo' Zambada was allegedly kidnapped and brought to the U.S., a possible act of treason to Mexico.
“El Mayo” Zambada was allegedly kidnapped and brought to the U.S. in a Beechcraft King Air, an act which the FGR said could be treason. (@beltrandelrio/X)

They also asked for immigration and customs records, details regarding the identity of the pilot and a range of information about the plane, among other documents.

The FGR also said that Mexico’s Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) has determined the location of the airstrip near Culiacán where the “clandestine” flight took off.

The murder of Cuén

The FGR said it obtained a copy of a Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office (FGE) file on the investigation into the homicide of Cuén, mayor of Culiacán between 2011 and 2012, founder of the regionally influential Sinaloa Party and rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) between 2005 and 2009.

In his statement, Zambada said that Guzmán López asked him to attend a meeting near Culiacán on July 25 to help resolve a dispute between Governor Rocha and Cuén over who should head up the UAS.

El Mayo also asserted that Cuén was not shot at a gas station, as the FGE said. Rather, he claimed that Cuén was killed at the same property outside Culiacán where Zambada was kidnapped.

Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda, whose murder may be related to the alleged kidnapping of El Mayo Zambada, which the Mexican government is investigating as a possible act of treason.
Politician and businessman Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda was the force behind the Sinaloa Party (PAS) and former rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa. (Héctor Cuen Ojeda/Instagram)

To support its version of events, the Sinaloa FGE released a video earlier this week that purportedly shows Cuén being shot while inside a white pick-up truck at a gas station in La Presita, on the outskirts of the city of Culiacán. In the footage, a man gets off a motorbike beside the vehicle, opens the passenger side door, fires his weapon, gets back on the motorbike and flees along with an accomplice. The pick-up truck subsequently departs. Flashing police lights are visible as the motorbike flees the scene along a road that passes in front of the gas station.

Neither the person who was apparently shot — allegedly Cuén — or the driver of the pick-up truck are visible in the footage.

The FGE said in a statement last Saturday that one of its “main lines of investigation” was that Cuén’s murder occurred during an attempted vehicle robbery, although the footage doesn’t suggest that was the case. It noted that the “main witness” — the driver of the white pick-up, Fausto Corrales Rodríguez — told authorities that the murder occurred during an attempted vehicle robbery.

In its statement, the federal-level FGR — which has taken over the investigation from Sinaloa authorities — said that experts and analysts from the AIC examined the FGE file and found that Cuén’s body had a “severe hematoma” on the head as well as four gunshot wounds on his legs.

However, in the gas station video “only one shot is heard,” the FGR statement said.

The statement also said that three gas station employees did not report hearing gunshots (note the use of the plural). In addition, the FGR noted that the identity of the occupants of the pick-up truck is impossible to distinguish in the video.

Fiscalía de Sinaloa difunde video del ataque contra Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda en gasolinera

The FGR said that neither the scene of the apparent shooting nor the pick-up truck was forensically examined.

The agency also asserted that the autopsy on Cuén’s body was not carried out “correctly.” State officials subsequently cremated the body in violation of “criminalistic practices” governing homicide investigations.

Initial reports said that Cuén was shot while driving near La Presita, north of downtown Culiacán, and died 30 minutes later in a private clinic due to a heart attack caused by loss of blood.

AMLO calls for thorough investigation into murder

At his morning press conference on Friday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged the discrepancies between the Sinaloa FGE investigation and the findings of the FGR.

The FGR in its statement announced that “there are things that aren’t in agreement,” he said.

“We want a through, serious investigation to be carried out,” López Obrador said, adding that the FGR should disclose all its findings “with complete freedom.”

Asked whether he maintained confidence in Governor Rocha, a representative of Mexico’s ruling Morena party, the president said he did.

Rocha, who took office in 2021, appointed the Sinaloa Attorney General, Sara Bruna Quiñónez Estrada, who resigned on Friday after discrepancies between the state and federal findings came to light.

Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya stands on stage holding hands with AMLO and President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum.
President López Obrador expressed his trust and support of Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, seen together here at an event in Culiacán last weekend. (Rubén Rocha Moya/Facebook)

López Obrador said he continued to support the Sinaloa governor “because we don’t know if he was aware of this situation.”

“He has already said he wasn’t in the country” on July 25, he said, referring to Rocha’s statement that he was in Los Angeles on the day Zambada and Guzmán López arrived in the United States and Cuén was killed.

US prosecutors request Zambada’s transfer to NY

United States prosecutors asked a court in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday to hold a hearing to being the process to transfer Zambada to New York, where he would face trial in the same Brooklyn courthouse where his Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was convicted on drug trafficking charges in 2019.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone agreed to the request.

