Constellation Brands' brewery facility in Nava, Coahuila, which was purchased from Grupo Modelo in 2013. (@cbrands/Twitter)
Constellation Brands, a U.S. brewery and distillery conglomerate, has announced it will invest approximately US $1.2 billion in its Mexico facilities during the company’s 2024 fiscal year, which began in March.
Constellation is the rights holder for Grupo Modelo brands in the U.S., including Corona, Modelo Especial and Modelo Negra. The figure announced represents more than 70% of its annual investment budget, demonstrating the demand for Mexican beer brands in the United States.
Constellation has successfully recouped some of the investment from their canceled Mexicali project and moved equipment to other sites across the country. (Victor Medina/Cuartoscuro)
As a result, Constellation is looking to reduce losses, and has moved much of the Baja California equipment to other production sites across Mexico, including Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. They are considering additional sites for a planned fourth brewery.
“We have been able to accelerate the [capacity] increase to 5 million hectoliters (equivalent to 100 liters) in Obregón for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024, thanks to the relocation of the brewery and the packaging equipment that we had previously planned for use in Mexicali,” CFO Garth Hankinson told analysts at Forbes.
Hankinson also said that total output at the end of the 2023 fiscal year was 42 million hectoliters, predominantly brewed in their Nava facility located in the border state of Coahuila.
The partially finished brewery in Mexicali. (Photo: Archive)
According to SEC filings, Constellation expects their Mexican breweries to comfortably meet consumer needs in the United States.
“The design and construction process for the Veracruz Brewery is underway. Additionally, we continue to work with government officials in Mexico in connection with our canceled Mexicali Brewery construction project following a negative result from a public consultation held in Mexico. The remaining Mexicali Brewery net assets have met held for sale criteria as of November 30, 2022,” the filing states.
The new Veracruz brewery will be the major beneficiary of the investment. Constellation has identified that the region has sufficient water supplies and skilled labor in order to support operations.
The brewery intends to maintain high levels of investment in Mexico for the next two fiscal years, with a total spend of up to US $4.5 billion, despite a 2% dip in sales over the previous fiscal year.
Kerry and Frank O'Brien, seen here, are both missing aboard the "Ocean Bound". (@USCGNorCal/Twitter)
The Mexican Navy and the United States Coast Guard are searching for three U.S. citizens who have been missing since they left Mazatlán, Sinaloa, on a sailing vessel almost two weeks ago.
Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross left Mazatlán on a 44-foot Lafitte sailboat named Ocean Bound on April 4, according to a statement issued by the United States Coast Guard on Friday.
The Ocean Bound and its crew have not been seen since setting off from Mazatlán on Apr. 4. (USCGNorCal/Twitter)
The Lafitte 44, a model built between 1978 and 1989, has a reputation among sailing enthusiasts for sturdiness; several have been used in circumnavigation journeys.
The missing group’s final intended destination was San Diego, California, but they planned to stop in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, on April 6 to pick up provisions and to report in, the Coast Guard said.
However, there is no record of the trio arriving in Cabo San Lucas — located more than 300 km west of Mazatlán across the southern extremity of the Gulf of California — and they have yet to provide any report of their location.
Mexico’s navy told the Associated Press on Sunday that two patrol vessels, two surveillance boats and a plane were searching for the three Americans, who have almost 100 years of experience between them, Gross’ daughter Melissa Spicuzza told NBC news.
The sailboat departed from Mazatlán for a stop in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur. (Tripadvisor)
Kerry and Frank O’Brien, a married couple, invited Gross to join them on their voyage, she said.
The Coast Guard said it was assisting Mexico’s navy in its search, and noted that “search and rescue coordinators have contacted marinas throughout Baja, Mexico, with negative sightings of the vessel.”
“Urgent marine information broadcasts have been issued over VHF radio, requesting all mariners to keep a lookout for the missing persons and vessel,” it added.
Commander Greg Higgins, a search mission coordinator for the Coast Guard, told CNN that weather conditions were not ideal when the sailors set off from Mazatlán.
“When they began their voyage, we know that the conditions were not optimal for that type of trip, though, certainly, there were sailing vessels out there during that time,” he said in an interview on Saturday.
“[There were] winds potentially over 30 knots and seas [of] 15 to 20 — maybe more — feet at the time of their voyage,” Higgins said.
With “the permission of Mexico,” the Coast Guard has deployed aircraft and vessels to search for the sailors, he said.
Higgins also said that the Coast Guard was using computer search tools to try to identify the location of the vessel based on environmental conditions, winds and currents.
“[We’re looking at] where it may have drifted if they became distressed,” he said.
The families’ statement said that “Bill has over 50 years of sailing experience and is an extremely talented coastal cruiser,” while Kerry and Frank have sailed together for 20 years and “both hold captain’s licenses with the U.S. Coast Guard.”
Ocean Bound was described as a “sturdy older vessel” in the statement, which also said that “the sailing community has hundreds of additional vessels looking for our family members.”
Spicuzza said that the last time she heard from her father was on the morning he and the O’Briens left Mazatlán.
“Hopefully, somebody sees them and gets them to make contact or relay some messages,” she said.
“… I’m just wanting my dad and the O’Briens to roll back in and be like, ‘What’s the big deal guys?’” she said.
Think you can't find Indian food ingredients in Mexico? Think again: these jars of ghee were spotted on a Mexican supermarket shelf.
The simple answer is that it’s pure butter fat, which is why it tastes soooo good. (Whether it’s good FOR you is another story that we’ll get to in a minute.)
Ghee is butter with the milk solids removed (i.e., a lactose-free fat). By simmering butter at a low temperature, the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan, the water evaporates, and you’re left with clarified butter. (Read a history of Indian ghee-making here.)
That leaves the most delicious part: the fat, which is, unfortunately, about 50% saturated — the most unhealthy kind if you’re concerned about LDL cholesterol or heart disease.
Let me say that I don’t like to be afraid of food and never have been. (Except some organ meats, but that’s a different kind of fear!) A recent situation with my heart health, though, has made me not exactly afraid of food but more aware of what I’m eating. So ghee is on my no-no list (or at least a not-very-often list) right now.
On the other hand, those on lactose-free diets will find ghee just what the doctor ordered. A host of celebrities have embraced it as a wonder food, and it’s been used in India for thousands of years.
In short, there’s no easy answer as to whether ghee is a healthy fat or not. So do the research and decide what makes sense to you.
Ghee’s nutty aroma and flavor, golden color, high smoke point and ancient history make it a winner in the kitchen.
I’ve cooked (and eaten) a lot of Indian food, so ghee isn’t an unknown to me. It’s luxurious in flavor, mouthfeel and aroma, and besides being an essential in Indian cooking, it’s a traditional part of worship and ritual in that culture.
In the West, at about the same time as interest in Ayurvedic medicine grew, “lactose-free” diets did too, creating a perfect storm for ghee to rise to the top (hah) of the newest trendy healthy foods. Even here in Mexico you can find jars of this “liquid gold” in the big-box supermarkets.
Ghee is easy to make (recipe below), lasts a long time, and a little goes a long way. Store-bought ghee is pricey, but again, you’ll only be using a spoonful or two in most recipes.
