Michoacán and Colima most affected by Monday’s earthquake; thousands of buildings damaged

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September 21, 2022

Governor of Michoacan touring earthquake damage in Aquila, Michoacan — Governor Alfredo Ramírez toured the damaged Community Hospital of Maruata, in Aquila, Michoacán, where an state of emergency has been declared. ARBedolla/Twitter

Michoacán and Colima bore the brunt of Monday’s powerful earthquake, with thousands of homes damaged in each Pacific coast state.

The epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude quake was near the Pacific coast in a part of Michoacán just south of the border with Colima.

More than 3,000 homes in Michoacán and over 2,000 in Colima were damaged, according to authorities. Other buildings, including schools, hospitals and churches, also sustained damage, as did some highways and bridges.

The worst affected municipality in Michoacán was Coahuayana, where over 1,100 homes were damaged and almost 400 completely collapsed. Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla visited the municipality on Tuesday.

collapsed home from 7.7 earthquake 2022 in Michoacan — A collapsed home in Michoacán is a testament to the effects of Monday’s 7.7 earthquake in the state, which saw over 3,000 homes damaged.

“In Coahuayana, we toured the municipal seat and surrounding areas affected by the earthquake, where we reiterated to residents our fraternal support to repair the damage and attend to their needs,” he wrote on Twitter.

Michoacán authorities approved an emergency declaration for that municipality as well as Coalcomán, Chinicuila and Aquila, all of which are on or near the Pacific coast and close to the border with Colima. The declaration will unlock government resources for repair and reconstruction efforts.

The quake didn’t claim any lives in Michoacán, but numerous injuries – mainly caused by falling objects – were reported.

Ramírez said that 26 people required medical treatment in Coahuayana, but only one person remains hospitalized after suffering injuries caused by a gas tank explosion.

Earthquake damage in Manzanillo, Colima September 19, 2022 — In Manzanillo, Colima, Monday’s quake took part of the facade of a Coppel department store, pieces of which hit a woman who was killed.

“Michoacán is strong, united and standing,” the governor declared Tuesday, adding that land travel is possible throughout the state and that “all the affected areas are connected.”

In Colima, Governor Indira Vizcaíno said that some homes suffered only minor earthquake damage while others were rendered inhabitable by the powerful quake, the third to hit Mexico on September 19 in the past 37 years.

Vizcaíno toured the municipality of Tecomán on Tuesday to inspect damage and meet with victims. The municipal palace was among the buildings that sustained damage in Tecomán, which borders the Pacific Ocean and Michoacán.

“To Colima residents I say: you are not alone. The commitment we have to help from our trench is real, and we will continue working … for you,” she said in one Twitter post.

Monday’s earthquake was felt in several states and in Mexico City but only claimed two lives. Both fatalities occurred in Manzanillo, Colima, where a man died after the roof of a gym collapsed on top of him and a woman was killed when she was hit by a section of a Coppel department store facade that detached during the quake.

The woman, Sonia Sánchez, 61, was laid to rest on Tuesday. Her widower, fisherman Luis Manuel Gómez, said that their home was severely damaged and that he hoped to receive financial support from the state and federal governments to carry out repairs and pay for other expenses.

In addition to the two fatalities, close to 20 people in Colima sustained quake-related injuries.

Meanwhile, aftershocks of Monday’s powerful temblor continue to occur. Mexico’s National Seismological Service said on Twitter there had been 1,049 aftershocks as of 12 p.m. Wednesday, the largest of which was a 5.8 magnitude quake with an epicenter 72 kilometers south of Tecomán just after 3:15 a.m. Tuesday.

With reports from Excélsior and Infobae

US has detained record 2.1 million migrants at the US-Mexico border this year

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MND Staff

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September 21, 2022

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US border patrol officials taking a migrant into custody — U.S. authorities intercepted 2.15 million illegal crossings in FY 2022. It was first fiscal year in which Border Patrol encountered more than 2 million attempts. CBP

United States authorities made over 2 million arrests of migrants near the U.S.-Mexico border in the 11 months to the end of August, the highest number ever recorded during a U.S. fiscal year (which doesn’t end until September 30).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data shows that just over 2.15 million migrants were detained along the United States southern land border between October 1, 2021 – the beginning of fiscal year 2022 (FY2022) – and August 31.

It is the first time that more than 2 million migrants have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border during a fiscal year. The FY 2022 figure includes repeat crossers, meaning that the total number of migrants who have been arrested is somewhat lower.

