The investment will create 94 new jobs at the Silao plant, which already employs 600 people. (Gobierno de Silao)
Nestlé Purina this week announced a US $225 million investment to expand its pet food manufacturing plant in the state of Guanajuato.
The Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate has picked Mexico as a key partner of its growth strategy in Latin America. The new investment is intended to significantly enhance the company’s production in Mexico, according to the news site Reporte Índigo.
In the past 10 years, Nestlé has invested more than US $770 million in its Silao facility. The new investment will make the plant in Guanajuato the biggest of its kind in Latin America. (LinkedIn)
Mexico is the No. 1 Latin American market for Nestlé; its two facilities in Mexico (one in Silao, Guanajuato, the other in Cuautitlán, México state) produce over 200,000 tons of dog and cat food annually.
This makes Nestlé Purina the top supplier of pet food in Mexico, but the two plants have reached maximum operating capacity, necessitating imports from the United States to meet local demand, according to the trade magazine PetFoodIndustry.com.
The announced expansion of the existing plant in Silao, Guanajuato is aimed at reducing its reliance on intracompany imports so as to more efficiently serve the Mexican market, which comprises 45% of Nestlé sales in Latin America. Mexico is also the company’s fourth-largest market in the world.
Last year, Nestlé’s global sales of pet food exceeded US $20.8 billion. Its pet food sales are its second-biggest product category, only behind beverages and powdered drinks.
Nestlé revealed in a press release that the renovation in Guanajuato will allow for a third line of production for wet food and a fourth line of production for dry food. The expansion is expected to increase production capacity of dry food and wet food by 25% and 40%, respectively.
The investment will also result in the creation of 94 new jobs at the Silao plant which already employs 600 people. It is also a positive sign for the Mexican pet food market, which continues to grow, driven by rising pet ownership and increased demand for high-quality pet food products, according to PetFoodIndustry.com.
In the past 10 years, Nestlé has invested more than US $770 million in its Silao facility and the new investment will make the plant in Guanajuato the biggest of its kind in Latin America.
Tacos are "Mexican-style sandwiches" according to an Indiana court ruling. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
The Famous Taco restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana will be allowed to open a second location thanks to a judge’s ruling this week that “tacos and burritos are Mexican-style sandwiches.”
Mexico native Martín Quintana, 53, has been trying to open a new The Famous Taco for about three years, but the shopping plaza he wanted to move into had a written commitment with local officials limiting what types of restaurants could open there.
The Famous Taco can now move forward with its plans to open a second location in a “sandwiches-only” strip mall. (Google Maps)
It could only be “a sandwich bar-style restaurant whose primary business is to sell ‘made-to-order’ or ‘Subway-style’ sandwiches,” and could not have a drive-thru, outdoor seating or alcoholic beverages.
After the nearby Covington Creek Association told Quintana that his proposal ran afoul of the stipulations — that exclude fast-food chains like Arby’s, McDonald’s and Wendy’s — a legal battle began that finally ended with Allen Superior Court Judge Craig Bobay’s ruling on Monday.
Allen County includes the county seat of Fort Wayne, a city about 190 kilometers northeast of Indianapolis with about 270,000 residents, making it Indiana’s second-most populous city.
“The Court agrees with Quintana that tacos and burritos are Mexican-style sandwiches, and the original written commitment does not restrict potential restaurants to only American cuisine-style sandwiches,” Bobay wrote.
“The original written commitment [of 2019] would also permit a restaurant that serves made-to-order Greek gyros, Indian naan wraps or Vietnamese banh mi if these restaurants complied with the other enumerated conditions,” the judge added.
Quintana sued the Fort Wayne Plan Commission in December 2022 after it denied his proposed amendment that would specifically allow his restaurant to offer made-to-order tacos, burritos and other Mexican specialties.
“It kind of became an argument of … is a taco a sandwich or not,” a representative of Quintana said when the suit was filed.
“I’m glad this thing is over,” Quintana said Monday. “We are happy. When you have a decision like this, the only thing you can be is happy.”
Quintana said he came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1988, working first as a farm worker in California picking grapes, olives and kiwis before entering the restaurant business in Michigan, then moving to Chicago and finally Fort Wayne in 2001. He opened The Famous Taco nearly seven years ago.