One caveat: Mexican regulations allow butter to contain a certain amount of vegetable oil and not be labeled as such; I recommend using imported butter (like Président from France or the Danish brand Lurpak) or organic butter if you can.
Ghee’s high smoke point makes it perfect for deep-frying or sauteing basically anything you would regularly use oil for — think potatoes, shrimp, chicken, scrambled eggs. Its delightful nutty flavor is great drizzled on naan or chapatis (or warm corn or flour tortillas!), popcorn, rice or grilled veggies. If you’re looking to jazz up some old standards, a little bit of ghee might be just the thing.
Ghee
1 lb. (or more) unsalted butter, organic if possible
Cut butter into chucks and place in heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat. Allow to melt without stirring. Once the butter melts and the milk solids begin to cook, it will start to sputter and a white foam will slowly rise to the surface, usually in 5–8 minutes.
Using a large spoon, carefully scoop the foam off the surface (without touching the base of the pan) and discard. Once you have scooped pretty much all the foam off the melted butter, you should see an almost clear liquid with golden browned milk solids settled at the bottom of the pan.
About 30 seconds after this stage, you will again see very faint foam forming on the ghee’s surface. It will be less dense than the previous foam — more like a thin cloud of small, clear bubbles covering the surface of the ghee. When you see this second foam form, it’s time to turn the heat off. Take ghee off the heat, and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Place a fine mesh sieve layered with cheesecloth or a paper coffee filter over a clean, dry mason jar. Pour the ghee through the sieve. Let ghee cool completely before putting the lid on the jar. Store in a dry place at room temperature or refrigerate. (Remember that ghee will solidify in cooler temps without affecting the flavor.)
The classic Indian spinach dish Saag Paneer uses a little bit of ghee for a big effect.
Saag Paneer / Saag Tofu
1 lb. (about 8 packed cups) fresh baby spinach* *If using chopped frozen spinach, squeeze out excess liquid and drain well
2 Tbsp. ghee
8 oz. paneer or firm tofu, cut into 1-by-½-inch pieces
½ cup minced onion
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. grated peeled ginger
2 tsp. grated garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 serrano chile, minced
½ tsp. ground coriander powder
¼ tsp. ground cumin
½ cup heavy cream
In a food processor, working in batches, pulse spinach until minced but not puréed. You should have about 3 packed cups of minced spinach.
Heat 1 Tbsp. ghee over medium in a large nonstick skillet. Add paneer and cook, turning occasionally, until golden all over, 5–7 minutes.
Using tongs, carefully transfer cheese to a plate, leaving as much ghee as possible in the skillet. If using tofu, dry thoroughly with paper towels, cut into cubes and cook in ghee as above.
Reduce heat to medium-low, add remaining 1 Tbsp. ghee and the onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.
Add ginger, garlic and chile, and cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in coriander and cumin. Add spinach and ½ cup water; increase heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper again and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is completely soft and most liquid is absorbed, about 8 minutes.
Stir in heavy cream and paneer/tofu. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately over Basmati rice.
The Extended Vacation Immigrant, the Rule-Loving Immigrant and the Shady Immigrant: just three of the archetypes of expat that the writer says can be found in Mexico. (Illustration: Angy Márquez)
Y’all ever run into a fellow paisano in Mexico and realize you have nothing in common with them? As more and more newcomers move to my area, it’s been happening to me personally more often.
One thing that immigrants throughout the world learn fairly quickly is this: just because you happen to speak the same language as someone doesn’t mean you’ll get along with them. Though members of the host country tend to think of same-language immigrants as a rather homogeneous group, there’s quite a lot of variety.
With these differences in mind, and with the disclaimer that this is “for entertainment purposes only” — meant to be humorous and not taken too seriously — I present to you: the types of fellow immigrants you’ll find in Mexico!
Extended Vacation Immigrants
While these types can be fun, they can be hard to keep up with. They like to be surrounded by other partiers and tend to prefer the presence of alcohol, sex and/or possibly drugs in most of their interactions.
Don’t get me wrong; many of us like these things and simply don’t have the luxury of excess time and money to make their procurement our main priority. Extended Vacationers tend to be concentrated in “party towns” near the beach and typically have little patience for communities where they might be expected to blend in and “live like the locals.” Spanish-learning tends to be limited to asking for/ordering things and flirting.
In-It-for-The-Fight Immigrants
If you make the mistake of saying you’re “from America” around these types, they’ll likely remind you — loudly and not all that kindly — that “we’re all Americans.” Their arguments usually stem from a desire to express loyalty to Mexico, or at least differentiate themselves from the expats that they consider are giving people from their country a bad name.
You can often find them fighting with others in expat Facebook groups about precisely how they (and others) should be behaving or thinking while in Mexico. They know everything, including “what Mexicans are really like.” Any disagreement with them is taken as a grave insult.
They may refuse to speak your shared native language with you in public.
There’s-No-Place-Like-Home Immigrants
Another breed often found in communities with a concentration of other immigrants, they mostly like where they’re from and would like to recreate its image in the new place as closely as possible, but with palm trees and cheaper goods and services.
Their Spanish skills are typically limited, and they spend more time than others trying to find the same types of things they’d find in their home countries.
An inability to do so is sometimes taken as a sign of their host country’s inferiority, and they’ll easily grow exasperated when things that seem familiar at first (like stays in a private hospital) are shown to have an unexpected twist (being expected to pay in full before leaving said hospital).
While they’re charmed by lower prices and friendly locals, they have little patience for their expectations regarding “how things should be done around here” not being met.
Unintentional Immigrants
Sadly, this is a group that wouldn’t have necessarily chosen to move to Mexico had their circumstances been different. From the north, many are overwhelmingly female spouses (and often children) of Mexican nationals who’ve been deported from the U.S. They’re usually here because they’re trying to keep the family together.
They try hard to make the best of it but often have trouble adjusting both to the language and the culture — especially if they’ve wound up in the tiny, poverty-stricken community their spouse’s family is from.
Most small towns (in the world, of course — not just in Mexico) are not known for their cosmopolitan attitudes of openness, and the trauma of a sudden move paired with the financial trauma of lost work opportunities that can follow are a shock to everyone’s systems.
Free-to-Be-Me Immigrants
This group tends to be concentrated with people who, for whatever reason, don’t feel accepted, understood or unrestricted enough in their own countries. They might be here to start a commune, experiment with “free-range childhood,” or because they’re excited about the freedom to explore alternative medicine from “authentic” sources.
They tend to have somewhat fringe beliefs and practices that might not be accepted by most in their host country. For this group, the fact that Mexico’s not great at enforcing rules having to do with everyday regulation (like the one that says all children must be enrolled in school) is a major plus, and they praise the country for “giving them” the freedom they feel they don’t have where they’re from.
Blender-Inner Immigrants
While these folks are clearly from somewhere else, where that “somewhere else” is located is not immediately obvious. They tend to live like the locals in their respective communities and speak Spanish fairly well, making friends with the kinds of Mexicans who haven’t gone out of their way to seek out the newly arrived.