“The large number of expulsions [to Mexico rather than repatriation to countries further afield] during the pandemic has contributed to a higher-than-usual number of migrants making multiple border crossing attempts, which means that total encounters somewhat overstate the number of unique individuals arriving at the border,” CBP said.

Migrants at the US border in Tijuana — Migrants near the Mexico-U.S. border in Tijuana. The pandemic meant U.S. authorities deported some migrants to Mexico rather than their home country, leading to repeat crossing attempts. Barbara Sandoval/Unsplash

The Title 42 emergency public health policy put into place in the U.S. at the start of the pandemic allowed border authorities to send some migrants immediately back to Mexico, rather than to their home countries, which appeared to contribute to high numbers in FY 2022 and FY 2021 because migrants dumped near the U.S. border in Mexico then tried to cross into the U.S. again.

CBP is on track to make some 2.3 million arrests of migrants at the United States’ southern border by the end of September, exceeding the previous record set in FY 2021 by about 35%.

Another reason the U.S. has cited for the increased numbers in FY 2022 is a surge in migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.

“Failing communist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba are driving a new wave of migration across the Western Hemisphere, including the recent increase in encounters at the southwest U.S. border,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a statement Monday.

“… At the same time, the number of migrants entering from Mexico and northern Central America has decreased for the third consecutive month, as the Biden-Harris Administration works with our partners in the region to address the root causes of migration, facilitate repatriation, and take thousands of smugglers off the streets. More individuals encountered at the border without a legal basis to remain will be expelled or removed this year than any prior year,” Magnus added.

A record high of more than 1.3 million migrants has already been expelled from the United States during FY 2022 after being detained shortly after crossing into the country.

CBP data shows that more than 200,000 arrests have been made at the United States’ southwest border every month since March. The total for last month was 203,597, a 1.8% increase compared to July but a 4.7% decline compared to August 2021.

CBP said that the number of unique individuals encountered in August 2022 was 157,921 and that 35% of the total – 55,333 – were migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.

“Individuals from Mexico and northern Central America [mainly Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador] were down for the third month in a row and accounted for just 36% of unique encounters, marking a decline of 43% in unique encounters from those countries compared to August 2021,” CBP said.

Mexican migrants were arrested near the U.S.-Mexico border over 700,000 times in the past 11 months, meaning that they have accounted for about one-third of all CBP detentions so far in FY22.

While Mexico and the United States have cooperated on efforts to stem irregular migration, push factors including poverty and insecurity remain strong here and in many other Western Hemisphere countries, including those mentioned by the CBP.

With reports from Animal Político and The Washington Post

Judge issues new warrants for former mayor of Iguala, his wife and former chief of police

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MND Staff

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September 20, 2022

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Former Iguala mayor José Luis Abarca and his wife María Pineda — A judge briefly absolved former Iguala mayor José Luis Abarca and his wife María de los Ángeles Pineda of involvement in the Ayotzinapa 43 case last week.

The former mayor of Iguala, Guerrero, and the municipal police chief that served under him once again face charges related to the 2014 disappearance of 43 teaching students.

José Luis Abarca, mayor of Iguala between 2012 and 2014, his wife María de los Ángeles Pineda and former municipal police chief Felipe Flores Velázquez – all of whom are in prison – were last week absolved of involvement in the abduction and presumed murder of the students after a Tamaulipas-based federal judge ruled there was a lack of evidence to proceed against them. However, the acquittal didn’t allow them to leave prison as they are accused of other crimes.

Abarca and Pineda – once known as the Imperial Couple of Iguala – had been accused of masterminding the kidnapping of 43 Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College students – who disappeared in Iguala on September 26, 2014 – and being complicit with the Guerreros Unidos crime gang.

According to a report by the news website Aristegui Noticias, lawyers who represent the students’ family members confirmed that a México state-based federal judge issued new arrest warrants for Abarca, Pineda and Flores last Friday.

Former Iguala police chief Felipe Flores Velázquez also was served a warrant for his arrest while in jail on other charges.

The former mayor and ex-police chief face charges of organized crime and forced disappearance in connection with the students’ abduction, while Pineda is solely accused of engaging in organized crime.

In what seems to have been a largely symbolic act, federal agents reportedly executed the arrest warrants in the prisons where they are in custody.

