Customs delays of up to six hours have been reported in Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez and Reynosa this week. (Omar Martínez/Cuartoscuro)
Scheduled maintenance of a digital platform for international trade at several border crossings in northern Mexico is causing delays and other headaches for importers, exporters, and customs brokers shipping goods into the United States.
In late January, the Mexican Tax Administration Service (SAT) announced a one-week scheduled maintenance outage for the Mexican Digital Window for Foreign Trade (Ventanilla Única de Comercio Exterior Mexicana, or VUCEM) platform from Feb. 8 through Feb. 15.
With the platform down, a contingency plan was put in place by SAT, with shippers required to send all related documents and invoices to their brokers to ensure timeliness of clearance.
Unfortunately, the process has not gone smoothly.
Mexican Customs agents are struggling to generate the necessary paperwork as they must manually handle all customs documents, producing long lines for trucks and intermodal shipments, including trains.
The resulting delays of up to six hours have caused chaos at the Tijuana border crossing, according to the Animal Político website. The situation at the Reynosa and Ciudad Juárez border crossings is not much better, with hundreds of vehicles waiting to be cleared through customs.
With the digital trade portal undergoing maintenance, customs agents are struggling to efficiently process importers and exporters. (File photo)
Produce Bluebook, a service provided by Blue Book Services that helps businesses manage financial risk within the produce supply chain, said there were reports of eight-hour waits at South Texas points of entry.
It also warned that produce shipments could be delayed at other major points of entry including Nogales, Arizona, and McAllen, Texas.
The platform allows users to electronically submit all necessary documents and information for import and export operations through a single interface.
2025 will be the 53rd edition of what some consider the premier cultural festival in Latin America. (International Cervantino Festival/Facebook)
The United Kingdom and the state of Veracruz will be this year’s guests of honor at the International Cervantino Festival, the 53rd edition of the premier cultural festival in Latin America.
This festival, held annually in Guanajuato city, will take place this year Oct. 10–Oct. 26.
Last year, Oaxaca was one of the guests of honor, and the festival presented both traditional and modern performances related to the Mexican state. (Graciela López Herrera/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s Culture Minister Claudia Curiel de Icaza was joined by Britain’s Ambassador to Mexico Susannah Goshko, Guanajuato Governor Libia García and Guanajuato city Mayor Samantha Smith, among others, during Wednesday’s announcement at Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park.
Also attending was festival Executive Director Romain Greco, and the event’s Planning Committee was also introduced at the presentation ceremony.
“The goal is to work collectively so as to contribute a variety of visions that range from the traditional to the contemporary and from the classic to the urbane,” Curiel said, adding that another objective is to attract a broader audience.
“We are very interested in working to engage with youth,” she said.
Additionally, Curiel said that diversity will be a priority. Emphasis will be placed on the concept of decolonization at this year’s festival.
“[We aim to] furnish a diversity of viewpoints, [highlighting] minorities … the indigenous and Afro-Mexicans,” she said.
The annual festival attracts artists from film, dance, music and more. Last year, the Brazilian singer/songwriter Lenine closed the festival at a stage created at the city’s historic Alhóndiga de Granaditas building. (Graciela López Herrera/Cuartoscuro)
Goshko said the United Kingdom was honored by the designation, describing the Cervantino Festival as “the natural space to demonstrate that culture can be an economic engine.”
“Nearly 200 years since we established diplomatic relations, the opportunity to be a country of honor offers the chance to further deepen the cultural and artistic ties that bind us and to build new avenues of cooperation in innovative spheres such as the creative industries,” she said.
The affair takes place in the streets and alleys of Guanajuato, as well as at indoor and outdoor stages. Visitors can enjoy shows, conferences and presentations at 40 separate venues, including the city’s iconic Teatro Juárez, the esplanade of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas (the historic 220-year-old grain storage building) and in the plazas of the old silver mining city, in the shadow of its historic colonial architecture.