At the new location, which Quintana expects to open in two or three months, customers will choose their favorite toppings for tacos, burritos or tortas assembled by the staff.
“You know, that’s a sandwich,” Quintana said of tortas. “That’s bread. That’s a sandwich. We go through a lot of those.”
The boxer backed the candidate and wished the former Mexico City mayor luck in the upcoming election. (Prensa Claudia Sheinbaum/Cuartoscuro)
Without specifying whether he anticipates a points decision or a knockout, boxing champion Sául “Canelo” Álvarez has predicted that Claudia Sheinbaum will win the June 2 presidential election.
The 33-year-old Guadalajara native met with the Morena party frontrunner on Thursday, making his support for her clear.
Tuve una gran visita que me dio muchos consejos y me compartió su buena vibra, nada más y nada menos que El Canelo. pic.twitter.com/fXR2Ufa4WF
— Dra. Claudia Sheinbaum (@Claudiashein) May 16, 2024
In a one-minute video Sheinbaum posted to her social media accounts, Canelo wishes the former Mexico City mayor luck in the upcoming election and says he is “available” to support her.
“I wish you the best and I know you’re going to win,” said the world’s undisputed super middleweight champion.
Canelo also told Sheinbaum that he liked her plan to “invest in Mexico and businesses in Mexico.”
“First things first. First things first,” he added.
At the start of the clip, Sheinbaum asks Álvarez about his meditation schedule.
“Always when I get up. In the morning and at night before I go to sleep,” responded the boxer.
“From now on I’m going to get out of bed, get into an ice bath and I’m going to meditate,” joked Sheinbaum. “Tips from Canelo!” she added.
After sharing a warm embrace with the presidential frontrunner, Canelo and Andrés Sulaimán — who also attended the meeting — hold up Sheinbaum’s arms as if she had just won a boxing match.
Sulaimán is the grandson of José Sulaimán, a Mexican boxing official who served as the president of the World Boxing Council for almost 40 years.
Next time you find yourself in a social situation with strangers, try these phrases to get the conversation going. (Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash)
Have you ever found yourself in a social setting, wanting to strike up a conversation but not quite sure how to begin? Perhaps you’re at a networking event, a party, or even waiting in line for your morning coffee!
In these situations, the right question can be the key to breaking the ice. A few words can be the start of an extraordinary conversation and the beginning of a lasting relationship. So, don’t let fear and nerves paralyze you and deprive you of communication.
(Serge Esteve/Unsplash)
One way to avoid getting too confused is by being at the wheel of the conversation. Talk about the topics you are most familiar with. Ultimately, the primary goal of a language is to achieve communication, and in this case, we want to achieve it through conversation.
Speech is one of the bridges to achieve that connection – so here are some questions you can ask to start a conversation and enhance your speaking ability.
How to start a conversation in Spanish
Imagine you’re at a crowded bar on a sweltering summer evening. You turn to the person next to you and exclaim,
“¡Qué calor, ¿no?!”It’s so hot, isn’t it?
This simple remark about the weather serves as a universal conversation starter.
Suddenly, you’re engaged in a discussion about summer vacations or your favorite cooling drinks. You can also go:
“¿Qué tomas?”What are you drinking?
Now, picture yourself at a business conference, surrounded by professionals from various industries. You strike up a conversation with someone new and ask:
“¿A qué te dedicas?”What do you do?
This question not only demonstrates your interest in the other person but also provides an opportunity for them to showcase their expertise and accomplishments. As they share their professional background, you find common ground and explore potential areas of mutual interest.
In a different scenario, you’re waiting for a friend at a café. A stranger sitting nearby catches your eye, and you decide to break the silence with a friendly inquiry:
“¿Qué esperas?” What are you waiting for?
This question may seem straightforward, but it can lead to unexpected conversations about plans for the day, favorite coffee shops in the area, or shared experiences of waiting in line.
These examples illustrate how seemingly mundane questions can serve as powerful tools for initiating conversation and building connections. So the next time you find yourself in a situation where you’re unsure how to break the ice, don’t hesitate to ask a question. You never know where it might lead.