Giveaways for their immigrant status tend to mostly be limited to their accents or the fact that they’re güeros walking rather than driving around the city. While, like most, they tend to mutter “freaking Mexico, man” under their breath occasionally, they’ve mostly accepted the realities of their new homes.
Rule-Loving Immigrants
Well-intentioned above all else (and perhaps to their detriment), these are the types who show up to the SAT on their second day in Mexico in order to pleasantly ask how they can initiate the payment of their Mexican taxes.
They highly prioritize transparency and rule-following and tend to be seen by the locals as unnecessarily and naïvely looking for trouble — or at least to be taken advantage of. This group also has a clear counterpart:
Shady Immigrants
These are the ones who have questionable backstories and tend not to reveal too much about what they’re doing here or why they came. Questions are often met with winks and sly smiles rather than explanations. I’d tell you more, but then I’d have to disappear.
So there you have it, folks! Again, allow me to reiterate that this list is meant to be funny and not taken too seriously. If you’ve got a chance, let me know where you think you fall, or if I’ve missed any major ones!
While some emails might slip through the cracks because I open them right when my kid starts clamoring for my attention, I try hard to acknowledge all of them.
Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sarahedevries.substack.com
Mexico City's Itzapalapa, the site of Mexico's oldest example of the country's Holy Week passion play traditions, attracts millions of viewers each year and widespread participation from the borough's residents. (Galo Caños Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro)
The borough of Iztapalapa may not have one of the best reputations in Mexico City, but it is also home to one of Mexico’s most important annual events — its Passion Play.
It is not the only passion play in Mexico by any means, but it is the oldest, most elaborate and best-known, celebrating its 180th edition this year.
Holy Week celebrations in Iztapalapa begin with Palm Sunday celebrations. Borough historian Beatriz Ramírez González says the tradition has continued uninterrupted since 1843. (Andrea Murcia Monsivais/Cuartoscuro)
Like many passion plays around the world, it is linked to a historical event. A cholera epidemic raged here in the 1830s, when the area was then fields and small villages. The epidemic’s passing in 1843 was seen as a miracle, and the indigenous farmers gave thanks at first through a pilgrimage to the locally-important shrine of the Lord of the Cave (Señor de la Cuevita) near Easter.
The thanksgiving was repeated each year, with a reenactment of the crucifixion added.
This led the event to being fixed to Holy Week. It has grown in size and complexity ever since.
Borough historian Beatriz Ramírez González says that it has continued uninterrupted since 1843, although there is an assertion that it was suspended during the Mexican Revolution and revived by Emiliano Zapata himself.
A Iztapalapa resident portraying a Roman soldier during the Stations of the Cross procession has a private moment with a compatriot. Each year, the event is a major expression of both piety and community. (Octavio Murillo)
Over the years, the play has survived religious objections on how it was performed, government repression of religious display and, most recently, Covid-19. It was scaled back in 2021 and 2022, but not canceled, and returned in full this year.
The play is important both as a religious event and an expression of Iztapalapa identity, says Ramírez. Its traditions are strongly tied to the eight villages (pueblos) that existed before the borough got overrun by Mexico City’s urban sprawl in the 20th century.
Residents of the pueblos still run the event, and despite pressure, participation is still limited to them. Preserving this is important to the borough, and to this end they have had the play registered as part of the intangible culture of Mexico City (2012) and the country (2023). It is now working with UNESCO for international recognition.
Reenactments of biblical scenes of Jesus’ life just before the Crucifixion are portrayed in order throughout Holy Week, including the Last Supper. (Andrea Murcia Monsivais/Cuartoscuro)
The most important events come later in the week, starting with the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday — the Thursday before Easter and a reenactment of Jesus’ Last Supper — and the most important: the crucifixion on Good Friday.
On this day, the actor playing Jesus must carry a 90-kilogram wood cross for 2 km through the pueblos to Cerro de la Estrella, which fills in for Mount Calvary.
Nothing about these scenes is done simply. The play involves over 5,000 people, with 150 having speaking roles. Sets, costumes, props and more are all locally made. Certain elements are made each year by the same family, such as the crown of thorns done by the Reyes family.
Iztapalapa residents David Uriel González and Paulina García beat 100 hopeful for the roles of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Tradition dictates that they not smoke, drink, date or party once chosen until after their duties are complete. (Graciela López Herrera/Cuartoscuro)
Many of the costs are borne by the participants and other residents of the pueblos, including sets, costumes and refreshments along procession routes.
Being cast in a role has both religious and prestigious aspects. The two most sought-after roles are those depicting Jesus and Mary. This year, the first role was taken on by David Uriel González and the other by Paulina Garcia, who were chosen from among 100 hopefuls.
These two are also the most demanding roles. Tradition dictates that neither could date, drink, smoke or go to parties after selection until the end of their duties. They also had to prove they had the financial means to perform the roles — and in the case of the young man, the physical stamina to withstand beatings and the carrying of the cross, with specific training starting six months in advance.
Every aspect of the week long pageantry is a role awarded with careful deliberation and taking into account tradition: Jesus’ crown of thorns is made by the same family every year. Maker Marco Antonio Reyes Agonizante inherited the job from his father. (Graciela López Herrera/Cuartoscuro)
The uniqueness of Iztapalapa’s play comes from the fact that it contains elements from outside the Bible — from local traditions and other Christian and secular writing like Dante’s Divine Comedy.
The pilgrimage to the Lord of the Cave is still performed on Maundy Thursday. Judas Iscariot is performed as a menacing figure to the crowds who insult him as he flings fake coins at them, until he commits suicide next to Jesus’ cross. Unique characters include the “Wandering Jew,” King Herod’s harem, a spy and a dog that accompanies Judas Iscariot.
Local indigenous elements include the use of Mesoamerican drums and flutes and, perhaps most importantly, Cerro de la Estrella, which was home to the highly important Mesoamerican New Fire rite.
The annual event is such a big deal in Mexico City that Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum held a press conference on March 28 to give details about it beforehand, flanked by David Uriel González dressed in his costume as Jesus and other participants. (Government of Mexico City)
This passion play is a major tourist attraction for the borough, but it is with a heavy heart that I don’t recommend seeing it live, and it has nothing to do with the borough’s reputation for crime.
I learned long ago, that no matter how problematic the neighborhood, locals do not put up with violence during their major religious celebrations.
Like the Super Bowl, unless you have a special invitation, you will see little to nothing, as part of the 2 million or so people who line the streets and plaza to try and get a glimpse of the proceedings. Even though there are loudspeakers and giant screens, you are likely to get lost in a sea of homemade cardboard periscopes as you stand in the blazing sun, as was my experience.
Getting this close to the proceedings is sadly unlikely, as you are competing with hundreds of thousands if not millions of spectators. You’ll get a better view watching it on television or on YouTube, where a recording of the events is already online. (Octavio Murillo)
You are best off watching video of it on television, internet or social media, especially if you are not particularly religious.
Fortunately, the event is covered by just about all Mexico’s major networks, who post not only their reports about the play online but also the play in its entirety. Excelsior TV already has their 2023 recording up on YouTube.