Aeroméxico plans to add multiple new routes this year, connecting Mexico City to Phoenix, Cartagena, Panama City, and the Dominican Republic, among other destinations. (María Ruiz)
On the same day it accepted an award as the world’s most punctual airline, Aeroméxico announced that it would be offering seven new routes by the end of the year.
This week’s award ceremony and its expansion plans culminate a remarkable turnaround less than three years after the airline emerged from bankruptcy.
Aeroméxico filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2020 after the pandemic sent demand plummeting, returning from insolvency in March 2022 with a US $5 billion investment plan that featured fleet modernization and other upgrades.
In January, the airline announced two new routes (Mexico City-Philadelphia and San Luis Potosí-Atlanta) will begin operations in June, and at the Feb. 11 award ceremony airline officials said five additional international routes will be added by the end of the year.
One of the new flights connects Mexico City International Airport (AICM) with Phoenix, Arizona. (Kyle Kempt/Unsplash)
The new destinations, all connecting from the Mexico City International Airport, are Phoenix, Cartagena and Cali (Colombia), Panama City, and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic).
To cover these new routes, Aeroméxico will add 14 new planes, bringing its total fleet to 164 by the end of 2025.
Aeroméxico also announced that it will be renovating its two Salones Premier passenger lounges at the Mexico City International Airport. Additionally, Mexico’s flagship airline will be standardizing its on-board seats and providing Wi-Fi throughout the plane, while also updating its app (which will feature access to its loyalty program) and offering free messenger service in the first-class section of the cabin.
Aeroméxico made the announcements at a ceremony where it was honored as 2024’s most on-time airline. The award was sponsored by aviation analytics company Cirium.
Of almost 197,000 Aeroméxico flights in 2024, 86.7% arrived on time and the airline fulfilled 99.32% of planned operations.
Aeroméxico CEO Andrés Conesa accepted the award on behalf of the entire Aeroméxico workforce, while also lauding the contribution of airport authorities.
“I am proud to share that [this award] comes as a result of the enormous effort we have made to improve our processes, modernize our fleet, incorporate the newest technology and strengthen coordination with authorities, airports and service providers,” he said. “But, above all, they reflect the most valuable asset that represents us: the great talent of the Aeroméxico family. We will continue to strive every day to provide the best service to our customers and make each trip an extraordinary experience.”
Aeroméxico CEO Andrés Conesa, center left, accepted the award on behalf of his company. (Cirium)
Aeromexico won with an on-time percentage (OTP) of 86.7%, a mere 0.35% higher than the second-place airline, Saudia.
Upon presenting the award, Cirium CEO Jeremy Bowen praised Aeroméxico for its dramatic OTP improvements over the past four years. In Cirium’s award analysis, an on-time flight is defined as a flight that arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival.
“In 2021, your OTP was 70.15%, but In 2022, OTP was up 4.7% to 74.86%,” he said. “Then in 2023, OTP was up 2.6% to 77.48%, and in 2024, up an incredible 9% to 86.7%.”
This is the first time a Mexican airline received Cirium’s Most On-Time Global Airline Award.
Traveler seeking to get to Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) from Mexico City (and vice versa) will soon have more transportation options. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
The train line from Mexico City to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) in México state will open in July, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday.
Speaking at her morning press conference, Sheinbaum acknowledged that the project has been under construction for “a good while.”
The route to AIFA airport will be an extension of existing the Suburban Train route between Cuautlán and Buenavista. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
The railroad — which will connect the Buenavista suburban train station in central Mexico City to AIFA — is now “very advanced” and will soon be finished by military engineers, the president said.
“It will arrive to AIFA in July,” Sheinbaum said, adding that the laying of additional tracks from AIFA to Pachuca, the capital of Hidalgo state, will commence in March.
The rail line to the airport uses the tracks of the existing train route between Buenavista and Cuautitlán, México state, until the Lechería station. The new section, construction of which began in 2022, runs 23 kilometers from Lechería to AIFA and includes seven new stations including that at the airport terminal.