More starter questions
¿Vienes mucho aquí, o es la primera vez que vienes?Do you come here often, or is it the first time you’re here?
¿Vives cerca?Do you live close by?
¿Qué tal tu comida?How’s your food?
Obviously, it always depends on the context you find yourself in, but with the right question, you can turn a chance encounter into a meaningful connection.
Paulina Gerez is a translator-interpreter, content creator, and founder of Crack The Code, a series of online courses focused on languages. Through her social media, she helps people see learning a language from another perspective through her fun experiences. Instagram: paulinagerezm / Tiktok: paugerez3 / YT: paulina gerez
Is Mexican corrido sensation Peso Pluma an entertainer or public menace? The debate has been raging in Mexico for some time. (Edgar Negrete Lira/Cuartoscuro)
Unless you’re living under a giant rock, you’ve heard a classic corrido. You know — the soulful Mexican ballads that gradually take over the barbeque when a little too much tequila has been poured. The karaoke tune of choice for after work happy hours at the local cantina. The melody that guides the traditional father-daughter dance at your neighbor’s quinceñera.
The most generalized definition we can muster is that a corrido is a narrative ballad. Not very specific, as Whitney Houston and Taylor Swift are also both categorized as ballad singers, but it’s a start. A Mexican corrido is something different. It’s something very particular. A Mexican corrido is an eloquent form of story-telling, an oral history told from the perspective of the rural and working classes.
A brief history of corridos
Mexican culture is inextricably linked to the corrido, with singers like Antonio Aguilar playing a central part in recounting classic tales of Mexican folk heroes. (Victoria Gertz/Cuartoscuro)
Corrido music emerged on the US-Mexico border in the late 1800s and exploded during the Mexican Revolution. It served as a form of media for the general public — lyrics detailed the exploits of outlaws, battles lost and won, the lives of revolutionaries, even love and heartbreak.
Some highlighted a specific person — César Chávez in “Corrido de César Chávez”, composed by Lalo Guerrero in 1968. Others pertained to particular events — like the death of Pancho Villa of which there are dozens. Other sing the plights of romance, like “El Rey de Corazones” by Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes Del Rancho.
The traditional structure of a corrido
Corridos initially followed a very specific structure that consisted of the following actions:
The singer greets the audience.
Introduces location, time, and the main character.
Explains the character’s role in the story.
Explains the story.
Bids farewell to the main character.
Bids farewell to the audience.
While the formal structure has not stood the test of time, corridos are still used today as a means of expression modernized through narcocorrido music. Maybe a more accurate moniker would be ‘corrido tumbado’, a blend of Mexican regional melodies (think Ranchera, Norteño, Mariachi) with trap and hip hop. If you like hip hop beats and you like trumpets, the mix might sound appealing.
The lyrics stay somewhat true to the basic elements of corrido — stories told from an underserved, often impoverished class of society. The themes have drifted from that of border conflicts and broken hearts to the realities of living within the confines of Mexico’s drug war. Rebels are still glorified, though songs focus less on the likes of Pancho Villa and more on individuals like El Chapo.
Who is Peso Pluma?
Guadalajara native Peso Pluma has catapulted the narcocorrido to the top of the charts in Mexico and the United States. (@LaDobleP / Instagram)
And that’s where Peso Pluma enters the scene.
The 24-year-old Mexican star and Billboard Latin Music Awards’ Artist of the Year was born in Jalisco and is regularly embroiled in controversy. He keeps his personal life under wraps, but on stage he’s unreserved. The artist has been accused of openly inhaling drugs during a performance in Argentina. He smashed a TV monitor and threw it off stage in Ecuador. He canceled a concert in Tijuana after receiving death threats from Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación.
Peso Pluma has been denounced by AMLO and Juan Antonio Coloma, president of the Chilean Senate. Leaders point to his “normalizing narcoculture” in songs like “Gavilán II” and “PRC” in which he references drugs, sex and murder with laudable undertones. Or perhaps, overtones. In “Siempre Pendientes” he goes so far as to praise El Chapo, founder of the Sinaloa cartel. Some suggest this is hinting at a possible relationship with the notorious syndicate.
