The time of Mexico's round of 16 showdown with England on Sunday was in flex for much of the day Friday, as FIFA considered rescheduling due to a high probability of thunderstorms forecast for Sunday night. (Shutterstock)
Nearly three hours after originally reporting that Mexico’s round of 16 game versus England had been moved from 6 p.m. local time in Mexico City to noon, inside sources have confirmed that FIFA has backtracked on plans to change the game to an earlier time.
TUDN reporter Gibrán Araige, who originally broke the story, confirmed the change, saying that the match would remain at its original time. The Athletic has also confirmed that the game will stay at 6 p.m. (1 a.m. British Summer Time).
According to the BBC, FIFA held talks with both the Mexican and English football federations Friday afternoon. FIFA reportedly was set on making the change, but outrage from both federations forced them to reverse course.
FIFA reportedly cited weather issues, including thunderstorms and possible flooding, as reasons to bring the match forward.
The Weather Channel is still reporting a more than 80% chance of thunderstorms in Mexico City at 6 p.m. Sunday.
As of 5:30 p.m. Friday, FIFA itself had yet to make an official statement on the time of the game.
The story unfolded as FIFA was considering moving Mexico’s round of 16 match versus England, originally scheduled for 6 p.m. local time on Sunday in Mexico City, to noon due to the thunderstorm warnings, according to reports from TUDN and Claro Sports mid-day on Friday, who cited sources inside FIFA.
Friday morning forecasts showed a 95% chance of thunderstorms in Mexico City on Sunday, according to The Weather Channel. Rain is most common in Mexico City from 4-8 p.m., but is less common in the early afternoon. The Weather Channel cwas predicting a 33% chance of isolated thunderstorms at noon on Sunday with temperatures around 21 C (70 F). Lightning strikes detected within 8 miles of Mexico City Stadium will result in an automatic 30 minute delay.
A schedule change would likely have increased the temperature at kick off and could benefit the Mexican players, who are more adapted to the warm climate.
Mexico City Stadium also sits 2,240 meters above sea level. The thin air, to which Mexican players are more accustomed, could further tilt the stakes in Mexico’s favor. Mexico has lost just two of their last 89 matches at Estadio Azteca.
Asked at England’s training session on Friday about the possibility of the game being moved, winger Marcus Rashford told the BBC the change was “not ideal” but expressed confidence in the team’s ability to adapt.
“We have to be focused. We have to be ready for anything,” he said. “I think it’s one of our strengths as a group … We are ready for whatever challenges get thrown at us. So obviously it’s not ideal but also it doesn’t really matter.”
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre was similarly displeased with the idea of the change.
“It’s a kick in the gut; now we must change everything” Aguirre told Radio Fórmula. “It’s not that all the work goes down the drain — though it’s close — because you’re having to scrap six hours of scheduled planning … neither my players nor I are happy about it.”
Mexico’s round of 32 bout against Ecuador, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, was delayed one hour after an electrical storm in Mexico City.
Mexico’s Tuesday match against Ecuador was delayed by an hour due to afternoon storms. (Moisés Pablo /Cuartoscuro.com)
Sunday will mark Mexico’s first round-of-16 game since the 2018 World Cup, where it lost 2-0 to Brazil. Mexico has not advanced to the quarterfinals since they last hosted in 1986, which ties its best-ever result. El Tri’s 2-0 triumph over Ecuador was their first knockout stage win in 40 years.
Mexico and England have met nine times, with the Three Lions, as England’s team is known, holding the series lead with six wins, two losses and one draw. England advanced to the round of 16 after a comeback win over Congo on Wednesday, 2-1. They reached the quarterfinals in the 2022 World Cup and the semifinals in 2018.
The schedule change might have been a relief to English fans, who would no longer have to stay awake until the early morning to watch the game.
However, such a time change could have caused chaos with ticket holders, who have been planning their trips for weeks or longer. Upward of 3,000 English fans are expected at Estadio Azteca, according to the BBC.