The new transportation option will simplify access to AIFA airport, where passenger numbers remain far below those of Mexico City International Airport (AICM). (Gobierno de CDMX)
Travel between Buenavista — located about three kilometers northwest of the historic center of Mexico City — and AIFA will take around 40 minutes by train, significantly less than the time it takes to get to the airport by car.
Passengers can reach the Buenavista suburban train station via the Mexico City Metro and Metrobús systems.
The opening of the new rail line should make AIFA a more attractive transport option for Mexico City residents, millions of whom live closer to the Benito Juárez International Airport (AICM) than the newer facility in México state.
Andrés Lajous Loaeza, head of Mexico’s Rail Transport Regulatory Agency, told Sheinbaum’s press conference that the federal government plans to build more than 3,000 kilometers of passenger train tracks during its six years in office.
Construction of four projects is set to begin this year.
Construction of the AIFA-Pachuca line is scheduled to commence in March.
Construction of the Mexico City-Querétaro line is slated to begin in April. It will have intermediate stations in Tula, Hidalgo, and San Juan del Río, Querétaro.
Construction of the Querétaro-Irapuato line is due to start in July. It will have intermediate stations in the Guanajuato state cities of Celaya and Salamanca.
Construction of the Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo line is scheduled to commence in July. It will have several intermediate stations including one in Monterrey, Nuevo León.
The Saltillo-Nuevo Laredo passenger train line will give residents of Monterrey a direct land route to the U.S. border. (Javier Rentería/Pexels)
Lajous said that the passenger train projects have a range of objectives, including to reduce congestion on highways, improve connectivity, provide efficient and safe transport options to citizens and reduce Mexico’s carbon footprint.
He noted that the projects will have a beneficial spillover effect for the Mexican economy.
Sheinbaum announced in November that the government had set aside 157 billion pesos (around US $7.7 billion) in its 2025 budget to begin installing 3,000 kilometers of train tracks.
Mexico once had a vast passenger train network, but most lines were closed in the 1990s after the railroad system was privatized.
In late 2023, López Obrador published a decree that established the provision of passenger train services as a priority for national development, a step toward achieving his goal of restoring Mexico’s passenger train network to its former glory.
On Wednesday, Sheinbaum addressed Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, Pemex's watery oil and the perception of corruption in Mexico. (Gustavo Alberto/Cuartoscuro)
Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, Pemex’s watery oil and Mexico’s poor standing on a global corruption index were among the issues President Claudia Sheinbaum was asked about at her Wednesday morning press conference.
As usual, Sheinbaum held her mañanera in the National Palace in the historic center of Mexico City, the seat of executive power and the president’s residence.
Sheinbaum told reporters that her government would send a letter to its United States counterpart presenting its argument against U.S. tariffs on Mexico’s steel and aluminum exports. (Gustavo Alberto/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico to send letter to US to set out case against steel tariffs
Sheinbaum told reporters that her government would send a letter to its United States counterpart presenting its argument against the tariffs the U.S. intends to impose on all steel and aluminum imports starting March 12.
“We’re going to send information to the White House about what was presented [by Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard] yesterday, … a missive … to show President Trump that in the particular case of steel and aluminum they export more [to us] than we export [to them],” she said.
“… In this case, the United States has a surplus. So it’s not advisable for the United States to put steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico,” Sheinbaum added.
Ebrard said Tuesday that he would personally present Mexico’s argument to Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for Commerce Secretary, and Jamieson Greer, the prospective U.S. trade representative, next week.
Sheinbaum said Wednesday that the economy minister has already “had conversations” with Lutnick, “even though he is not [yet] ratified by the Senate.”
Sheinbaum: Watery oil problem to be resolved within 10 days
The Bloomberg news agency reported on Monday that “U.S. oil refiners along the Gulf Coast are snubbing shipments from Mexico and instead turning to Colombia and Canada amid complaints that Petróleos Mexicanos [Pemex] is increasingly delivering crude that’s unfit to make gasoline and diesel.”
“Refiners in Texas and Louisiana are demanding discounts and repeatedly complaining about the high water content in crude currently coming from Mexico, according to people with knowledge of the situation,” Bloomberg said.