For this and other reasons, Chilean officials tried to ban him from this year’s Viña del Mar festival to no avail, with Coloma stating that Pluma’s participation would result in “a normalization of narcoculture in our country and it is unacceptable.”
Not everyone believes his music to be threatening. Besides arguments citing freedom of speech and the need to appeal to a younger audience, many supporters believe that narcocorridos unveil government neglect and violence spurred by former President Felipe Calderón’s “war on drugs” initiated in 2006. There are varying reports of the catastrophic results of the campaign, with related death counts ranging from 40,000 to more than 400,000. Some have claimed these statistics are largely ignored by those in power and music is the best way to tell the tale.
What’s the fuss?
Is there a significant difference between the outcry over narcocorridos and the outcry over rap that took place in the 1990s? (biography.com)
From the point of view of this American writer, nothing Peso Pluma, Los Tigres del Norte, and Movimiento Alterado sing about seems any different from the rap songs I’ve been listening to since the early 90’s. This begs the bigger and more obvious question of the repercussions of celebrating such lifestyles through music, but that is a debate for which I am not informationally equipped.
As a thorough writer should, I engaged in multiple avenues of research while crafting this article. Naturally, this included listening to Peso Pluma and the other artists mentioned above. Only a handful of Peso Pluma’s songs struck me as distinctly Mexican. That said, I did find myself jamming to Movimiento Alterado’s heavy use of traditional regional instruments. I can say with confidence that despite the lyrics, I have no desire to buy drugs (though another pan dulce would be nice and as far as I can tell, sugar is the worst drug out there) or objectify the women surrounding me in this cafe.
But I’m an adult. Therein lies the difference.
If you are a Peso Pluma aficionado, he will be kicking off his North America “Exodo Tour” in Chicago on May 25, 2024. Tickets start at US$35 and are available on Ticketmaster.
Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog, or follow her on Instagram.
The Gaonera taco was one dish that Michelin raved about at Mexico City's Taquería El Califa de León. The international fine dining organization called its combination of thinly sliced beef, salt and lime, "elemental and pure." (Michelin)
A “bare bones” Mexico City taqueria with “just enough room for a handful of diners to stand at the counter” — but offers a signature beef-filet taco that is “exceptional” — is among the 18 Mexico restaurants recognized with a coveted Michelin star this week.
Taquería El Califa de León, which has but four food items on its menu, is the only taco purveyor among the 16 restaurants that received one or two stars when the French dining guide unveiled on Tuesday its first grouping of Mexico-only honorees in the Michelin Guide Mexico 2024.
Chef Arturo Rivera Martínez in the days before he donned the Michelin white jacket. (Aracely Martínez/Ovaciones)
It also is the first Mexican taquería to receive the honor from the legendary international dining guide.
Most of the winners on the list are posh eateries in swanky settings. But not El Califa de León, a taco stand that’s been operating in the scruffy-but-now-semi-bohemian San Rafael neighborhood of Mexico City since 1968.
Michelin’s blurb on the tiny taquería Chef Arturo Rivera Martínez made famous includes the phrases quoted above, as well as the unequivocal praise: “There is a reason why El Califa de León has endured for more than half a century.”
The main reason? The Gaonera taco, described by Michelin thus: “Thinly sliced beef filet is expertly cooked to order, seasoned with only salt and a squeeze of lime. At the same time, a second cook prepares the excellent corn tortillas alongside.
“The resulting combination is elemental and pure. Other options are few but excellent and include bisteck (beef steak), chuleta (pork chop), and costilla (beef rib). With meat and tortillas of this caliber, the duo of house-made salsas is hardly even necessary.”
Each order comes two to a plate, with the bisteck tacos costing 53 pesos, the Gaonera tacos 70 pesos, and chuleta and costilla tacos 82 pesos (from USD $3.18 to $4.92). High-priced by Mexican standards? Perhaps, but the faithful don’t seem to be complaining.
One of the taquería’s famous patrons was presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio. (Tripadvisor)
Newly minted Michelin-starred Chef Rivera Martínez was presented with the famous white chef’s jacket on Wednesday, while on the job. Asked what drink he likes to pair the taco stand’s award-winning fare with, Rivera Martínez reportedly told CNN, “I like a Coke.”