Friday's presidential press conference focused on the progress and results of Michoacán's security plan, which the government launched last November after the murder of a high-profile local politician. (Presidencia)
Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
📉 Michoacán violence drops sharply: Presenting data from Morelia, security official Marcela Figueroa reported Michoacán’s daily homicide rate fell to 2.33 in June — a 46% drop from January 2025, the state’s most violent month since Sheinbaum took office. It was also the lowest June rate in 12 years, with homicides down more than 40% year-on-year.
📊 Plan Michoacán shows results: Officials credited the 57-billion-peso ($3.26 billion) “Plan Michoacán for Peace and Justice,” launched after Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo’s murder last November, with driving a 37% reduction in the state’s daily homicide average for the first half of 2026 versus 2025 — and a 70.7% drop compared to 2021.
🚓 Over 1,300 arrests since October 2024: Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said 1,342 people were arrested in Michoacán for high-impact crimes, alongside seizures of 1,398 firearms and 35,000+ kg of drugs, and the dismantling of 30 clandestine labs.
💬 “No fear,” says Sheinbaum: Pressed on why she hasn’t visited Uruapan or the volatile Tierra Caliente region, Sheinbaum said she stays in contact with Manzo’s widow, now Uruapan’s mayor, “by chat,” and insisted she has “no fear” of visiting “critical areas”, promising to go “on another occasion.”
Why today’s mañanera matters
President Claudia Sheinbaum held her Friday morning press conference in Morelia, the capital of the state of Michoacán.
The state has long been considered one of Mexico’s most violent, but the government presented data on Friday that showed that the security situation has improved since the commencement of “Plan Michoacán for Peace and Justice,” a 57-billion-peso (US $3.26 billion) initiative that the government devised late last year in response to the murder of the mayor of Uruapan on Nov. 1 and general insecurity in the state.
President Sheinbaum gave her Friday press conference from Morelia, the state capital of Michoacán. (Luis Rodríguez / Pexels)
The presentation of data on homicides, high-impact crimes and arrests in Michoacán indicated that Plan Michoacán — which began last November — and the government’s broader security strategy have been effective in reducing violence in the state. At a national level, homicides declined almost 30% annually in the first five months of 2026, according to data the government presented in mid-June. Murders declined in 28 of Mexico’s 32 federal entities in the period.
Today’s mañanera was significant as it provided a specific snapshot of the improving security situation in Michoacán, a snapshot that is indicative of a broader trend across most of the country.
National Public Security System chief Marcela Figueroa presented data that showed that there was an average of 2.33 homicides per day in Michoacán in June. She highlighted that the daily rate last month represents a decline of 46% in homicides compared to January 2025, which was the most violent month in Michoacán since Sheinbaum took office in October 2024.
The data showed that the average daily homicide rate in Michoacán was even lower in May (2.10), April (2.23), March (1.90) and February (2.11).
Figueroa also highlighted that the daily homicide rate last month was the lowest of any June in the past 12 years. She said that homicides declined 43% annually in June of this year, although the data she presented indicated that the reduction was slightly lower than that.
Figueroa also presented data that showed that the average daily homicide rate in Michoacán in the first six months of 2026 was 2.2, representing a 37% reduction compared to the daily average across 2025. Compared to 2021, a year in which there was an average of 7.5 homicides per day in Michoacán, the decline in the first half of 2026 was 70.7%.
Finally, Figueroa reported that a daily average of 17.5 high-impact crimes were committed in Michoacán during the first six months of 2026, a 3% reduction compared to 2025. Among the offenses classified as high-impact crimes in Mexico are homicides, femicides, kidnappings, extortion and violent robberies.
National Public Security System chief Marcela Figueroa shared data showing a steep decline in Michoacán homicides since 2021. (Presidencia)
More than 1,300 arrests in Michoacán since Sheinbaum took office
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch reported that 1,342 people were arrested in Michoacán between Oct. 1, 2024 and June 15, 2026, for allegedly committing high-impact crimes.
In the same period, 1,398 firearms and more than 35,000 kilograms of drugs were seized, and authorities dismantled 30 clandestine drug laboratories.
García Harfuch said that “these results” have a direct impact on the operational, logistical and financial capabilities of criminal groups that operate in Michoacán, Mexico’s top avocado-producing state and a major grower of limes.