Pemex CEO Víctor Rodríguez Padilla told the president’s mañanera that the state oil company has a “very temporary” salt and water problem. (Gustavo Alberto/Cuartoscuro)
Sheinbaum said Wednesday that water in crude is a “normal” occurrence that affects “a lot of oil companies” around the world.
“There is a way to resolve it,” the president added.
“… There are technical mechanisms that allow the water to be removed … and that’s what Pemex is doing,” Sheinbaum said.
“… They will resolve [the problem] in the next 10 days,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that an offshore platform that supplies crude to the Olmeca Refinery on the Tabasco coast is among those that have a watery oil problem.
Citing its sources, Bloomberg said that Mexico’s “flagship Maya crude is being delivered with as much as 6% of water content, or six times more than the industry standard.”
Pemex CEO Víctor Rodríguez Padilla told the president’s mañanera that the state oil company has a “very temporary” salt and water problem.
“None of our ships has been rejected,” he said, although he acknowledged that refiners have complained.
He said that Pemex has been penalized for supplying watery oil but only “in cents” of the regular price paid for crude.
‘Privileges are over, corruption is over’
“Fortunately, the perception of the [Mexican] people is different,” Sheinbaum said when asked about Mexico dropping 14 places to 140th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index.
“How can it be explained that tax collection almost doubled from 2018 to 2024 without a fiscal reform? Privileges are over, corruption is over. There are still spaces where we can continue saving resources, but there was very significant progress,” she said, referring to the six years former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador was in office.
“… What there is is regime change — from a regime of corruption and privileges [before 2018] to a regime of honesty and service to the people. And we’re going to continue,” Sheinbaum said.
Mexico's post-pandemic tourism rebound continued in 2024, as the country saw over 45 million visitors. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico welcomed more than 45 million international tourists in 2024, the highest figure since 2019, according to a report released on Tuesday by Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
Inegi reported that 45.04 million international tourists entered Mexico in 2024, marking a 7.4% increase from almost 41.95 million visitors in 2023. Tourism revenue in 2024 was also 6% higher than the previous year.
Arrivals to Mexico by cruise ship rose 10% over 2023. (Carlos Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)
The tourism sector attracted almost US $30.25 billion in 2024, with tourists who arrived via plane contributing 90% of this total. Nevertheless, the average spending of international tourists decreased slightly over this period, by around 1.4%.
In 2023, the foreign currency earnings from international visitors between January and November amounted to $27.4 billion — 9.8% more than in the same period of 2022, marking the beginning of a post-pandemic tourism rebound.
The number of visitors arriving by air routes increased slightly in 2024 compared to 2023, by 0.8%.
Cruise tourism arrivals increased by over 10% in 2023, with over 10.15 million visitors arriving by ship. The sector generated around $849 million and contributed heavily to the economies of coastal destinations like Cozumel and Mahahual.
Starting this year, cruise passengers looking to dock in Mexico will need to pay an immigration fee of $42.
Almost 4.8 million international tourists entered Mexico in December, marking an increase of 4.3% from the same month in 2023, according to Inegi. In addition, over 4.3 million excursion visitors — those who did not stay overnight on their trip — entered the country.
Around 79.8% of inbound tourists entered by air, a 0.1% decrease from December 2023.
The biggest change was seen in the number of visitors who entered Mexico by car or on foot — around 1.6 million — marking a 13.5% increase over the same month in 2023.
Foreign exchange earnings from tourism expenditure in the final month of 2024 totaled $3.7 billion, a 9% increase over November.
According to a report by CNN, current and former U.S. officials expressed concerns that the intelligence flights could be part of an effort to find targets for the U.S. military to strike itself. (Cuartoscuro)
“We can’t rule out [espionage] because we don’t know what they did.”
With those words, Mexico’s Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla Trejo responded to a reporter’s question about whether United States military aircraft had engaged in “espionage” missions near and south of the U.S.-Mexico border to surveil and collect intelligence on Mexican drug cartels.