The stand’s founder, Juan Hernández González, created the Gaonera taco and named it — and his shop — after the famous Mexican bullfighter Rodolfo Gaona (1888-1975) and the now ubiquitous gaonera maneuver that the toreador invented 125 years ago. Born in León, Guanajuato, Gaona’s nickname was “El Califa de León.”
Patrons at the popular Mexico City taquería are greeted upon arrival by a huge griddle, upon which is a menu that’s remained the same for nearly six decades. There is also a picture of a former El Califa regular: politician Luis Donaldo Colosio, a presidential candidate who was assassinated in Tijuana at a campaign rally in 1994.
Aside from perhaps a few street food stalls in Southeast Asia, El Califa de León is probably the smallest restaurant ever to get a Michelin star. Nearly half of the 9.29 square meters (100 square feet) of the feted taquería is taken up by a solid-steel grill — which heats up to an astounding 360 C (680 F) and is one of the only “secrets” of the shop’s success that Rivera Martínez is willing to disclose.
Thanks to its popularity, a new location of El Califa de León opened in Naucalpan, México state, in 2019.
The original, at Avenida Ribera de San Cosme 56, in the San Rafael neighborhood, is located in Mexico City’s Cuauhtémoc borough. It is open every day from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
It’s always been advisable to arrive early to avoid the crowds — and now it’s probably more crowded than ever.
The military has killed over 5,000 alleged criminals since 2007, incidents that are rarely investigated by civil authorities, the Human Rights Watch reported. (Cuartoscuro)
Another episode of shocking violence occurred this week in the southern state of Chiapas.
Eleven people — reported to be members of the same extended family — were murdered in the municipality of Chicomuselo, located near the state’s border with Guatemala.
The victims were reportedly gunned down in a single home where they were all living. They didn’t appear to have any involvement in organized crime. A motive for the massacre has not been officially established.
The State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) said in a statement on Tuesday that it had begun “investigations against the person or persons responsible for the homicide of 11 people in recent hours in the community of [Nueva] Morelia, municipality of Chicomuselo.”
It said that a group of officials led by the FGE recovered the bodies and that authorities were carrying out patrols in the area to locate the perpetrators and “guarantee peace” while investigations take place.
There are conflicting reports about when the massacre occurred, but news outlets that spoke to residents said it happened on Sunday night.
Ignacio López and his wife Isidra were Catholic Sunday school teachers. They and 9 others reported to be members of their extended family were murdered. (Social media)
Chicomuselo is part of a region of Chiapas where the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and their local affiliates have been involved in a turf war for some time. They are fighting to control routes along which narcotics, weapons and migrants are transported north after entering the country from Guatemala.
The intensity of the dispute has increased in recent times, resulting in numerous confrontations with multiple casualties. Earlier this year, Chicomuselo residents reported that one clash between the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG left at least 20 people dead, although state officials subsequently said there was “no record that proves” it.
The latest massacre
Isaín Mandujano, a journalist in Chiapas, said on the X social media platform on Tuesday that the 11 victims were not killed in a confrontation, but rather “a massacre perpetrated by an organized crime group.”
“The 11 dead people were not sicarios,” he added, using a word that means hitmen or hired assassins.
“They were civilians riddled with bullets in their own homes. The images say everything,” Mandujano said in a post that includes extremely graphic photos and video footage.
The Reforma newspaper reported Wednesday that “Ignacio López and at least six members of his family” were among the 11 people killed on Sunday night. Aristegui Noticias said that all 11 victims were members of that family, and that gunmen killed them at the same house before setting the residence on fire.
Reforma said that armed men arrived at “various houses in the municipality of Chicomuselo” on Sunday, including that of “Nacho” López, whom it described as a 52-year-old “Catholic catechist,” a religious educator akin to a Sunday School teacher.
The newspaper said that his wife (also described as a “catechist”), father, sister, sister-in-law and 18-year-old niece were killed. Reform identified the seventh victim of the family as the aunt of López’s sister-in-law. Aristegui Noticias identified additional family members.