Consequently, criminal groups — which are known for extorting avocado and lime producers — have “less capacity to extort, attack, recruit young people, control territory and affect the productive life of Michoacán,” he said.
García Harfuch told reporters that “the instruction of the president of Mexico is clear: maintain the presence of the security cabinet in Michoacán; strengthen local authorities with greater capacities of intelligence and investigation in order to combat, among other crimes, extortion; sustain targeted operations … [against criminal groups]; … respond to reports [of crime]; and strengthen the 089 extortion hotline service to continue encouraging reports [from citizens].”
The security minister stressed that the security results in Michoacán don’t mean “the job is done” or that crimes are no longer committed in the state.
“On the contrary, the president’s instruction is to redouble efforts. Combating extortion in Michoacán is a priority for the president of Mexico. That’s why the institutions of the federal security cabinet maintain close and constant coordination with the government of Michoacán with the objective of detaining those who generate violence, protecting citizens and guaranteeing that there is no impunity,” García Harfuch said.
Sheinbaum says she has ‘no fear’ of visiting ‘critical areas’ of Michoacán
The reporter also asked the president why she hadn’t visited Uruapan, where Mayor Carlos Manzo, an outspoken anti-crime crusader, was shot dead last November.
“Why don’t we see you in critical areas?” she asked Sheinbaum.
“I’ve been in the critical areas,” the president responded.
Sheinbaum subsequently said that she maintains personal contact with Grecia Quiroz, the widow of Carlos Manzo and now the mayor of Uruapan, “by chat.” Quiroz’s requests are “immediately” attended to, she said.
After the assassination of Carlos Manzos, his wife Grecia Quiroz took over the mayorship of Uruapan, Michoacán’s second-largest city and an area long plagued by cartel violence. (Grecia Quiroz/Facebook)
Sheinbaum noted that she has visited Michoacán various times as president, and said she would continue to travel to the state.
“The president moves around the whole country, but we have the presence of the Defense Minister [Ricardo Trevilla Trejo] and the security minister, who have been to Uruapan around three or four times,” she said.
Pushed as to whether she would visit the Tierra Caliente of Michoacán and Uruapan at some point, Sheinbaum said she would “on another occasion.”
Asked whether she was afraid of visiting such places, the president responded:
“No, no fear. In fact, everyone in the [security] cabinet goes, and I will also personally go.”
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
MEXICO CITY — Facing the possibility that the United States will decline to renew the USMCA, Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy has unveiled a new trade proposal: genetically modified avocados bearing a laser-etched image of President Donald Trump’s face on every U.S.-bound shipment.
The initiative, presented Thursday as “Aguacate Presidente,” would use a proprietary etching process similar to techniques already used to brand logos onto fruit skins for grocery store promotions. Officials say the technology is fully developed and could be scaled to cover 40% of avocado exports to the U.S. by the fourth quarter, pending presidential approval on the other side of the border.
“We looked at what has worked in past negotiations and asked ourselves what else could be done,” said one trade ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal is still being finalized. “President Trump already has his signature on the new 100-dollar bill and his face on the U.S. passport. An avocado felt like the natural next step in the rollout.”
The proposal comes amid growing anxiety among Mexican avocado producers in Michoacán, who export roughly US $3 billion worth of the fruit to the U.S. annually and have watched tariff threats resurface with each round of USMCA talks. Producers reached for comment expressed cautious optimism about the plan, noting that whatever keeps the border open is, by definition, good policy.
“We are simply trying to find creative solutions within the existing framework,” said a spokesperson for the Association of Avocado Exporting Producers and Packers of Mexico, using a phrase that has appeared in nearly identical form in 17 separate government press releases since March. “This is not our first choice. It is our current choice.”
Agricultural economists note that the etching does not affect the avocado’s ripening process, shelf life or flavor, though early focus groups reported mild discomfort eating “anything with a face on it.” The Secretariat of Economy has responded by proposing a smaller, less detailed version of the etching for the guacamole market, where the face would only be “suggested” through subtle shading.
As of press time, the White House had not confirmed receipt of the proposal, though a senior U.S. trade official said the administration “appreciates gestures of goodwill, of any shape.”