At the Wednesday presidential presser, Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla Trejo responded to a reporter’s question about whether United States military aircraft had engaged in “espionage” missions, saying that he “did not know.” (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
“They didn’t violate national air space,” added the top military brass at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Tuesday morning press conference.
The questioning of the defense minister came a day after CNN reported that the U.S. military “significantly increased its surveillance of Mexican drug cartels over the past two weeks, with sophisticated spy planes flying at least 18 missions over the southwestern U.S. and in international airspace around the Baja peninsula.”
The news organization said that its reporting was based on “open-source data and three U.S. officials familiar with the missions.”
Trevilla said that Mexican authorities had “located” two of the missions CNN referred to, including a Feb. 3 flight detected “83 km to the southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, outside Mexican airspace over international waters,” according to the Defense Ministry.
Sheinbaum said last week that it was “not something strange that there is a plane that flies in international airspace,” even when the aircraft is a United States military one in close proximity to Mexican territory a significant distance south of the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, the frequency with which the U.S. military has recently used spy planes to surveil areas close to Mexican territory is far from normal, according to CNN.
‘A dramatic escalation in activity’
CNN reported that the U.S. military spy plane missions — many of which flew close to the U.S.-Mexico border — were conducted over a period of 10 days in late January and early February.
Citing current and former U.S. military officials, the news outlet said that the flights represent “a dramatic escalation in activity” near Mexican territory.
The Pentagon has sent at least 18 surveillance flights of sophisticated spy planes to the Mexican border to collect intelligence on Mexican cartels, according to open source data and three U.S. officials. https://t.co/OoGFPzon43pic.twitter.com/Bv7VFg6p3w
They come at a time when United States President Donald Trump is using the military to secure the border as he seeks to stem the flow of narcotics, especially fentanyl, into the U.S. from Mexico.
Citing a former military official “with deep experience in homeland defense,” CNN reported that the Pentagon “has historically flown only about one surveillance mission a month around the U.S.-Mexico border.”
“Typically, officials instead focus these planes on collecting intelligence on other priorities, such as Russian activity in Ukraine or hunting Russian or Chinese submarines. The activity highlights how the military has already begun shifting finite U.S. national security capabilities away from overseas threats to focus on the southern border, where Trump has declared a national emergency,” CNN said.
The types of spy planes used to carry out the recent U.S. military missions, including Boeing P-8 Poseidons, a Lockheed U-2 and a Boeing RC-135, are “capable of collecting intelligence deep within Mexico” while flying over U.S. airspace along the border, according to CNN’s sources.
Trevilla said there are agreements between the armed forces of Mexico and the United States to share such information.
“In any case, they would give it to us,” the defense minister said.
In his first days in office, Trump signed an executive order declaring cartels foreign terrorist organizations, potentially laying the legal groundwork for the U.S. military to enter Mexican territory. (@WhiteHouse/X)
“I just had … telephone communication with the [United States] Northern Command … during which we established that we’re going to continue adhering to the bilateral mechanisms that exist between the armed forces of both countries,” Trevilla said.
The U.S. government appears determined to do all it can to combat Mexican cartels, which engage in a wide range of criminal activities including drug trafficking and people smuggling across the Mexico-U.S. border. On the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order that laid the groundwork to declare cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, while the U.S. government announced last week that it intended “to pursue total elimination of Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations.”
CNN reported that the “ramp-up” in spy plane flights near Mexican territory “underscores Trump’s determination to wield the military as the lead agency tackling counternarcotics and border security — two issues that have historically been led by domestic law enforcement agencies.”
“… Some current and former U.S. officials expressed quiet concerns to CNN that the intelligence flights could be part of an effort to find targets for the U.S. military to strike itself,” the media outlet added.
Citing a United States Department of Justice source, the El Universal newspaper said that the flights were “related to information provided by Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán, aka Los Chapitos,” all alleged Sinaloa Cartel leaders who are in U.S. custody on drug trafficking charges.