Ramírez has no doubt that the play will continue long into the future. The play, even though it is from the 19th century, remains important in the 21st, she says, “…to prove that we are a people strong in this aspect to Mexico City, Mexico and the world.”
“It is a question of pride,” she says.
Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico over 20 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.
In this week's mañaneras, the president discussed cannabis licenses, water supplies and the abolition of the state-owned Notimex news agency. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
Before returning to Mexico City from an Easter break on his ranch in Palenque, Chiapas, President López Obrador took a moment to record a video message for his social media followers.
“We’re saying goodbye to the ceiba trees, to the soursop tree, to the mamey tree, to the palo de tinte [tree], to the birds, to the howler monkeys, to the macaws,” he said.
The president began his weekly addresses from his ranch in Palenque, Chiapas, where he spent the Easter break. (@lopezobrador_/Twitter)
“We’ll be at the mañanera tomorrow, even though the conservatives want to prohibit it,” AMLO said, referring to his weekday morning press conference and his critics and political adversaries, respectively.
“They’re intolerant. They want to be the only ones to talk — they don’t want all of us to speak,” he said. “But they won’t be able to [ban the pressers]. See you tomorrow, at the mañanera.”
Monday
“Good morning. There have been, there are and there will always be mañaneras,” López Obrador remarked at the top of his presser before breaking into a hearty laugh.
He went on to note that it was the (104th) anniversary of the assassination of the “great campesino leader” Emiliano Zapata, a hero of the Mexican revolution.
The week started with recognition of Emiliano Zapata, a revolutionary leader and Mexican hero. (Wikimedia)
“Zapata is the pioneer of the agrarian movement in Mexico. He first called on his people … in Ayala, [Morelos], to take up arms to confront the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz that protected the latifundistas, the large landowners,” AMLO said. “It’s time to remember that in the Porfiriato, the estates encroached on the land of the people.”
Back at the mañanera for the weekly Maya Train update, the director of the National Tourism Promotion Fund said that tracks along 200 kilometers of the 239-kilometer Izamal-Cancún section have been laid.
Section 4 of the 1,554 kilometer railroad — the entirety of which is slated to open in December — “goes through nine municipalities, 17 localities in Yucatán and Quintana Roo,” Javier May Rodríguez said.
“It has three stations, at Chichén Itzá, Valladolid and Cancún Airport,” he said without mentioning the Izamal terminus.
There were more updates on the progress of the Maya train, including a new hotel near Chichén Itzá. (Fonatur)
“There are also two stops, Nuevo Xcán and Leona Vicario. … Near Chichén Itzá, there will be a Maya Train hotel,” May added.
“… Along Section 4 [and in nearby areas] passengers will be able to enjoy true natural paradises and zones of great archaeological wealth — Chichén Itzá, [Isla] Holbox, Isla Mujeres, the beaches of Cancún, the Sotuta caves, Río Lagartos and Las Coloradas, to name some of the places.”
Welfare Minister Ariadna Montiel Reyes reported that almost 177,000 people are participating in the Sembrando Vida (Sowing Life) tree-planting employment program in the five states through which the Maya Train will run: Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.
“As you know, this program is the largest reforestation program in the world, and the goals have been achieved, particularly in the southeast,” she said.
“We want to establish communication with the government of China, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the embassy. The foreign affairs minister [Marcelo Ebrard] is already doing this in order to have a clear position about the pronouncement the government of China made,” he said.
“We have to find out where fentanyl is made. If it’s not made in China, where is it made? What is known is that it is used and causes a lot of harm in the United States. … Obviously, more than what is required for medical purposes is made. So where is this surplus being made? I’ll make it clear again that fentanyl isn’t made in Mexico, the raw material for fentanyl isn’t made [here],” López Obrador said.
The president was later asked about the withdrawal from the Mexico City Metro of the National Guard (GN), whose troops were deployed to the subway system in January following a series of “atypical” incidents including a collision between two trains in which one person was killed.
“There were indications of acts of bad faith, so it was decided that the National Guard would protect and keep an eye on [the Metro system], but the situation normalized. … Fortunately the accidents — real or provoked — decreased … so [the GN troops] are gradually withdrawing,” López Obrador said.
Among other remarks, the president noted that a global survey on happiness was recently carried out and that “Mexico did well.”
“I’m saying this because our adversaries, the conservatives, will get angry. ‘It’s not true,’ they’ll say. Of course … they didn’t respond that they’re happy … but the majority of people are happy, and that’s very good,” he said.
“The use of drugs, the abuse of drugs and drug addiction are different stages in a very complex process,” the deputy health minister said during the newly minted mañanera segment called “Social Prevention of Addictions.”
New drug addiction prevention czar Hugo López-Gatell discussed the effects of fentanyl and addiction on society and how to prevent the issue. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
“…It’s important to consider that the problem of [drug] use, abuse and addiction … is related to the loss of opportunities, the loss of spaces for social integration, especially for young people,” he said.
“… Today, we’re going to begin by speaking about fentanyl, one of the most dangerous drugs due to the enormous potential for addiction. It’s immediately addictive even in small doses, and it has very serious effects on health and a great capacity to cause overdose and death,” López-Gatell said.
“In the future, we’ll talk about other drugs that are used more frequently in Mexico. Methamphetamines [or] crystal, for example, alcohol, cannabis or marijuana, benzodiazepines and many others.”
Director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) Zoe Robledo later reported that 24 of Mexico’s 32 federal entities have joined the universal health care scheme, called IMSS-Bienestar.
The success of the IMSS Bienestar plan has improved conditions in hospitals across Mexico and increased access to quality equipment and staff, the president said. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
“Today, April 11, marks one year … [since] the IMSS-Bienestar health plan was presented to all the country’s governors, and fortunately a year later, 24 states are at different stages of its implementation,” Robledo said.
He said that some of the IMSS-Bienestar funding has been used to refurbish 30 operating rooms in 24 public hospitals in 11 states.
“By increasing the number of specialists, increasing the provision of supplies for surgeries and obviously increasing the number of operating rooms, more surgeries are performed,” Robledo said.
The average remaining useful life of the 13 plants is three times longer than that of Federal Electricity Commission plants (CFE), he said. “In other words, they’re newer than … the CFE plants,” López Obrador said.
He said that the US $6 billion deal with Iberdrola could be completed in 45 days and predicted that the CFE, which will run the 13 plants, will next year increase its share of the electricity generation market to 65%, up from just under 40% currently. Ten percent of that 65% figure will come from new construction and the rehabbing of hydropower plants.
AMLO later said he had become aware that five days before the end of the 2012–18 government of former president Enrique Peña Nieto, health regulator Cofepris granted 63 permits to “commercialize products derived from cannabis,” with some being awarded to companies linked to the family of ex-president Vicente Fox, a prominent entrepreneur in the sector.
“These kinds of things are discovered every day. And, of course, a complaint will be filed,” he said.
“… The director of Cofepris informed me yesterday [about this] because there were basements there in [the Cofepris offices], and they’re discovering things,” López Obrador said.