Abarca and Pineda have been in prison since their arrest in Mexico City in November 2014. Pineda’s two brothers were allegedly members of the Guerreros Unidos, an organization that is also implicated in the abduction and presumed murder of the students.

Citing a new report by the government’s Ayotzinapa truth commission, Deputy Interior Minister Alejandro Encinas said in late August that there was evidence that Abarca and Guerreros Unidos leaders “in coalition with some other authorities” ordered the abduction of the students on September 26, 2014.

Ayotzinapa 43 case protest — The case of the Ayotzinapa 43, who disappeared in 2014, has been the subject of multiple investigations through two presidential administrations with little truly resolved.

Abarca – who also faces charges in connection with the 2013 murders of two activists – allegedly ordered an operation against the students because he didn’t want “disturbances” in Iguala and was seeking to recover drugs on a bus they had commandeered to travel to a protest in Mexico City. Encinas indicated that the former mayor believed that members of the Los Rojos crime gang – a rival to the Guerreros Unidos – were among the students.

According to the truth commission report, a person with the moniker “A1” – whom Encinas identified as Abarca – “ordered the disappearance of all the students because they don’t know who’s who.”

The ex-mayor is also alleged to have said, “Kill all of them. Iguala is mine.”

While Abarca and Pineda have long been accused of involvement in the students’ disappearance, and Iguala municipal police officers were accused by the previous federal government of turning the young men over to members of the Guerreros Unidos, authorities now allege that the army also played a central role in the crime.

José Rodríguez Pérez, a retired general who commanded an Iguala-based infantry battalion at the time of the students’ disappearance, and two other army personnel were arrested last week in connection with the crime, while a fourth military man who is also accused of involvement was already in prison. The federal Attorney General’s Office said last month that arrest warrants for the 20 military commanders and soldiers had been issued by a federal judge

Rodríguez is accused of ordering the murders of six students several days after they went missing. Former attorney general Jesús Murillo Karam, considered the key architect of the former government’s allegedly fabricated “historical truth” vis a vis the Ayotzinapa case is also behind bars, having been detained on August 19 on charges of forced disappearance, torture and obstruction of justice.

Another former official sought by Mexican authorities in connection with the Ayotzinapa case is Tomás Zerón, head of the now-defunct Criminal Investigation Agency during the 2012–2018 government of former president Enrique Peña Nieto. Zerón is accused of abduction, torture and tampering with evidence in the investigation into the student’s disappearance, but he left Mexico a few years ago and is on the lam in Israel.

With reports from Aristegui Noticias and Sin Embargo

Oaxaca city’s neediest get free health care thanks to US doctors

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Joseph Sorrentino

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September 20, 2022

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U.S. charity Los Quijotes in Oaxaca city — Dr. Sharvari Parjhi examines a child with a sore throat and cough. Photos by Joseph Sorrentino

With beautiful colonial buildings, the impressive Monte Alban ruins and sites like the Santo Domingo cathedral, Oaxaca city is a major tourist attraction. But hidden from view, there is deep poverty.

Oaxaca is Mexico’s third poorest state, one where 66% of the population earns less than US $187 a month, and 22% earns less than $93 a month. People with incomes that low cannot afford even basic medical care.

That’s where Quijotes, a San Antonio, Texas, nonprofit, comes in.

The group has been bringing free medical care to Mexico since 1989. They collaborate with local governments and medical programs, Mexican doctors and medical students. This year, from September 3–10, Quijotes brought to Oaxaca city close to 100 health care personnel and medical supplies worth over US $200,000.

“Oaxaca has a large indigenous population,” said gynecologist Lety Vargas, the group’s president, “so we decided to go there. The whole idea behind Quijotes started with the belief of [the literary character of] Don Quijote and the belief that it’s all about fighting off giants — the giants of poverty and poor health.”

Diana Ballesteros, a family medicine doctor and Quijotes’ vice president, has been participating in the drive for 25 years. Over two and a half decades, she’s seen marked changes in people’s health. But they fight challenges as well.

“The number of diabetic cases in Oaxaca has shot up,” she said. “This is because they’ve adopted an American diet.”

Many of the people examined didn’t know they were diabetic, she said.

“It can cause blindness,” said Roger Velázquez, an ophthalmologist. “Elevated blood sugars will damage blood vessels, especially in the eyes.”

About 30% of the patients he saw needed glasses, which are provided free. Juana Rojas came to the clinic because she couldn’t afford new ones.