Reforma reported that locals said that the victims had refused to work for criminal groups that operate in the area. It also said that López and his family were accused by one drug cartel of working for its rival.
Eighteen-year-old Yojari Belén Solís Arriola has been identified on social media as one of the victims of the massacre. (Isaín Mandujano/X)
A Nueva Morelia resident denied that was the case.
“We prepared a letter to disseminate among the population to say that neither [Nacho López] nor his family supported any criminal group,” he told Reforma.
A person close to the family told Aristegui Noticias that the victims were killed for “always resisting, for not being part of the ranks of either of the two [rival] groups.”
That person also said that López’s family, like many other people in Nueva Morelia, opposed the operation of a local mine, where one criminal group reportedly engaged in illegal mining activity.
The president weighs in
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was asked about the murder of the 11 people in Chicomuselo at his Thursday morning press conference.
“That area has insecurity problems,” noted the president, a fact that has become increasingly obvious over the past year or so.
In April, a gun battle between armed groups and the National Guard left civilians dead in the crossfire in La Angostura. (Isaín Mandujano/X)
“… The National Guard is there, but there have been confrontations and regrettably losses of human lives,” López Obrador said.
He said that “the people affected” by the violence “maintain that they don’t participate in any [criminal] group.”
“However, there are those who think the opposite,” López Obrador said, apparently indicating that those killed on Sunday may have had a connection to either the Sinaloa Cartel or the CJNG.
“All the investigations are being done,” he said.
López Obrador also said that elections will be able to be held in the border region of Chiapas on June 2, despite the ongoing violence that has caused many residents to flee.
“There is this tendency to say, ‘we can’t [hold the elections], violence rules,'” AMLO said before likening such comments to a United States government claim about cartels’ alleged control of certain parts of Mexico.
“Not long ago, the commander of the United States Northern Command declared that 70% of Mexico’s territory was dominated by drug trafficking,” he said, although General Glen D. VanHerck actually remarked in 2021 that transnational criminal organizations operate in “ungoverned areas” that account for “30% to 35% of Mexico.”
“We had to tell them that this is not the case. And constantly we have to be informing them,” said López Obrador, who declared last year that Mexico is safer than the United States and that “there is no problem with traveling around Mexico safely.”
Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama and Aerus owner Javier Herra (sixth and fifth from left) inaugurate Aerus' new direct Cancún-Cozumel flight route. (@MaraLezama/X)
The regional carrier Aerus launched new flights Tuesday that solve a vexing problem for visitors to Quintana Roo: finding Cancún-Cozumel flights that don’t take about as long as it would take to simply drive there — which includes a ferry trip.
The newly available direct route by Aerus airlines takes just over 30 minutes to do the Cancún-Cozumel run and will operate five flights a day. Until now, a direct flight had only been available from charter airlines.
Aerus, which began operations in 2023 in Monterrey, already has a network of flights between destinations in northeastern and southeastern Mexico. (Aerus)
Aerus, which began operations in 2023 and is based in Monterrey, also launched a Cancún-Mérida route, with one daily flight five days per week.
Aeroméxico and Volaris do offer commercial Cancún-Cozumel flights, but both airlines’ flight offerings require a stop at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM), which can make the entire trip last anywhere between 1.5 hours and 28 hours, depending on the length of the Mexico City layover.
Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa, who attended Aerus’ inaugural Cancún-Cozumel flight, said that this was a historic day for Quintana Roo, as the state now has “a new tool to promote tourism.”
Lezama was also referring to Aerus’ plans to operate two additional routes starting July 1: one with three flights a week between Cancún and Chetumal, Quintana Roo’s coastal capital city, and one daily flight between Cozumel and the Chichén Itzá Airport.
Aerus’ arrival will mark the first time that the Chichén Itzá Airport, located in Kaua — a town near the famous archaeological site — will receive flights from commercial airlines. Airport manager José Miguel García Vales told the online industry news site Aviación Online that the airport is “fully equipped” to receive commercial flights and has created a business plan focused on commercial passenger transportation in anticipation of eventual increased interest in the airport.