Fox has denied having any such permits. In a post to his Twitter account later on Tuesday, Fox called the president “the great liar of the mañaneras” and challenged him to “present proof or shut up.”
Before bringing his second presser of the week to a close, AMLO noted that the Health Ministry was considering declaring an end to the “COVID-19 health emergency.”
“They already did this in the United States,” he said, referring to a resolution signed by President Joe Biden on Monday. “… [We’ll do] what is most advisable for the people of Mexico.”
Wednesday
The recurring “Who’s Who in the Lies of the Week” segment — presented every Wednesday by government media monitor Ana García Vilchis — is only a “summary” of some of the latest fake news, López Obrador stressed at the start of his mañanera, explaining that it would take the length of the entire press conference, if not “several days,” to expose all the falsehoods published by the press.
“That’s all we’d be talking about. We wouldn’t take care of our duties as public servants,” he said.
A major focus of the mañaneras this week has been on the alleged licenses granted to former president Vicente Fox, who may have received official permits to commercially produce cannabis from the previous government of Enrique Peña Nieto. Fox denies having received any such permits. (Vicente Fox/Instagram)
The “manipulation” of information by the media is a “general trend” in Mexico and around the world,” AMLO asserted.
“The press in the United States is very scandalous, biased, closely linked to interests at the peaks of economic and political power. We’re talking about the influential, famous press: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post.”
Rather than rebutting spurious reporting, García initially chose to focus on a tweet published by ex-president Fox in which he asserted he has no “cannabis license.”
“Fox isn’t telling the truth,” she said after acknowledging AMLO’s assertion that the family of the former president was granted permits to commercialize cannabis products just before Enrique Peña Nieto’s presidency came to an end in 2018.
A total of 65 permits — two more than the number cited by López Obrador — were issued by Cofepris in the last days of the Peña Nieto administration, and some of those went to companies linked to Fox, García said.
Cofepris official Bertha María Alcalde subsequently said that actions had been taken against officials who issued the “irregular authorizations” with “surprising speed” in the final days of Peña Nieto’s government.
The Cofepris official who signed the 65 permits was dismissed and disqualified from working in the public sector and an application for the revocation of the permits has been filed with the Federal Tribunal of Administrative Justice, she said.
The fate of INM director Francisco Garduño is uncertain after migrants were left inside a burning INM facility (Government of Mexico)
“There is an investigation that includes … Garduño in the regrettable case of the loss of [40] migrants’ lives in Ciudad Juárez,” AMLO said, referring to the March 27 fire in an INM detention center.
“We don’t yet know … the accusation against him because there are various people involved,” he said.
“The Attorney General’s Office needs to provide more information about the investigation,” López Obrador said, adding that judges will have the ultimate responsibility of ensuring that justice is served.
He said that Garduño would remain at the helm of the INM for the time being and that the government would make a decision about his future in due course.
The president later revealed that he had shelved his proposal to allow foreign airlines to fly domestic routes in Mexico. A bill to reform the nation’s aviation law sent to Congress at the end of last year no longer seeks the authorization of cabotage for foreign airlines, he said.
Toward the end of his presser, the president said he was “extremely happy” about the Senate’s decision to award its prestigious Belisario Domínguez medal to lauded writer Elena Poniatowska, who is perhaps best known for her account of the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre of protesting students.
“Well deserved, well deserved,” AMLO said.
Thursday
Responding to his first question of the day, AMLO declared that it was “completely reprehensible” that a person who occupied the position of president of Mexico had decided to dedicate himself to the commercialization of marijuana.
“[Vicente Fox] has a ranch [in Guanajuato]. … Can’t he plant corn, wheat, vegetables? Why the business of selling drugs? he asked.
López Obrador continued his attack on former president Fox, questioning his need to commercially produce marijuana. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
The president later defended his proposed reform to the Mining Law, saying its aim is to protect water and prevent “the monopolization of large tracts of … subsoil for mining exploitation.”
Mexico’s five previous presidents all “handed over” land to mining corporations, López Obrador said.
One reporter asked the president about a water supply problem in the city of San Luis Potosí, saying that “official data” from the National Water Commission (Conagua) showed the state capital would be left without water in fewer than 45 days.
“I’m going there tomorrow. I’m going to San Luis Potosí, and I’m going to deal with this issue,” AMLO said after the reporter explained that the main source of water for the city — a dam in Guanajuato state — is losing over 600 liters of water per second due to leaks and that a pipeline that transports water from the dam has had 28 “breakdowns” in the last 18 months.
“I’m going to speak with the governor. … We always help. … Germán Martínez from Conagua [the National Water Commission] is probably listening and … he’ll send me all the information about this matter, and we’ll help,” he said.
The El Realito dam, in San Luis Potosí’s neighboring state of Guanajuato, seen here in 2015, is low on water, has leaks and also requires extensive repairs to leaks in the pipeline that brings water to San Luis Potosí city. (Cuartoscuro)
“It’s a good thing I’m going tomorrow. That’s why … [my] weekend tours are good, because one is constantly traveling around the whole country, and that helps me a lot, it helps us to have communication with local authorities, with the people, and to attend to problems, the most important needs. That’s what the tours are for,” AMLO said.
Shifting his focus from San Luis Potosí to the neighboring state of Tamaulipas, López Obrador praised the tamaulipecos — the “men and women” of the northern border state — for having the “courage” to carry out “a very important change” by electing a Morena party government led by Governor Américo Villareal, who took office last October.
“What they did was a feat because they decided to carry out a change that was needed in Tamaulipas. The change was urgent, because [the state under former governor Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca] was suffering from an extreme social, economic and political breakdown; it was more than a crisis,” he said.
AMLO revealed that he was planning to head to the state soon to tour the entire border region from Matamoros in the east to Nuevo Laredo in the west.
“I’m going to Zacatecas. I’m going to San Luis, to Oaxaca. Then it’s [another inspection of the] Maya Train, but after that, it’s very likely I’ll go to Tamaulipas,” he said.
Before wrapping up his presser, López Obrador said there was a possibility that some of the money seized by United States authorities from a former finance minister of Coahuila would be returned to the state.
Officials, including Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero, are in Washington, and “they’re going to bring us news about the money,” AMLO said. The United States already committed to returning the money, but it still “hasn’t become reality,” he said.
Friday
AMLO arrived at his last press conference of the week with the country’s top water official and announced that his colleague would speak about the water supply situation in San Luis Potosí — in response to the concerns expressed by a reporter a day earlier.
Conagua director Germán Martínez acknowledged that water is leaking from the dam that supplies water to San Luis Potosí city but assured reporters that the state capital isn’t going to be left without water.
National Water Commission (Conagua) head Germán Martínez assured reporters that Conagua will carry out repairs to the El Realito dam and that the rainy season in May or June will improve its water levels. Work on the pipeline to San Luis Potosí city has already begun, he said. (Cuartoscuro)
The El Realito dam, located in the Guanajuato municipality of San Luis de la Paz, is currently holding 12.2 million cubic meters of water, enough to guarantee supply at current levels, he said without specifying any time period.
“The rainy season starts in May or June. The storage levels in the El Realito dam will improve,” Martínez said.