Profepa released this photo, with the rescuers' faces blurred, with the original announcement Thursday morning that the Bengal tiger had been recaptured safely and sedated.
(Profepa)
Relief quickly turned to outrage Thursday when Kenzo, the white Bengal tiger that escaped from a private facility in México state five days earlier, was pronounced dead by Profepa, the same federal environmental protection agency that had reported the animal’s successful recapture under sedation just hours earlier.
According to Profepa, the animal was killed by security forces that accompanied the rescue team when it attacked one or more rescue workers.
Citing irregularities that allowed the Bengal tiger’s escape, Profepa shuttered Animal Experience México, a licensed wildlife center about 40 kilometers east of Mexico City. (Profepa)
“During the sedation and capture operation, the tiger attacked the personnel present,” reads the Profepa statement announcing Kenzo’s death. “Due to the imminent risk this situation posed, the security forces supporting the rescue repelled the attack. The animal received immediate medical attention. Despite these efforts, it died.”
It was unclear how an animal that was supposedly already captured and sedated could launch a potentially fatal attack on a rescue worker.
Some blamed the veterinarians. The newspaper Milenio quoted the Mexican Association of Zoos, Breeders, and Aquariums accusing the vets on duty of being inexperienced and uncertified.
However, one of the vets on duty, wildlife specialist Ivonne Casey, said before the news of the death came out, “The handling was very good.”
Kenzo, a 3-year-old male, fled on the afternoon of Saturday, June 27, from Animal Experience México, a licensed wildlife center about 40 kilometers east of Mexico City in the municipality of Tepetlaoxtoc.
Local officials said the tiger slipped out of his cage during maintenance and construction work on the property.
The escape triggered a multi-day search across scrubland and prickly pear hillsides near the federal highway between Mexico City and Veracruz.
During the search, authorities spotted him at least once by drone in dense scrub and cactus, but said the rugged terrain made it difficult to get close enough to sedate him safely.
Tepetlaoxtoc Mayor Diana Lizbeth Morales first announced that the tiger had been captured, citing coordinated operations involving all three levels of government. Tepetlaoxtoc is a municipality of about 33,000 people in rural México state.
Authorities said the operation used drones, tracking dogs and teams from the National Guard, the state’s public security agency and municipal emergency services.
Kenzo was a white Bengal tiger, a rare color variant of the Bengal tiger species. Their pale fur and blue eyes come from a recessive gene carried by both parents and are uncommon even in captivity.
Adult male white Bengals usually weigh about 200 to 230 kilograms (440 to 510 pounds) and can reach 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) from head to tail. Males often continue bulking up until around age 5, and authorities described Kenzo as a 3-year-old male.
After his capture, Kenzo was supposed to be taken for an initial evaluation to Reino Animal, a wildlife conservation and safari park near Teotihuacán, México state. He then would be transferred to the Zacango Ecological Park in Calimaya, about 30 minutes from the state capital of Toluca, where he was to receive specialized veterinary care and remain under observation.
As they have previously done in Mexico and in countries around the world, Mexican rescuers known as topos (moles) are currently searching for survivors and victims of a natural disaster — twin powerful earthquakes in Venezuela, in this case.
One group of topos — so named because of their ability to crawl and tunnel through rubble like moles — that is assisting the search and rescue efforts in Venezuela is the Topos Azteca International Brigade (Brigada Internacional de Rescate Topos Azteca), or Topos Azteca for short.
The rescuers squeeze into small spaces between the rubble of collapsed buildings to find survivors and recover the bodies of disaster victims. (Héctor Méndez “Topo Mayor” / Facebook)
Some members of the group, which was founded by “El Topo Mayor” Héctor “El Chino” Méndez after the devastating 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, departed for Venezuela soon after the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in the South American country on June 24, while others followed this week.
One such person is Miguel Jiménez Pérez, a 46-year-old veterinarian from the state of Hidalgo who has been a member of the Topos Azteca for more than a decade.
According to the media outlet La Silla Rota, Jiménez has been working amidst “mountains of rubble” practically since he arrived in Venezuela, where the twin earthquakes claimed the lives of close to 2,300 people, according to a death toll update on Thursday, and injured more than 11,000 others in places including the capital, Caracas, and the hard-hit state of La Guaira.