For now, Aerus will ferry passengers between Cozumel and Chichén Itzá Airport on a Cessna C208 Caravan aircraft, which typically seats nine passengers plus a pilot.
Aerus’ new flights are projected to improve connectivity between northern, central and southern Quintana Roo, as well as support regional development.
“The presence of companies like Aerus shows the confidence of the private sector to invest in Quintana Roo and Cozumel,” said Cozumel Mayor Juanita Alonso Marrufo.
Writer Greg Custer digs into the U.S. State Department data on non-natural U.S. citizen deaths in Mexico and finds some interesting trends. (Shutterstock)
This is not a story about Mexico’s celebrated Day of the Dead rituals, or how Americans come here to retire, then forget to die.
The other day I came across the black-and-white details about where and how U.S. citizens die in Mexico. The U.S. State Department is required by law to report non-natural U.S. citizen deaths abroad. Analysis of the data reveals accidents (driving, swimming) and tragic events (homicide and suicide), along with some glaring media coverage omissions.
How many non-natural U.S. citizen deaths occur abroad?
Our global village has some tough neighborhoods. In fact, in 2021 and 2022 exactly 1,100 unfortunate U.S. citizens died from non-natural causes while abroad. Surprisingly, this total is a dramatic reduction from the 2014–2015 period, when 1,723 died overseas.
Some fatalities were in the pursuit of happiness: crossing a London street after a pint (then looking the wrong way), or a “man overboard!” while on a sunset booze cruise can at least be understood with a twinge of “oh well…”
More chilling of course are overseas homicides. Worldwide homicides of U.S. citizens fell significantly (from 339 to 196) in 2021-2022 compared to 2014-2015. Other categories (shown below) also experienced significant declines since 2014-2015.
It’s not easy to pinpoint why there have been declining non-natural U.S. citizen deaths abroad. The number living overseas has grown significantly over the last decade (currently believed to be over 11 million worldwide). COVID-19 was certainly a factor that kept us indoors and away from potentially dangerous situations.
Mexico detractors will zoom in on how many more Americans die of non-natural causes in Mexico than in any other country. This is indeed noteworthy: 393 U.S. citizen deaths of non-natural causes occurred in Mexico in the years 2021 and 2022, 36% of the global total.
Yes, more U.S. citizens die in Mexico, but this is more a reflection of our proximity and visitation frequency. So, bear in mind that this singular stat does not tell the whole story. While this 36% figure has risen (from 28% of the global total in 2014-2015), total Mexico deaths have fallen dramatically from their 2014-2015 figure of 488 non-natural deaths.
How do the deaths in Mexico compare to the rest of the world?
So, is Mexico getting safer?
A 24% drop sounds like good news. But lurking behind these statistics are some troubling trends.
The “other accidents” (64 fatalities) occurring across Mexico are alarming (38% of the global total). One can only speculate on these circumstances, which may go undisclosed in news reports. Does the State Department need to update its categories?
Homicide figures can be startling, in ways both alarming and (for the casual beach visitor) oddly reassuring.
Mexico accounted for 62% of worldwide homicides involving U.S. citizens, claiming 121 of the 196 mortal victims (over two years). But the details of where these homicides occurred are telling. It’s no surprise that six northern border states account for 68% of U.S. citizen homicides in Mexico. Bad outcomes happen across the entire 2,000-mile line in the sand, where drug traffickers have claimed major transit routes. Baja California (home of Tijuana) leads with the most homicides of U.S. citizens in all of Mexico–37 in 2021 and 2022.
Why don’t homicides in border states get more media coverage?
What’s shocking to me is the absence of media interest in homicides of U.S. citizens that occur in Mexican border states. When an American is killed at a beach destination, the coverage is loud and clear — and will lead the State Department to issue a travel warning. But just another shooting of a U.S. citizen along the border soon fades from the headlines.
Why is this?
I can only assume the lack of interest is tied to an assumption that this subset of U.S. citizens is thought to be less worthy of attention, perhaps for a range of reasons. Maybe they are more likely to be of Mexican descent, non-white or suspected of involvement in illegal activity in a dangerous region of Mexico.