He also said that Conagua is preparing a project to repair the leaks at the dam and that work has already begun on the faulty pipeline that transports water to San Luis Potosí city.
After Martínez’s presentation, López Obrador spent well over two hours answering reporters’ questions, and, in his customary fashion, augmented many of his responses with lengthy history lessons and pointed attacks on past governments and current critics.
For 20 or 30 years — he said in response to a question about the oil industry — Pemex spent half its budget in the north of Mexico when “oil is in the south.”
“Why this irrationality? Because of corruption, because [past governments] didn’t care about extracting oil; what they cared about was … handing out contracts, many of them to foreign companies,” AMLO said.
He later turned his attention to one of his government’s pet infrastructure projects.
The Isthmus of Tehuantepc trade corridor project — which includes the modernization of a railroad between Salina Cruz on the Pacific coast and Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf coast and the expansion of ports in those cities — is “very important, historic,” López Obrador said.
“… It’s a strategic area, it’s the narrowest part of [our] national territory, connecting the Pacific to the Atlantic,” he said before likening the project to the Panama Canal.
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec has the potential to be a new Panama Canal, the president suggested. (Gobierno de Mexico)
After a rundown on the history of that canal, during which he highlighted the agreements between former United States president Jimmy Carter and ex-Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos to ensure the U.S. hand over control of the 82-kilometer-long waterway to Panama in 1999, AMLO said that the isthmus project would link Asia to the Atlantic Ocean.
“This project will allow a more direct connection to the east coast of the United States from the countries of Asia,” López Obrador said, suggesting that Asian exports will cross the isthmus by rail before being shipped on to the U.S.
Toward the end of his Friday mañanera, the president revealed his government would shut down the state-owned news agency Notimex, which was created over 50 years ago.
“We no longer need a news agency in the government; that’s from the time of press statements and official press,” he said. “… It’s not something we need as a government, we have the mañanera.”
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
A new handmade rope being made at the outdoor, rope-making “factory” next to the cemetery of San Miguel Cuyutlán in Jalisco. These artisan ropes are made for specialty buyers, like horsemen doing traditional Mexican charrería.
Lake Cajititlán is located 25 kilometers due south of Guadalajara and enjoys a fine reputation for its artesanías, handmade crafts. Each community around the lake has its specialty.
While visiting these artisans, I was told that I must not miss the rope makers of the nearby town of San Miguel. “They use the fibers of wild agaves to make specialized ropes for charros (rodeo cowboys),” I was told. “They’re famous both in Mexico and in the U.S.”
It all begins with fibers from the maguey bruto, which abounds on the slopes of Cerro Viejo, southwest of San Miguel.
So, one day several years ago, I drove into San Miguel Cuyutlán. When I reached the plaza, I thought for sure I would see all sorts of shops selling lariats. But to my surprise, I didn’t find a one.
“Don’t you make ropes here?” I asked a lady on the street.
“Claro que sí, she replied. “Lots of people here make ropes.”
That was how I ended up in the home of an elderly master rope maker named Don Isidro Díaz.
Don Isidro Díaz (RIP) with one of his Green-Brand ropes. Unprocessed strands and ixtle fiber in the background.
“How long have you been making reatas? I asked him.
“Reatas? I don’t make reatas,” he replied. “I make sogas.”
I had used the wrong word. Reata is the origin of the English word lariat, an interesting corruption of “la reata,” but Don Isidro quickly pointed out that his ropes were much stronger than a mere reata. They’re referred to by professionals as sogas.
I discovered that Don Isidro had learned his trade at the tender age of 15, and after making ropes for over half a century had gained the fame of a master craftsman.
Stretching and “cleaning” the strands under the heat of the sun is back-breaking work.
“You won’t believe it,” he told me, “but people call me from places like Chicago and Nevada, and they come all the way here to buy their sogas. They know they’re good because I give them my personal guarantee.”
I asked for how many months he guaranteed them. “Months? My guarantee is for the life of the rope!”
Of course, I wanted to see the place where the ropes are made, but Don Isidro warned me, “Foreigners have come here expecting to see a factory full of machines. I hope you won’t be disappointed, because we have no machines — we do everything by hand.”
Agave fibers. San Miguel rope makers swear that their local maguey bruto makes the very best sogas de charrería.
I was not at all disappointed. The soga-making works were located only a few blocks from Don Isidro’s house. Nothing like a factory, it was an open-air operation: a flat place where strands of rope up to 50 meters long are stretched between stakes only a few inches above the ground.
The strands are made of twisted ixtle fiber which comes from the maguey bruto (Agave inaequidens Koch), which grows on 2,970-meter-high Cerro Viejo, overlooking San Miguel. This same agave, I was told, is also used to make raicilla, a competitor of tequila.
I found only one man working in the “non-factory.” His name was Fernando Romero, and he told me that there are many different procedures in soga-making. This afternoon, he said, he would be “twisting.”
The rope maker Don Manuel Leonel is passing on to his sons the skills he learned from his father.
How in the world he was going to twist those already tightly twisted cords, I couldn’t imagine, but Romero plucked one of them and said, “See? This one is a little slack.”
With brute strength, he then slipped the looped end of the rope off the stake and, maintaining tension, walked over to an axle with a handle mounted on a sturdy pole. He slipped the loop over a pin at the end of the axle and turned the handle vigorously for about a minute.
Again, straining mightily, he transferred the loop back to the stake. Next came a curious procedure he called puliendo (cleaning).
Romero grabbed a thick wad of loose ixtle fibers and wrapped it around one of the stretched cords, which he then lifted up to shoulder level (this I would have thought impossible if I hadn’t seen it) and then began to walk forward — against great resistance — sliding the rope through the loofa-like wad of fibers, another operation requiring great strength.
A Black-Brand rope, still hot from the sun, is readied for the next customer. Only ropes made of ixtle may be used in charrería events.
“I do this 30 times in each direction for each cord…every day,” he shouted over his shoulder as he disappeared off into the distance.
Don Isidro passed on a few years later, but his legacy lives, and today San Miguel has more rope makers than ever. Of course, you’ll still not find a rope store in town, but if you wander out to the cemetery, you’ll find plenty of sogueros nearby, twisting and stretching rope under the hot sun.
“There’s no shade here because the fibers need to be exposed to full sunshine for at least 15 to 20 days,” I was told by Don Manuel Leonel, whose Red Brand ropes are highly in demand by charros — Mexico’s traditional horsemanship sport.
“By regulation, the only ropes charros can use in competition must be made of ixtle,“ he said, “and most people agree that the best sogas in Mexico are made right here in San Miguel.”
In the final stage, four strands are individually twisted thanks to this heavy-duty gear box.
The procedure starts with an armful of agave fibers which the men spin into long strings called hebritas. Fifteen of these hebritas are then twisted into a cordón (strand) which must be stretched and twisted ever tighter for weeks, occasionally receiving a bath of liquid starch.
The final stage is to attach four strands to a sturdy device with gears, which permits each strand to be individually twisted while, at the far end, those same four strands are, in turn, twisted together to form a soga so incredibly hard, it literally feels made of metal.