“The ones I had were very old. I like to read,” she said, “and now I can.”

Jovannah Ortiz, who has a doctorate in physical therapy, saw many patients with arthritis, musculoskeletal pain and muscle weakness.

Muscle weakness in babies may have a common cause, explained Sharvari Parjhi, a pediatric physician. “They’re carried in a sling too much,” she said. “They need exercise.”

Visitors were anxious to get dental and nutrition information. Dentist Javier García showed people the right way to brush their teeth while nutritionist Valeria Romero counseled them about diet.

“The biggest problem is soda consumption,” she said. “I tell them, ‘Don’t drink it every day.’”

Fundraisers mainly supply the charity’s budget, said Yolanda Pérez, a retired nurse and the organization’s treasurer.

“All donations go to the project,” she said. “Nothing goes to salaries.” Medical staff pay for their own trips, a cost of around US $2,000 per person.

“The people in this group spend their own money to give this work for free,” said Dr. Liliam Irasema García Pérez, a Oaxacan public health specialist who started working with Quijotes in 1989. “Instead of going to the beach, these people come here to work. They give much hope to people.”

If you’d like to help Quijotes, you can make a donation on their website.

Joseph Sorrentino, a writer, photographer and author of the book San Gregorio Atlapulco: Cosmvisiones and of Stinky Island Tales: Some Stories from an Italian-American Childhood, is a regular contributor to Mexico News Daily. More examples of his photographs and links to other articles may be found at www.sorrentinophotography.com He currently lives in Chipilo, Puebla.

Seattle-based startup to create online listings portal for Mexican real estate

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MND Staff

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September 20, 2022

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Puerto Morelos, Mexico landmark — Is Puerto Morelos one of the next hot U.S. real estate markets for vacation homes? Bigwigs from Redfin, Door Dash and other investors are betting on it and other Quintana Roo cities appealing to U.S. buyers. deposit photos

A United States-based real estate startup has launched a website with more than 200 listings of properties for sale in Mexico.

“Buying in Mexico, made simple,” reads a message across the top of the Far Homes website.

“Whether you’re looking for luxury or just want something affordable near the beach, our wide selection of homes means you’re bound to find something within your budget,” the company says.

“And our team of English-speaking experts are here to answer questions and walk you through the buying process so you can decide what’s best for you.”

Far Homes founders left to right: Max Blumen, Chet Kittleson and Molly Braeunig — From left to right, Far Homes founders Max Blumen, Chet Kittleson and Molly Braeunig. Far Homes

Founded by three former employees of the Seattle-based real estate company Redfin, Far Homes is currently focused exclusively on the Quintana Roo market, with listings for Cancún, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Akumal. Prices range from about US $100,000 to $3 million.

Far Homes, which is also based in Seattle, announced last week that it had raised an initial investment of $2.25 million to “simplify international home buying and selling.”

Among the investors are venture capital fund PSL Ventures, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman and Evan Moore, cofounder of food delivery company DoorDash. The company said it would focus first on Mexico, “with plans to expand to additional markets.”

Far Homes CEO Chet Kittleson told the technology and business news website Geek Wire that Mexico is an attractive market for American real estate investors because prices are cheaper than those in the United States. He said his team detected a notable increase in online searches for homes in Mexico in recent months as many U.S. companies announced work-from-home policies.

Another real estate company said in August that Google searches for real estate-related keywords for Mexico had increased by almost 60% in the last 12 months. Point 2 Homes also said that Mexico had retained its title as “the king of vacation destinations and locations for second homes” for United States citizens.

Kittleson, who founded Far Homes with Max Blumen and Molly Braeunig, said that people who can work remotely are increasingly interested in moving to coastal destinations, such as those in the Riviera Maya of Quintana Roo.

Ben Gilbert, cofounder and managing director of PSL Ventures, said in a statement that “the Far Homes team has identified a clear opportunity in the market.”

“While many now have the flexibility to work from anywhere, most Americans are still priced out of buying a vacation home in the U.S. It’s a no-brainer for many of these folks to buy internationally instead, but [doing so] is too complex today,” he said.

Far Homes is collaborating with about 25 real estate agents in Mexico in order to obtain listings aimed at buyers north of the Mexico-U.S. border. The company “makes its money by charging these realtors when they close a deal through the platform,” Geek Wire reported.