If prosecutors get their wish to have Zambada transferred, the case against him in Texas will proceed after his prosecution in New York, the Associated Press reported.

Zambada, 76, faces a range of charges including drug trafficking, money laundering, firearms offenses, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder. He pleaded not guilty to all charges the day after his arrest.

Guzmán López, one of El Chapo’s sons and reportedly a Sinaloa Cartel financial operator, also faces drug trafficking charges. He is in custody in Chicago, where he pleaded not guilty on July 30.

Mexico News Daily 

482 new international routes have opened to Mexico since 2018

By
MND Staff
-
0
In June, Mexico's airports saw their highest flight occupancy rate of 2024. (Fernando Carranza/Cuartoscuro)

According to the Tourism Ministry (Sectur), 482 new international routes have opened to Mexico since 2018.

This week, Sectur also reported 2,401,775 arrivals at Mexican airports during the month of June. The total number of passengers represented an 86% occupancy rate, the highest rate in 2024.

Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco
Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco said the Official Airline Guide projects a total of 35.9 million available seats on incoming flights from abroad this year, a 4.9% increase over total seats in 2023. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)

Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco touted the high occupancy rate on arriving international flights, saying the increase in demand reflects the confidence international airlines have in Mexico as a market. He said noted the recent high occupancy rates presage strong growth in the tourism industry particularly this year.

Tourruco said the Official Airline Guide projects a total of 35.9 million available seats on incoming flights from abroad this year, a 4.9% increase over total seats in 2023. The airports in Cancún, Mexico City (the AICM) and Guadalajara will receive more than 70% of that total, accounting for 25.3 million seats.

“These projections reflect not only an increase in demand but also illustrate the confidence that international airlines have in Mexico as a market,” Torruco said.

Of the projected arrivals, the majority will be coming from North America. Sectur reported that more than 28 million visitors — or 78.5% — are expected from the United States and Canada, while another 4.4 million, or 12.3%, are expected from the rest of the Americas.

Europe will account for about 8.6% of international arrivals with a mere 0.6% coming from Asia. 

The top two airlines for international arrivals are American Airlines (14.5% of the total) and Aeroméxico (13.3%), which together were responsible for nearly 10 million arrivals.

According to the data, the most popular international routes to Mexico are Dallas-Cancún, Los Angeles-Guadalajara and Toronto-Cancún.

With reports from Forbes México, Infobae and Debate

Mexico issues alert over possible mpox outbreak

By
MND Staff
-
2
Mexican health officials on Thursday reported that there have been 212 “probable cases” this year with 49 confirmed
Mexican health officials on Thursday reported that there have been 212 “probable cases” of mpox this year with 49 confirmed. (Unsplash)

Mexico’s National Commission for Epidemiological Defense warned of a possible mpox outbreak on Wednesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared mpox, previously known as monkeypox, a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). Elevated cases with a new variant, have been reported in Europe, Asia and Africa.

According to Fox 5 San Diego, Mexican health officials on Thursday reported that there have been 212 “probable cases” this year with 49 confirmed throughout Mexico, though none involved the new variant.

Mpox is not a recent concern for Mexico. Since 2022, there have been 7,385 suspected cases of mpox in at least 11 states. Twenty-nine confirmed cases have been reported in Mexico City this year, with seven cases identified in Quintana Roo and three others in Jalisco.

Mpox is a rare disease similar to smallpox caused by a virus. It’s found mostly in areas of Africa but has been seen in other regions of the world. It causes flu-like symptoms such as fever and chills, and skin lesions that can take weeks to clear. 

A more transmissible variant called clade Ib is currently spreading in central Africa which may carry a similar fatality rate to clade I. Previous outbreaks of clade I have caused death in 10% of cases, leading health authorities to urge precaution in cases of clade Ib. 

In announcing the emergency, WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighboring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”

According to the WHO, the disease can spread in various ways:

  • People: Through close contact (touch), kissing or sex 
  • Animals: When hunting, skinning or cooking them 
  • Materials: Such as contaminated sheets, clothes or needles 
  • Pregnant people may pass the virus on to their unborn child 

With reports from Milenio, Debate and Fox 5 San Diego

Cinta canela: Expat life means you keep pushing

By
Ethan Jacobs
-
15
Ethan Jacobs went to send a package home and accidentally became trapped in purgatory. (Canva)

Three years ago, I’d just moved from Bogotá, Colombia, to Playa del Carmen. We’re talking two different climates entirely, and as such, I had in my possession a suitcase full of cold-weather clothes I’d no longer have any use for. Neither wanting to part ways with them in case fate someday led me to another cold-weather city, nor foreseeing enough trips to the United States to make shepherding the garments back feasible, I figured my best bet was shipping them via the Mexican postal service. 