Report: Mexico expects a further escalation of US ‘actions’ at the border
El Universal reported on Wednesday that it had access to a “high-level federal government analysis” that predicts an “escalation” of actions from the United States on the 3,145-kilometer long border it shares with Mexico.
“After the increase in United States spy flights in international waters to surveil Mexican drug cartels, the federal government anticipates an escalation of intelligence and military actions from the northern neighbor on the border with Mexico,” El Universal said.
Sheinbaum says that the Mexican government is willing to collaborate with the United States on security issues but is unwavering in her stance against foreign military intervention. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
The government analysis, the newspaper said, states that “the intensification of these United States border operations will serve to pressure the Mexican government to accept security concessions.”
El Universal didn’t say what those “security concessions” might be.
Sheinbaum says that the Mexican government is willing to collaborate with the United States on security issues but she is opposed to the use of the U.S. military to combat Mexican cartels on Mexican soil.
“We all want to combat drug cartels, that is clear. So what do we have to do? We have to coordinate efforts and collaborate — them in their territory and us in our territory,” she said last month.
An unsolicited military intervention in Mexico by the United States would no doubt infuriate the Mexican government and place an enormous strain on the bilateral relation. But, as Trump put it, “stranger things have happened.”
According to national security academic Víctor Hernández, “the United States government is preparing a low-scale military intervention in Mexico, with special forces and drone attacks.”
“Any military operation of this nature requires reconnaissance flights, like those we are seeing,” he told El Universal.
Carlos Pérez Ricart, an academic who specializes in security issues and author of the book “One Hundred Years of Spies and Drugs: The History of US Anti-Narcotics Agents in Mexico,” told the newspaper El País in December that he “would not be surprised to wake up one day to an American missile hitting a methamphetamine laboratory in Badiraguato,” Sinaloa, the home town of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
“It could happen [but] there is nothing to suggest that a more aggressive, direct, and invasive policy will lead to a decrease in fentanyl trafficking to the United States,” he said.
Lake Texcoco will join 63 other Ecohydrology Demonstration Sites around the world that are working to protect wetlands.(@UNESCOMexico/X)
The Natural Resources Protection Area (NRPA) of Lake Texcoco in México state has been designated an Ecohydrology Demonstration Site by UNESCO,the first of its kind in Mexico.
Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena and UNESCO’s representative in Mexico Andrés Morales Arciniegas made the announcement during a visit to the Texcoco Ecological Park marking World Wetlands Day on Feb. 2.
Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena stressed the importance of collaboration between the Valley of Mexico’s communities and the government to improve water quality, biodiversity and ecosystems. (@SEMARNAT_mx/X)
The designation recognizes natural sites globally where sustainable activities are underway to support ecological recovery.
“Our great crusade at the Environment Ministry (Semarnat) is the recovery of wetlands and the recovery of mangroves, these are the two ecosystems that we think are very important to protect, to restore, because they are places where life, species, mangroves [thrive],” said Bárcena in a speech.
Lake Texcoco, federally designated a Natural Protected Area in 2022, is home to over 250 species of flora, 370 species of fauna and 10 species of fungi and mosses, including some that are categorized as under threat by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
According to Morales, Semarnat has recovered 1,900 hectares of land and 4,000 hectares of water bodies, accounting for nearly 90% of the surrounding Texcoco Ecological Park.
The Texcoco Ecological Park in México state stretches across 14,030 hectares, 10,000 of which are lakebed. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
Some measures implemented at Lake Texcoco have been the treatment of water using wetlands, knowledge generation about the availability of water resources and actions to revitalize the lake’s historical and cultural heritage as the largest natural lake in the Valley of Mexico.
In addition, Lake Texcoco was recognized by UNESCO for its ongoing work to strike “a balance between the potential of the ecosystem and social needs.”
During her speech, Bárcena stressed the importance of collaboration between the Valley of Mexico’s communities and the government to improve water quality, biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as mitigate the impacts of climate change.
An attending representative from the Peoples’ Front in Defense of the Earth group said his organization plans to work alongside the government to preserve the area and promote trade and the well-being of nearby communities.