Without concern for the risks to his life, Jiménez has climbed across sections of collapsed walls and roofs of residential buildings as he searched for signs of life, La Silla Rota reported.
In a video posted to Facebook, he described the situation in Venezuela as a “true tragedy,” but said he was willing and able to do his bit to help those in need.
The commitment of Jiménez to his work, which he performs as a volunteer like all the other Topos Azteca, is shared by all the members of the group founded by Méndez, who at the age of 80 continues to do rescue work and also traveled to Venezuela.
“There is no hunger, no heat, no sleep,” Merry Valencia, another member of the Topos Azteca brigade, told the Associated Press, reciting part of the group’s code of conduct.
“There is no fear,” she added.
According to AP, the topos, after assessing the stability of collapsed structures, “split into small teams assigned to different sections of the debris” where they are working.
“They crawl through narrow openings and voids inside pancaked buildings. … They often use thermal cameras and other specialized equipment to search for signs of life,” the news agency reported.
“Armed with shovels, hand hammers and other tools, they slowly remove rubble, inch by inch, trying to avoid triggering further collapses.”
At the Mexico City International Airport, AP spoke to Germán Bello, a 39-year-old rescuer, on Tuesday before he flew to Venezuela to join other members of the Topos Azteca.
“The hardest part is telling someone that their loved one has died,” said Bello, an auto repair shop owner who was taking body bags with him to Venezuela as well as rescue equipment.
He, Jiménez and other members of the Topos Azteca will stay in Venezuela for extended periods as they work with local authorities and rescuers from around the world — including Mexican military personnel and rescue dogs — to search for survivors, or, as is unfortunately more likely now, recover the bodies of people from the rubble of buildings that collapsed. Jiménez will stay in Venezuela for two months. Bello does not know when he will return home, AP reported.
The history of the Topos Azteca
After the 1985 Mexico City earthquake toppled a significant number of buildings in the capital, Méndez went out to look for his brother in the Guerrero neighborhood, located near the historic center. He determined that his brother was fine so he turned his efforts to looking for survivors of the quake amid the rubble of collapsed buildings.
According to the newspaper Telediario, on the day of the earthquake — Sept. 19, 1985 — Méndez worked with young members of the military police for 10 hours to rescue a woman trapped in rubble in the neighborhood of Tlatelolco.
At that time, Telediario reported, he realized he had a mission in life — to help others. Méndez consequently founded the Topos Azteca International Brigade and has now worked with the group for four decades, saving a significant number of lives in the period.
Among the countries the Topos Azteca have deployed to are Chile, after a 2010 mining accident; Indonesia, after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami; and the United States, after the 2001 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York. The Topos Azteca have also worked in Haiti, Turkey, Morocco, New Zealand, Brazil and Spain, among other countries.
“When you have seen death and have had the opportunity to rescue someone … that instinct inside of you to preserve the human race just awakens,” Méndez told the Washington Post in 2021.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced the new sanctions, developed jointly with the Mexican financial intelligence unit UIF, on Tuesday. (US Treasury)
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned two Mexican individuals and nine entities allegedly involved in a fuel theft scheme linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
One of the two individuals sanctioned is Oscar Guillermo Juraidini Silva, who the Treasury Department (Treasury) said is “a key business person facilitating CJNG’s fuel theft enterprise.”
A tanker and IBC totes seized by Mexican authorities at an illegal border fuel distribution hub in Nuevo León in June. Fuel smuggling is “currently the most significant non-drug revenue source for Mexican cartels and other illicit actors,” according to the U.S. Treasury. (FGR via Cuartoscuro)
The other is J. Refugio Ruiz Villagomez, who Treasury said “has knowingly smuggled fuel from the United States into Mexico without proper permits.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Treasury announced sanctions against seven businesses owned by Juraidini, one of which is based in the United Kingdom. The other six businesses are in Mexico, mainly in northern states, and operate in the transportation, financial services and real estate sectors, Treasury said.
The two other sanctioned entities are México state-based logistics companies in which Ruiz “plays a role,” according to Treasury.
The OFAC sanctions block all U.S. assets of the designated persons and entities.