Most gringo expats I know are in some way or another frugal. They may not openly cop to this, but if the reasons we live in Mexico were visually represented as a pie chart, purchasing power would not be a thin slice. I’m not admitting that this is true for me, but I somehow settled on shipping my clothes home the slowest way possible.

The face requires no explanation. (Waves and Ruins)

The Correos de México branch I wound up in could have been a carnival attraction in another universe. A hall of mirrors but more bureaucratic. The master of ceremonies was a paunchy, balding man in jeans and an unbuttoned polo shirt, sweaty and bespectacled. He moved around with a kind of anxious grace, like an iron chef, and wasted no time in telling me that my clothes — then still in a ratty gym bag — wouldn’t ship unless I boxed them up and that no, “we don’t have any spare boxes.”

Ten minutes later, I was in Chedraui, lurking behind employees restocking shelves, hassling them until one reluctantly gave up a spare box. When I got back to the post office, I feared I’d lost my place in line. Then I remembered that lines in places like these are a fluid concept: I likely never had a place to begin with. I stood at the entrance doing my best to will the lone postmaster to look up from the six patrons he was simultaneously attending to and acknowledge me. All I got was a nod and an “I’ll get to you when I get to you” look. 

When he checked the contents of my box a few minutes later, he nodded and gave me a thumbs up which I assumed was postmaster for “seal it up.” I looked at him the way I imagine Oliver Twist looked at whoever was serving him gruel in the orphanage, hoping he might spare some tape, but he had none, he said, pointing me in the direction of a stationery store around the corner. I bought the first roll I was offered, a bulky, clear ring I’d have no use for once the ordeal was over. Another five or so minutes later, I was back, lifting my box proudly for the postmaster to see like a child presenting shoddy macaroni art to a parent. He wasn’t quite as impressed. “It has to be cinta canela,” he said — brown tape.

The stationery store clerk didn’t even pretend to be shocked when I walked back in. Clearly, I wasn’t the first to fall for the ‘ole tape-and-switch.

Taping a parcel
It should have been this simple. Should have been. (Dozuki)

The postmaster had me label my box using identical, neatly torn strips of printer paper. Why I was given four when it only takes one to indicate where you want your box to go is beyond me. Still, he was insistent. “Shipping address, center, return address top left. All four. When you finish, tape one to the box and give the rest to me.” 

I did as he said, then took it a step further by sealing every inch of the labeling slip I had chosen for my box with multiple layers of cinta canela. Hurricane season is coming,” I thought, “what if the paper gets wet and my writing smears?” The postmaster took one look at my box and sighed, now clearly sick of my shit. “Only tape around the borders, not the whole slip. Do it again,” he said.

I looked around to see if anyone else was being similarly put through the wringer. Behind me was a guy with a tattered box. I kept waiting for the postmaster to tell him off but he seemed content with the man’s packing job. To my right was a Cuban woman who had barged in and made a beeline to the postmaster’s counter. “Wait your turn,” he said to her.

By the time I got my labels right, I had to have been at it for at least an hour. There must be a dog years equivalent for errands like that — the kinds that stretch time and slowly reduce you to an exasperated, desperate, submissive shell of your former self, now willing to do things you couldn’t have imagined when you first walked into that crowded post office. 

Pink-clad protesters fill Mexico City's central square on Sunday.
By this point in proceedings, the crowd at the post office had grown exponentially. (Edu Rivera/X)

That’s why when my box was placed on a scale and the postmaster quoted me a price three times what I was expecting, I sighed and said “Ok.” And why, when I handed him my credit card but was told payment was cash-only, I spent another 20 minutes wandering, looking for an ATM instead of simply taking my box back. My sunk cost at that point was just too steep.

It feels like we do this a lot when we migrate. Expecting things to be ready-made for us. Assuming procedures will be straightforward or identical to what we’ve come to know. The truth is that no matter how much you huff, puff and wring your hands, lamenting the fact that this would never happen back home, you made a choice and you’re here now. 

And because you’re probably frugal, you’re more likely to stay than tape up your boxes and start over again somewhere else. There’s a beautiful finality to that, one that ties us together as expats. There’s no going back, you have no choice but to get on with things here. You’ve left your old life behind, and that’s just too steep a sunk cost to give up now. 

Ethan Jacobs is a freelance writer and writing coach based in Playa del Carmen. He has written extensively in narrative and short fiction formats, and his work has received recognition both domestically and internationally in microfiction, short fiction and narrative essay formats.

1...471472473...2,130Page 472 of 2,130