The communities “have done a lot for this struggle to preserve the wetlands from excessive urbanization and to protect this place from that really senseless project by the NAICM, which they wanted to build here. (…) I believe that it is time for the water to return to its origin and that is why we have a vision that wants to combat this extractivist and predatory vision,” said Bárcena.
According to UNESCO, 64% of the world’s wetlands have already disappeared. Lake Texcoco will join 63 other Ecohydrology Demonstration Sites around the world that are working to restore wetlands.
Approximately one-third of the investment will finance a new 74,000-square-meter terminal at Puerto Vallarta International Airport and expansions at Tijuana and Los Cabos. (@EsDeVoladaMX/X)
Mexico’s Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) — Pacific Airport Group — reiterated on Tuesday that it will make a record investment of 52 billion pesos (US $2.54 billion) over the next five years to modernize and expand its 12 airports in the central and western parts of the country.
The plan, a 20% increase from an initial proposal, is the largest in GAP’s history, the company noted while formally presenting its Master Development Plan for 2025 to 2029.
🏗️✈️En los próximos 5 años, @Aeropuerto_GDL vivirá una transformación sin precedentes:
— Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (@aeropuertosGAP) February 12, 2025
Initially announced last Augustand already approved by the corresponding federal authorities, the plan calls for a five-year spending total equal to GAP’s entire investments over the previous 20 years, CEO Raúl Revuelta Musalem said.
GAP operates airports that serve the metropolitan areas of Guadalajara and Tijuana; the medium-sized cities of Morelia, Hermosillo, Los Mochis, Aguascalientes, León and Mexicali; and the tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, La Paz, Los Cabos and Manzanillo.
According to reports, nearly 50% of the investment will fund a new 69,000-square-meter terminal at Guadalajara International Airport, with 32% going toward a new 74,000-square-meter terminal at Puerto Vallarta International Airport and expansions at Tijuana and Los Cabos (San José del Cabo).
“The impact of this investment … goes far beyond mobility,” Laura Diez Barroso, chair of the firm’s board of directors, said in a statement. “Airports generate jobs, strengthen economies and facilitate trade with the world.”
GAP operates the airports serving Mexico’s Bajío and Pacific coast states. (@aeropuertosGAP/X)
According to the company, the Guadalajara terminal expansion will increase infrastructure by 73% and include a new access road; and in Puerto Vallarta, the investment in a new terminal will double the airport’s capacity and will feature an elevated walkway to the main access road to ease traffic.
Tijuana’s terminal will expand by 47%, adding a new boarding area with seven apron positions, while Los Cabos’ Terminal 2 will grow by 32% with improvements to its road system, the company said.
Revuelta called the plan “truly aggressive” and said the capital demonstrates “GAP’s commitment to investing in Mexico” despite “a lot of political noise, particularly with the United States.”
Overall, the upgrades will result in a 50% increase in terminal capacity, a 45% increase in inspection points and a 25% expansion of aircraft platforms, GAP noted.
The company has issued 6 billion pesos (US $293 million) in long-term bonds to finance the plan and expects to seek more funds later this year. GAP’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange rose 9.34% over the past 40 days, closing at US $195.41 on Feb. 11, after starting the year at US $178.10.
Also, GAP confirmed its bid for the Turks and Caicos airport, with a decision expected by the end of the month. The group also operates the Kingston and Montego Bay airports in Jamaica.
During Tuesday's Senate session, Téllez accused Sheinbaum of making up "excuses" and "pretexts" to oppose cooperation with the United States to combat cartels in Mexico. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
Should Mexico allow the United States military to come into the country to combat violent drug cartels?
National Action Party (PAN) Senator Lily Téllez, for one, is in favor of the idea.
PAN Senator Lilly Téllez made her case during the senate vote to authorize the arrival of 10 U.S. soldiers to provide training to Mexican marines. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
“… It’s a practice that has occurred and which always reminds us that there can be cooperation between both military forces, those of the United States and those of Mexico,” Téllez said.