Two sogueros earn 500 pesos each per rope, and typically they turn out five per week. That same rope (the 50-meter length) is then sold for about 4,000 pesos to customers who buy them — still hot from manufacture — right at the rope-making works, no middle man needed.
Want to watch the procedure for making charro ropes? Ask Google Maps to take you to: CJ78+J66 San Miguel Cuyutlán, Jalisco.
The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.
Mexico's National Human Rights Commission has published 54 reports detailing abuses by immigration officials and private security personnel at migrant detention centers since 2019 (Damián Sánchez/Cuartoscuro).
Torture, sexual assault and extortion are some of the abuses migrants have allegedly suffered while detained at government detention centers since Francisco Garduño became Mexico’s immigration chief.
The conditions endured by migrants at National Immigration Institute (INM) facilities are currently in the spotlight in the wake of a fire at a provisional detention center in Ciudad Juárez last month that claimed the lives of 40 men from Central and South America.
The fire at a provisional detention center left 40 migrants dead (Juan Ortega Solís/Cuartoscuro).
Garduño, INM’s director, is the subject of a criminal investigation in view of his alleged failure to fulfill his duty to supervise and protect the people and facilities under his control.
Since Garduño succeeded Tonatiuh Guillén in June 2019, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has published 54 reports detailing abuses allegedly committed by immigration officials and private security personnel at migrant detention centers.
Guillén, who served as INM director for seven months at the start of the current government, didn’t receive any damning reports from the CNDH, while Ardelio Vargas Fosado and Gerardo García Benavente, immigration chiefs who served under former president Enrique Peña Nieto, received 20 and three, respectively.
The newspaper El Universal, which reviewed the CNDH’s reports, reported that abuses at detention centers were committed against both detained migrants and their family members.
The fate of INM director Francisco Garduño is uncertain after migrants were left inside a burning INM facility (Gob MX).
In a report published in February, the newspaper noted, the CNDH detailed the case of a migrant from El Salvador who was said to have been handcuffed to a bunk bed for five days at an INM detention center in Guadalupe, Nuevo León, as punishment for starting a hunger strike due to poor conditions at the facility.
In 2019, the CNDH documented the case of a 17-year-old migrant who was alleged to have been tortured by INM personnel at a detention center in Tlaxcala. Medical examinations confirmed that the minor suffered injuries and psychological harm consistent with torture, the commission said.
In another 2019 report, the CNDH described the conditions in INM detention centers as prisonlike. The INM detention center model “doesn’t guarantee full respect” for migrants’ “dignity” and human rights, the report said.
Migrants are kept in locked cells and subjected to prison-style routines that violate their human rights, the commission said.
Former director of the National Migration Institute Tonatiuh Guillén supported a kinder approach to immigration. Under Guillen’s direction, there were no human rights abuses reported at migrant detention centers (Photo: Archive).
Guillén, who resigned in 2019 shortly after the Mexican government reached an agreement with the United States to ramp up enforcement against undocumented migrants, told El Universal that violations of migrants’ rights have become more frequent, a situation he said is indicative of the “hardening” of Mexico’s immigration policy.
Mexico has come under pressure from the United States to do more to stop the flow of migrants to its northern border and has deployed both INM agents and members of the National Guard to detain migrants, many of whom are deported after spending time in a provisional detention center.
The treatment of migrants at detention centers is disrespectful, irresponsible and lacking in care, Guillén asserted, adding that the prevailing situation can have “extremely serious consequences such as those we recently saw in Ciudad Juárez.”
Eunice Rendón, head of the migrants’ advocacy group Agenda Migrante, said that it is “very important” that the INM review the reports published by the CNDH and implement the recommendations it has made.
“What’s the use of recommendations if the vast majority have been ignored by the INM?” Rendón asked.
Along with the National Migration Institute, the National Guard has come under attack for its violent treatment of migrants in southern Mexico (Damián Sánchez/Cuartoscuro).
In addition to abuses such as torture and physical and sexual assault, migrants detained at INM facilities are forced to endure crowded and inhumane living conditions, according to an umbrella organization called Colectivo de Observación y Monitoreo de Derechos Humanos en el Sureste Mexicano (Human Rights Observation and Monitoring Collective in the Mexican Southeast).
According to the news website Pie de Página, the collective attests that most detention centers have no running water and that migrants are often held in sections exposed to the elements.
Food served to migrants is often spoiled, according to the collective. One of their reports says that private security personnel working at detention centers use “threatening and abusive language” toward migrants and don’t allow them to contact people on the outside, presumably by confiscating their telephones.
The collective also documented a disturbing episode in 2021 at the Siglo XXI detention center in Tapachula, a city in Chiapas just north of the border with Guatemala.
Representatives of the collective spoke with migrants who said that INM agents and private security guards forced them to lie on their backs in a patio with their hands on their necks for 10 hours between 2 p.m. and midnight. They were exposed to sun and rain and warned they would be beaten if they closed their eyes, the collective said.
Following the Ciudad Juárez tragedy, protesters spoke out against the conditions inside provisional detention center Siglo XXI in Tapachula, Chiapas (Damián Sánchez/Cuartoscuro).
The newspaper Milenio spoke this week with migrants currently being held or who have spent time in INM detention centers in different parts of the country, and they, too, offered a damning assessment of the conditions and treatment they experienced.
A Cuban man who has spent a month in the Siglo XXI detention center told Milenio that migrants eat and sleep among buckets filled with urine and feces.
“Despicable conditions — we’re sleeping between shit, there is no medical care, everyone is sick with colds,” said the migrant who was only identified as Manuel.
“… They don’t let us speak with anyone, they don’t let lawyers visit us, they don’t give us any news [about our immigration status],” he said.
África, a Colombian woman who spent time in a detention center in Acayucan, Veracruz, told Milenio that she and other detainees were unable to shower when they had access to the bathroom because there was no water. A Venezuelan woman said that the “psychological damage” from being locked up without knowing when she would be released was enormous.
The INM prioritized the protection of property over the safety of migrants, according to a contract with the agency and a private security company hired to provide guard services at the Ciudad Juárez facility. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro).
Despite the scenarios described and the tragedy in Ciudad Juárez, President López Obrador said earlier this week that Garduño’s performance as immigration chief has generally been good.
He remains INM’s director even as the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) prepares to charge him with improper exercise of public service.
In a statement on Tuesday, the FGR noted that both the CNDH and the Federal Auditor’s Office have identified shortcomings and an unrectified “pattern of irresponsibility” at the INM that caused “regrettable events” such as the March 27 fire.
One security guard, three INM agents and a Venezuelan migrant have been detained in connection with the fire and face charges of homicide and causing injury.
Garduño and other INM officials, including the agency’s chief in Chihuahua, face a court hearing before a federal judge next week at which they will be formally charged.
The Oaxaca state congress voted to return 162,000 hectares of land formerly considered part of Chiapas known as Chimalapas that historically belonged to the Xoque communities of Oaxaca. (Oaxaca state congress)
Approximately 20,000 people who used to be from Chiapas no longer know which state they live in after the Oaxaca state congress voted on Wednesday to modify the border with its neighboring state.