There are of course some cases that do infiltrate the U.S. news cycle. At the end of April, the murder of three foreigners in the Ensenada area (one of the victims was an American, the other two Australian) drew international attention. Incidents in Matamoros (2023) and Sonora (2019) made U.S. headlines as well. This uneven reporting broadly confirms a media bias, as the victims were all ethnically non-Mexican.
The Ensenada incident did draw indignation from Mexicans, not about the media coverage, but rather the speed of action by Mexican law enforcement. The case was investigated and arrests were made very quickly, while tens of thousands of missing Mexicans are forgotten by the judicial system.
How safe is it to travel to Mexico?
The homicide figures at popular beach locations are also startling, but in a positive way: only seven total killings in 24 months (five in Quintana Roo and two in Puerto Vallarta).
In 2021-22, over 40 million U.S. citizens traveled to and from Mexico via plane, according to U.S. Department of Commerce statistics, which means the likelihood of being a homicide victim while on a beach vacation is extremely low.
So, how safe is it in Mexico?
The hundreds of thousands of us who call it home often look at “safety” through a hyper-local lens. Is it safe to drive my car on this road? Not entirely. How about riding my bike? Not really. Walking on sidewalks? Uh, sometimes no.
Accidents happen, and some of us are luckier (and more cautious) to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s just part of life and death in Mexico.
Greg Custer is a regular Mexico News Daily contributor. He has worked in Mexico’s tourism industry for over 40 years and has been a resident of Ajijic, Jalisco since 2015. He operates www.mexicoforliving.com
The bust in Villena, Spain, confiscated 1,800 kilos of methamphetamine smuggled into the country by the Sinaloa Cartel. It was destined for northern and central Europe. (Screenshot)
The May 6 meth bust occurred in the southeastern Spanish province of Alicante. It represents the largest seizure of illegal drugs ever made in Spain — and the second-largest in Europe.
Spanish federal police made the bust in the city of Villena, in Alicante, a Spanish province known mainly for its beaches and nightlife. (Cale Weaver/Unsplash)
Five suspects were arrested, including the leader of the operation, a Mexican national and alleged member of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, once headed by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is currently serving a life sentence in the United States.
Mexican officials confirmed to Spanish police that the detained Mexican national is a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to Antonio Martínez Duarte, head of the Spanish National Police’s Spain’s Drugs and Organized Crime Unit (Udyco). The other four suspects were three Spanish men and a Romanian woman.
Martínez told reporters that the Sinaloa Cartel member was sent from Mexico to oversee the arrival of and distribution of the confiscated methamphetamine. The drugs were reportedly not destined for Spain, where consumption is considered limited. Instead, they were headed for northern and central Europe.
Last week’s meth seizure was the second successful operation carried out by Spanish authorities against the Sinaloa Cartel, following the confiscation of 24 kilos (53 pounds) of cocaine in early 2023.
In the latter instance, a suspicious shipment of washing machines from Madrid to the Canary Islands raised alarms and the cocaine was found inside the appliances. Last week’s confiscation came as a result of an investigation prompted by the 2023 seizure, authorities said.
Martínez explained to reporters on Wednesday how the operation came to a conclusion.
A report by Spain’s RTVE TV network shows footage of Spanish federal police confiscating 1,800 kilos of methamphetamine.
Following the 2023 bust, police detected a safe house and distribution point belonging to the Sinaloa Cartel in the city of Villena. On May 6, Udyco investigators stopped a van leaving this house and discovered 224 kilos of meth hidden inside the vehicle. Authorities searched the house where the truck had loaded its cargo and found the rest of the contraband.
The apprehension and confiscation in Spain on May 6 comes on the heels of the successful Operation Hotline Bling in Los Angeles and the seizure of US $7 million worth of narcotics in late April in the San Diego area.
The Los Angeles operation netted 15 arrests and significant drug seizures of meth and fentanyl, which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration attributed to the Sinaloa Cartel.
In San Diego, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers confiscated 134 pounds of cocaine, 3 pounds of heroin, 2,716 pounds of methamphetamine and 152 pounds of fentanyl from April 15 to April 28. Those drugs were not immediately identified as belonging to the Sinaloa Cartel.