There are already large populations of foreigners — including many U.S. citizens — in several Mexican cities, such as Puerto Vallarta, San Miguel de Allende and Mexico City. Another city that has attracted Americans, including homebuyers, is Tijuana, from where residents can commute to jobs in San Diego and thus earn in dollars while paying their mortgage or rent in pesos.

“Stories of migrants crossing from Mexico to the United States in search of a better life are well-known,” The New York Times said in a recent report about San Diego residents moving across the border to Tijuana. “But for the past decade, a reverse migration has quietly been gaining steam: Americans, priced out of the housing market and frustrated with sky-high costs of health care, electricity and basic goods, are increasingly opting to rent or buy homes in Mexico.”

With reports from Geek Wire

A farewell message from our founder, Tony Richards

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MND Staff

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September 20, 2022

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Tony Richards and Travis Bembenek, Mexico News Daily — Tony Richards and Travis Bembenek discussing *Mexico News Daily* under a palapa.

It has been a wild and crazy eight-year ride, but I would do it all over again given the chance. Mexico News Daily moves into a new phase after the newspaper changed ownership on September 9.

This newspaper was born of a notion: if other expats were like me and interested to know what’s going on in this country but had difficulty reading Spanish, would they not welcome an English-language newspaper about Mexico?

They would, and they did.

Word of mouth in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, kicked things off after I published our first three stories on June 5, 2014. An email newsletter was well received after its launch in August, and then a few thousand dollars in Facebook advertising gave Mexico News Daily the big boost it needed. Reader numbers have grown ever since.

Tony Richards, founder of *Mexico News Daily*

We rode the “Trump Bump” along with many other newspapers and watched traffic soar as people looked for reactions to Donald Trump’s unflattering remarks about Mexico. Then AMLO became president on this side of the border. Everyone wanted to know what was up with the career politician who had achieved his dream of winning the presidency.

But our best year ever for reader growth was 2020 – COVID was the big story and led the headlines for most of that year.

There have been many highs and many lows in this adventure. Huge spikes in traffic took down the server many times, and until Starlink internet service came along at our base in Puerto Escondido, the signal was atrocious. Ad revenues proved early on to be unreliable and insufficient, which led us to the paid subscription model and having to learn and embrace the challenges of three consecutive systems.

But my god, it’s been fun.

Image of Mexiconewsdaily.com in 2014 — A look at how the *Mexico News Daily* site looked early on, in 2014.

It’s been 30 years since I first took a newspaper online. It was a wondrous thing then to have the potential to reach a huge, international audience. And it still is for anyone who has come from the print newspaper business. Simply knowing how many people read any given story is an amazing advance from the old days.

At MND, more advances are on the way.

New energy, new ideas and new investment are going to take the newspaper to another level under the leadership of new owners Travis and Tamanna Bembenek of San Miguel de Allende.

They are excited about the future and eager to begin implementing changes that will broaden and improve our coverage, grow our subscriber list and solidify MND’s position as the premier source of English-language news in Mexico.

*Mexico News Daily*‘s new owners, Travis and Tamanna Bembenek.

To our subscribers, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support. Many have been with us since those heady but apprehensive days of 2018 when we first implemented a paywall.

And to the team of Mexicophiles whose labors have made this newspaper what it is, thank you for all you have done and continue to do.

¡Viva Mexico News Daily!

— Tony Richards

COVID cases declined in Mexico for 10 consecutive weeks, says Deputy Health Minister

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MND Staff

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September 20, 2022

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care bed in IMMS hospital — There's been an emptying out of the nation's COVID wards in recent weeks: only 3% of general care beds and 1% of those with ventilators are currently occupied. IMSS

The coronavirus pandemic has been on the wane for 10 consecutive weeks and the number of COVID deaths currently being recorded is “minimal,” Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said Tuesday.

The government’s COVID point man told President López Obrador’s regular news conference that there has been “continuous reduction” in case numbers over the past 10 weeks.

One of the “most notable” developments is that COVID wards in hospitals have emptied out, he added, highlighting that just 3% of general care beds and 1% of those with ventilators are currently occupied.

López-Gatell, who has led the government’s response to the pandemic since early 2020, also said that the COVID mortality rate is “minimal” and that there have been recent days with no reported deaths. “This is very positive,” he said.

The federal Health Ministry reported just one COVID-related fatality on Monday, while two were registered on Sunday. Hundreds of daily deaths were the norm in some earlier stages of the pandemic, especially before vaccines were available.