Sheinbaum has stressed that Mexico is willing to collaborate with the United States on security issues, but asserts that it will do so as an equal partner and not accept subordination. She is staunchly opposed to the use of the United States military on Mexican soil to combat Mexican cartels, an idea to which U.S. President Donald Trump, and people close to him, have expressed openness.
President Sheinbaum is opposed to “any attempt at interference in our territory” — i.e. U.S. military action against Mexican cartels on Mexican soil. (Gustavo Alberto/Cuartoscuro)
Téllez, in remarks clearly directed at Sheinbaum, said that the entry of United States forces to Mexico to “cooperate” with Mexicans on training exercises doesn’t amount to an “invasion” or a violation of Mexico’s sovereignty.
“The homeland wasn’t sold, the homeland wasn’t subjugated because constantly there is this cooperation between United States forces and Mexican forces,” she said.
“Why then not accept the cooperation of the United States to act against the cartels in Mexico?” Téllez asked.
“Why not accept it under an agreement of cooperation within a legal framework as is happening, and as has happened during all these years when these kinds of [training] exercises that we authorized today are carried out?”
The senator asserted that Mexico is incapable of combating powerful criminal organizations, such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, on its own.
“The reality is that the Mexican state can’t combat the cartels because if the Mexican state were able to combat the cartels, it would have already done it, right?” Téllez said.
In the second half of her Senate floor speech, Téllez said that cooperation with the United States to combat cartels in Mexico “could save the lives of Mexicans” that the ruling Morena party “has left defenseless in the face of organized crime’s war against citizens.”
“… If it is clear that there can be cooperation without subjugation, why doesn’t Morena want it?” asked the senator, who defected from Morena to PAN — Mexico’s largest opposition party — in 2020.
“It doesn’t want it because the President Claudia, the secretary of AMLO, is protecting his narco-state. The cartels are partners of Morena, to them they owe their arrival and continued presence in power,” Téllez claimed.
In the aftermath of cartel boss “El Mayo” Zambada’s 2024 arrest in the United States, Sinaloa residents have been caught in the middle of a cartel power struggle. (Cuartoscuro)
With those words, she echoed the view expressed by the White House in a Feb. 1 fact sheet on the tariffs Trump planned to impose on Mexican exports to the United States last week, but agreed to pause for one month after Sheinbaum committed to deploying 10,000 National Guard troops to the northern border.
“The Mexican drug trafficking organizations have an intolerable alliance with the government of Mexico,” said the White House, which also asserted that the Mexican government has “afforded safe havens for the cartels to engage in the manufacturing and transportation of dangerous narcotics.”
Sheinbaum unsurprisingly rejected the White House’s claims, describing them as “libel.”
In the same social media post, the president also said that the Mexican government is opposed to “any attempt at interference in our territory” — i.e. U.S. military action against Mexican cartels on Mexican soil.
Téllez accused Sheinbaum of making up “excuses” and “pretexts” to oppose cooperation with the United States to combat cartels in Mexico, and asserted that Morena puts the interests of “its criminal partners” ahead of those of ordinary Mexicans.
“In fact, there is a global scandal because the government of Sheinbaum colludes with organized crime,” she said.
“And there is some background to this. The dictator of Colombia, the guerrilla Gustavo Petro, [the current Colombian president] said that Sheinbaum was a member of the M-19 guerrilla group. … That’s why Sheinbaum now doesn’t want to act against cartels,” she said.
“… This narco-government represents the greatest threat to citizens in the history of Mexico,” Téllez asserted.
For its part, the Sheinbaum administration frequently emphasizes its commitment to combating cartels and their criminal activities.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch told reporters on Tuesday that 11,600 people have been arrested for “high-impact crimes” since the new government took office on Oct. 1, while over 100 tonnes of drugs and more than 5,000 firearms have been seized.
Sheinbaum herself noted on Tuesday that last month was the least violent January in eight years in terms of homicides. She also highlighted that murders declined 12% in January compared to the month before she took office.
“We’re going to keep working every day to build peace and security in our country,” Sheinbaum said.