The vote complies with a March 2022 ruling by the Mexican Supreme Court (SCJN), which ordered that a 162,000-hectare territory known as Chimalapas be returned to the Zoque indigenous communities of Oaxaca.
Since last year’s ruling, the Zoque communities have protested to demand that Oaxaca governor Salomón Jara Cruz comply with the SCJN’s mandate.
Chimalapas was the western limit of the state of Chiapas. The Oaxaca senate voted Wednesday to redraw the border so that Chimalapas is contained within the state of Oaxaca, in compliance with a Supreme Court ruling in 2022. (Wikimedia).
The ruling was the result of a decades-long campaign led by the Zoque communities of San Miguel and Santa María Chimalapa, who filed an injunction with the SCJN in 2012, arguing that their rightful territories had been invaded by cattle ranchers and loggers from Chiapas.
However, the border change also affects several non-Zoque communities that settled later in the area: Rodulfo Figueroa, Belisario Domínguez, Cal and Mayor. The National Electoral Institute (INE) has stopped issuing credentials to the 20,000 residents of these areas until it is confirmed whether they are residents of Oaxaca or Chiapas.
“The government of Chiapas cannot oppose a court order,” said Geovany Vásquez Sagrero, head of Oaxaca’s Office of Legal Counsel. “However, honestly, we have to say that there is a strip in the southern part [of the affected area] that no longer has anything to do with Chimalapas.”
Vásquez recognized that these communities see themselves as from Chiapas but said that talks are underway to persuade them to accept being part of Oaxaca.
The area of Chimalapas is home to the largest undisturbed cloud forest in Mexico (La Coperacha).
The new Oaxaca-Chiapas border will start at the Tonalá peninsula at a latitude of 16 degrees north, head north to Cerro del Chilillo, continue northwest to Cerro de La Jineta, then northeast to Cerro de los Martínez, in the tri-border area with Veracruz.
The affected area is covered with dense forest and is considered one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the Americas.
Theborder dispute began in 1950, when the Chiapas government granted five logging concessions to two companies, allowing them to seize 100,000 hectares of communal forest belonging to the Zoque communities.
To legitimize these concessions, the communal territories were redesignated as national lands in the municipality of Cintalapa, Chiapas. Later, the Chiapas government granted spaces within these areas to displaced Tzotzil communities from the highlands of Chiapas.
The dispute over Chimalapas dates back to 1950, when the Zoque communities of Oaxaca lost their forest cover to logging companies granted permits by the government of Chiapas. (Arturo Perez/Cuartoscuro).
Although the conflict was temporarily resolved in 1967 with a presidential resolution that recognized and titled communal property, it flared up again following the creation of the Chiapas municipality of Belisario Domínguez in 2011.
In 2018, the previous Chiapas legislature created the “Special Commission to address the Chimalapas case,” which sought to preserve the Chimalapas region as part of Chiapas.
However, this commission has refused to make any comment on the SCJN’s ruling in favor of Oaxaca and announced that they are no longer in office.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco at a press conference Friday announcing charges against "Los Chapitos," the sons of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who is in jail in the U.S. (Screen capture)
The United States Department of Justice announced on Friday that it had unsealed charges against 28 high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel members, including three known as “Los Chapitos” — the children of jailed former Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Brothers in crime:. Los Chapitos, from left to right: Iván Archibaldo Guzmán Salazar, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, and Ovidio Guzmán. Another brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, not shown. was also charged. (Internet)
At a press conference on Friday afternoon, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that seven other defendants named in the indictments were already in custody in other countries and that they were pursuing over 100 more people charged with helping Los Chapitos’ Sinaloa Cartel fentanyl operation “flood the U.S.” with the deadly synthetic drug.
The three “Chapitos” — a nickname meaning “little Chapos” — are Ovidio Guzmán López, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Sálazar. They run a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as its most violent.
The U.S. government is also offering a reward of US $10,000 for information leading to the capture of any one of Los Chapitos.
The full roster of individuals charged includes operators around the world who the DOJ says are responsible for – among other crimes – drug and weapons trafficking, buying chemical precursors for fentanyl, money laundering, murder, extortion, kidnapping and torture, all in order to operate the complex networks needed to ensure the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trafficking operation continues to function.
The charges have been filed by federal courts in Illinois, New York and the District of Columbia.
A flowchart Garland shared at his press conference Friday that shows the steps the Sinaloa Cartel takes to make fentanyl and smuggle it into the U.S., then launder money back from the U.S. into Mexico. (Department of Justice)
“Today, the Justice Department is announcing significant enforcement actions against the largest, most violent, and most prolific fentanyl trafficking operation in the world – run by the Sinaloa Cartel and fueled by Chinese precursor chemical and pharmaceutical companies,” Garland announced at a press conference late Friday morning.
Garland said that the charges attacked “every aspect of the cartel’s operations,” seeking arrests of people around the world. In addition to Los Chapitos, the list of those charged includes:
Suppliers in China who sell fentanyl precursors to the cartel
A Guatemalan-based broker who purchases the precursor chemicals on behalf of the cartel
Operators of the Sinaloa Cartel’s clandestine fentanyl labs in Mexico
A weapons trafficker who supplies the cartel with arms smuggled from the U.S.
Money launderers who the DOJ says helps the cartel move money internationally
Members of the Sinaloa Cartel who serve as brutal security enforcers
The DOJ also revealed that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had infiltrated the Sinaloa Cartel and has spent a year and a half tracking the highest levels of the group across the world.
The U.S. government is offering a reward of up to US $10,000 for information leading to the capture of any of Los Chapitos. (DEA)
“Today’s indictments send a clear message to the Chapitos, the Sinaloa Cartel, and criminal drug networks around the world that the DEA will stop at nothing to protect the national security of the United States and the safety and health of the American people,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram at a press conference Friday afternoon.
In February, Milgram told reporters that Mexico could be doing more to combat the Sinaloa and the Jalisco New Generation cartels.
Fentanyl seizures in the U.S. have increased by more than 400% since 2019, according to U.S. government officials, and 2023 has already seen more fentanyl seized to date than in the entirety of 2022.
The Department of Justice regards Los Chapitos as a significant piece of the fentanyl trafficking problem. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), they are responsible for the majority of the drug currently in the United States.
“The Sinaloa Cartel is largely responsible for the surge of fentanyl into the United States over the last eight years,” Garland said.
The indictments describe in detail the cartel’s brutality and callousness — and its prioritization of financial gain at all times, even when they knew the drugs they were sending to the U.S. would prove fatal.
Los Chapitos’ security forces, said Garland, also regularly engage in torture and brutal acts of violence, Garland said, including injecting victims with massive doses of fentanyl until they overdose and feeding people to the Chapitos’ pet tigers.
The wide-ranging charges come as pressure intensifies on Mexico to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States. The two countries held high-level meetings on Thursday in Washington D.C. to discuss how best to work together to combat the trafficking of both synthetic drugs like fentanyl and weapons.
According to U.S. government data, fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between ages 18 and 39 and led to the deaths of more than 100,000 people from overdoses between 2021 and 2022 — almost 300 per day.