Mexico has the world’s fifth highest total for COVID deaths with 329,899 as of Monday. The country’s mortality rate is the 32nd highest in the world with 258 fatalities per 100,000 people, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University.

Health Ministry data shows that Mexico’s accumulated case tally is just over 7 million, a figure considered a vast undercount due to low testing rates. An additional 550 cases were reported Monday, while 809 were registered Sunday.

The Health Ministry estimates that just under 10,000 cases are currently active. That figure was close to 200,000 at the peak of the now vastly diminished fifth wave.

With reports from Sin Embargo

Reactions to third major earthquake to hit Mexico in 40 years on September 19

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MND Staff

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September 20, 2022

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Residents of CDMX react to earthquake — People embrace in Mexico City streets during Monday's earthquake

“No way!” and “Ah shit, here we go again …” were among the reactions on social media to Monday’s powerful earthquake, the third in fewer than 40 years to afflict Mexico on September 19.

A 7.7 magnitude temblor with an epicenter just over 60 kilometers south of Coalcomán, Michoacán, rocked central Mexico at 1:05 p.m. Central Time, less than an hour after the simulacro nacional, or national earthquake drill, began.

It was the second time in just five years that a large quake occurred shortly after the drill, after the same thing happened in 2017.

The drill is held annually on September 19 because the worst earthquake in recent Mexican history occurred on that date in 1985, causing widespread damage and claiming thousands of lives in the capital. The drill held Monday coincidentally assumed an epicenter in Michoacán.

Fortunately, Monday’s quake wasn’t anywhere near as destructive as those in 1985 and 2017, although at least two people were killed.

“The admiral José Rafael Ojeda Durán, navy minister, informed me that a person died due to the collapse of a wall in a shopping center in Manzanillo, Colima,” President López Obrador said on Twitter Monday afternoon.

Colima Civil Protection authorities reported a second fatality at the same shopping center later on Monday.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum reported “saldo blanco” or a clean slate in the capital in terms of major damage, although the newspaper El Universal said some buildings had been cordoned off due to cracks and other structural defects. In addition, Mexico City International Airport reported some minor damage, including broken windows and “detachment of finishings such as plaster and paint from some walls.”

Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla said in a video message there were “material damages,” but no lives lost in that state. Homes, hospitals, schools and highways sustained damage, according to authorities and reports. Among the worst affected municipalities were Coalcomán, Aquila and Coahuayana. Damage to buildings was also reported in the neighboring state of Colima.

As politicians took to social media to report on the quake, so too did large numbers of everyday citizens. Some posted videos showing just how powerful the temblor was.

En Jalisco nunca había visto un Sismo de esta magnitud, en mis 33 años años de vida. Literal se movió todo. pic.twitter.com/UDLM0lWNi0

— Jorge Garcia Orozco (@jorgegogdl) September 19, 2022

“In Jalisco I had never seen an earthquake of this magnitude in my 33 years of life. Everything literally moved,” tweeted Guadalajara-based academic Jorge García Orozco above a video of vehicles rocking violently.

Other videos showed buildings, electrical posts, traffic lights and public monuments swaying in different parts of the country, including Michoacán and Mexico City.

Several Mexico-based foreign journalists also tweeted about the quake. “No f***ing way. On the anniversary of Mexico City’s two mega earthquakes it just rumbled again,” wrote Ioan Grillo, a noted drug war journalist.

“Unbelievable that Mexico has been hit by a third earthquake on 19 September today,” said Duncan Tucker, a British journalist and Amnesty International’s Regional Media Manager for the Americas.

Andy Altman-Ohr, a Mexico News Daily writer who was in central Mexico City when the quake hit, described the seismic event as a “long low temblor.”

“… Our legs felt like jelly and signs were swinging, and the wave motion underfoot continued for 20 seconds in the middle of the street,” he said in a message to colleagues.

Celeste Labedz, a Canada-based environmental seismologist, described the occurrence of the quake on the same day as previous temblors as an “astounding coincidence.”

“Today in astounding coincidences: Mexico had a nationwide earthquake safety drill today to mark the anniversary of the Sept 19, 2017 M 7.1 quake and the Sept 19, 1985 M 8.0 quake. An hour after the drill, a M 7.6 quake struck,” she tweeted above a link to Mexico News Daily‘s earthquake drill story.

Note: ‘astounding’ in a human perspective doesn’t mean anything geophysically strange is up! Mexico is no stranger to large quakes (especially on the subduction zone), and the probability of date coincidences can be surprising, as in the Birthday Problem,” Labedz added, referring to probability theory.

For his part, National Autonomous University physicist José Luis Mateos, said that the probability of having three large-magnitude earthquakes on the same day was one in 133,225, or 0.00075%.

In a statement issued early Monday before the earthquake, the National Disaster Prevention Center (Cenapred) noted that there had been five major earthquakes in September since 1985, but stressed that it was coincidence they all occurred in the ninth month of the year.

“In collective thought there is a belief that September is the earthquake month, mainly due to those that occurred in 1985, 2017 and 2021. However, this is a coincidence,” Cenapred said.

Jan-Albert Hootsen, a Dutch journalist and Mexico representative of the Committee to Protect journalists, expressed support for that view.

“No, there is no such thing as an ‘earthquake machine’ someone turns on and aims at Mexico every September 19. As statistically unlikely as it is, it IS a coincidence that three quakes hit Mexico on September 19 [in] the last 30 years. Plate tectonics don’t have an agenda,” he wrote on Twitter.

“… Mexico’s Pacific coast is littered with fault lines. There are earthquakes every single day (also every 19/9), but we don’t feel the vast majority of them. The earth’s crust is unpredictable. Sometimes it does very unlikely things.”

In the wake of the powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake – which triggered a tsunami warning for parts of Mexico’s Pacific coast – there were 217 aftershocks by 4 p.m. Central Time Mnonday, the National Seismological Service (SNS) said. The largest of those was a 5.3 magnitude quake, which occurred just after 2:30 p.m. Monday with an epicenter 50 kilometers south of Tecomán, Colima.

However, the SNS reported a 5.8 magnitude quake with an epicenter 72 kilometers south of Tecomán, Colima, just after 3:15 a.m. Tuesday.

Son of cartel ‘capo’ released from prison in US; Mexico will seek extradition

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MND Staff

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September 19, 2022

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Damaso Lopez Serrano, left, Mexican journalist Javier Valdez, right — The U.S. released Dámaso López Serrano, left, from prison, but Mexico wants him extradited to face charges that he had Sinaloa journalist Javier Valdez, right, killed in 2017.

A convicted drug trafficker who is accused of ordering the murder of a Mexican journalist has been released from prison in the United States, prompting the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) to assert that it will now “insist” on his extradition to Mexico.

Dámaso López Serrano, son of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Dámaso “El Licenciado” (The Graduate) López Núñez, was released from a jail in San Diego, California, on Friday, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Fearing that he could be murdered by the sons of former Sinaloa Cartel honcho Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, López Serrano turned himself in to the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2017. He subsequently pleaded guilty in the U.S. to the trafficking of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine.

The man known as “El Mini Lic” (The Mini Graduate) was given a six-year sentence, but a judge – considering his cooperation with authorities – ruled last Friday that he could leave prison.

slain journalist Javier Valdez Cardenas — Javier Valdez founded the media outlet Rio Doce, worked for the Mexican newspaper La Jornada and and was the author of several books about organized crime.

However, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw acknowledged that the 34-year-old remains subject to an “immigration detainer,” meaning that he could be deported to Mexico.

At the hearing, “El Mini Lic” declared that he would be “a completely different person than I used to be” and pleaded for “an opportunity to start a new life.”

However, the future could see him behind bars in Mexico. The FGR noted in a statement Saturday that it obtained an arrest warrant for López Serrano in 2020 due to his “alleged intellectual responsibility” for the murder of Javier Valdez Cárdenas, a journalist who was killed in Culiacán, Sinaloa, in May 2017.

It said that it started the process to have López Serrano extradited to Mexico at that time and noted that Interpol issued a Red Notice for him. The extradition request has been awaiting his “due compliance” with his sentence in the United States, the FGR said.

Memorial bust to Javier Valdez in Culiacan, Sinaloa. — Memorial bust to Javier Valdez in his hometown of Culiacan, Sinaloa.

It added that it would now “insist” on his extradition to Mexico as soon as possible. The FGR noted that two men have already been convicted and sentenced for the murder of Valdez, founder of the Río Doce newspaper and a contributor to the newspaper La Jornada and the news agency AFP.

Federal prosecutors last year brought 32 witnesses before a judge to support its argument that the killing of the journalist was premeditated and in retaliation for articles he had written about organized crime. A court found that Valdez’s murder was indeed retaliation for a series of stories he wrote about López Núñez and López Serrano.

Valdez’s widow condemned the latter’s release in a Facebook post. “El Mini Lic, who paid 100,000 pesos [US $5,000 at today’s exchange rate], will now work for the United States government,” she wrote. “The United States protects murderers of journalists. We won’t allow it!”

According to a Vice News report, there is no guarantee that López Serrano – who is listed on court records as El Chapo’s godson – will ever be sent back to Mexico.

“While his immigration detainer means he may still be in government custody, he could argue that being sent home would violate the United Nations Convention Against Torture on the grounds that El Chapo’s sons and corrupt Mexican officials would conspire to have him killed. Such proceedings can take months to play out, with little transparency,” Vice News said Monday.

Meanwhile, his father, López Núñez – who studied law and was a prison director before turning to a life of crime – is in jail in the United States on trafficking charges.

With reports from El Universal, Animal Politico and Vice News

AMLO defends his peace proposal after Ukrainian criticism

By

MND Staff

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September 19, 2022

0

Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval, President López Obrador and his wife Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller stand on stage after the president's speech. — Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval, President López Obrador and his wife Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller stand on stage after the president's speech on Friday. lopezobrador.org.mx

President López Obrador on Sunday defended his recently announced peace proposal for Ukraine after a senior Ukrainian official described it as a Russian plan.

Speaking at an Independence Day ceremony in Mexico City on Friday, López Obrador said that Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard would take a peace proposal to the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.

“It’s about urgently seeking an agreement to stop the war in Ukraine and to achieve a truce of at least five years in favor of peace between all nations in order to dedicate that time to confronting the large and serious economic and social problems that afflict and torment the peoples of the world,” he said.

On behalf of the Mexican government, Ebrard will propose a “committee for dialogue and peace” that would conduct “direct talks” with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin of Russia that are aimed at the “immediate cessation of hostilities” in Ukraine, the president said.

López Obrador proposed that the committee be made up of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Pope Francis and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, if they’re willing to participate as mediators.

“Additionally, this committee, according to our proposal, should also achieve a multinational agreement for a truce of at least five years, approved unanimously by the United Nations Security Council,” he said, adding that it would imply the “immediate suspension of military actions and provocations [against other nations] as well as the immediate suspension of nuclear and missile tests.”

“The agreement would establish the commitment of all states to avoid confrontations and not intervene in internal conflicts. In this way, we think an environment of peace and tranquility can be created that allows all the efforts of governments to be dedicated to attending to the pressing problems of poverty, health and violence suffered on all continents and combating the migratory phenomenon in a humanitarian and fraternal way,” López Obrador said.

“… Hopefully we’ll have success with this initiative , but whatever happens fighting for justice and peace will never be in vain,” he added.

“Peacemakers” who use war as a topic for their own PR are causing only surprise. @lopezobrador_, is your plan to keep millions under occupation, increase the number of mass burials and give Russia time to renew reserves before the next offensive? Then your “plan” is a 🇷🇺 plan.

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) September 17, 2022

Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Zelenskyy, took to Twitter on Saturday to criticize the plan.

“’Peacemakers’ who use war as a topic for their own PR are causing only surprise. @lopezobrador_, is your plan to keep millions under occupation, increase the number of mass burials and give Russia time to renew reserves before the next offensive? Then your ‘plan’ is a [Russian] plan,” he wrote, using a Russian flag in lieu of the adjective indicating that nationality.

Mexican Twitter user @LunadeCafe responded to Podolyak’s post, writing: “We are truly ashamed of López’s statements that do not represent the feelings of Mexicans. He should first solve the more than 133,000 murders in Mexico [since he took office] before opening his mouth. Our support to Ukrainian people.”

Another Twitter user described the president’s plan as “another circus to divert attention from the real problems in Mexico.”

Despite the criticism, López Obrador doubled down on his proposal on Sunday, posting a link to a video of his address on social media. He said he was posting the speech to social media for a second time because “a lot of people” haven’t heard it and others rejected it “due to sectarianism or elite interests.”

“However,” he added, “trying to save lives and avoid suffering in [Ukraine and Russia] is a duty. Stopping inflation and the economic and well-being crisis across the world is at stake.”

With reports from Aristegui Noticias and Animal Político