Treasury said on Tuesday that “Today’s action reflects strong collaboration between OFAC and FinCEN,” the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and was coordinated with various other U.S. authorities.
It added that the sanctions “were also developed jointly with the Government of Mexico’s financial intelligence unit, the Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF).”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that the move “highlights the extent to which Mexico’s cartels are expanding beyond traditional drug trafficking to generate revenue for their criminal organizations, which continue to traffic deadly drugs that kill Americans.”
“Treasury’s actions targeting these illicit revenue streams advance the Trump Administration’s priority of dismantling these terrorist organizations and making America safe again,” he said.
The modus operandi of fuel smuggling schemes
In its statement, Treasury said that the CJNG-linked fuel theft scheme involves “cross-border smuggling, falsified customs documents, and shell companies.”
It aims to “evade Mexican taxes while generating tens of millions of dollars annually for the cartel,” Treasury said.
(US Treasury)
In recent years, Treasury said, “Mexico-based drug trafficking cartels like CJNG have become increasingly involved in the theft, adulteration, and smuggling of hydrocarbons, such as fuel and oil, in schemes colloquially referred to in Mexico as huachicol,” or huachicol fiscal — a practice in which fuel brought into the country is mislabeled as waste oil, lubricants, vegetable oil or other liquids to avoid the taxes that apply to fuel.
“These schemes have grown into powerful revenue generators for CJNG through the theft of tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue for the Mexican government and have enabled CJNG campaigns of narcotics trafficking in the United States, violence against Mexican government forces along the U.S. southwest border, and corruption within Mexico,” Treasury said.
In a separate document, Treasury summarizes the “fuel smuggling methodology process” of Mexican cartels, including the CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel. According to Treasury, the process is as follows:
Complicit U.S. fuel traders purchase U.S. fuel at export terminals.
Purchased U.S. fuel is diverted to networks of complicit U.S. and Mexican front/shell companies.
The fuel is smuggled into Mexico by Mexican cartels and their huachicoleros (fuel thieves) without paying Mexican taxes on fuel imports.
The fuel is transported to Mexican storage yards under cartel control.
The fuel is sold to cartels’ front distribution companies and false sale invoices are created by Mexican brokers.
Front distribution companies commercialize fuel through cartel-controlled gas stations and/or roadside fuel stops.
Cartels use fuel profits to finance drug trafficking operations and corruption via political campaign contributions.
Treasury said that huachicol-related activities are “currently the most significant non-drug revenue source for Mexican cartels and other illicit actors.”
It noted that huachicoleros “use a variety of means to steal fuel and crude oil from Mexico’s state-owned energy company, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), including bribing corrupt Pemex employees, illegally drilling taps into pipelines, stealing from refineries, hijacking tanker trucks, and threatening Pemex employees.”
Fuel is also brought into the country using “fiscal fuel theft schemes” that “involve Mexico-based cartels and their huachicoleros smuggling gasoline, diesel, naphtha, and other fuel from the United States across the southern border or U.S. ports into Mexico in schemes to evade Mexico’s import tax on fuel, known as Impuesto Especial sobre Producción y Servicios (IEPS),” Treasury said.
The sanctioned individuals
Treasury said that Juraidini, a 41-year-old Tamaulipas native, “operates as an accountant and the mastermind behind certain financial operations for CJNG.”
“Juraidini creates and operates shell companies on behalf of CJNG, and falsifies customs documents for CJNG to aid in the illicit cross-border transfer of fuel,” Treasury said.
The two individuals sanctioned were Oscar Guillermo Juraidini Silva and J. Refugio Ruiz Villagomez. (US Treasury)
“Juraidini imports fuel from the United States into Mexico that is intentionally mislabeled in customs documentation to circumvent Mexican IEPS taxes,” the department said.
“The majority of Juraidini’s clients are gas station companies, which receive the refined fuel products and sell them via retail gas stations. Juraidini generates tens of millions of dollars annually, benefiting CJNG.”
Treasury said that OFAC designated Juraidini pursuant to two U.S. executive orders “for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, CJNG.”
His companies were designated “for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Oscar Guillermo Juraidini Silva,” Treasury said.
Treasury said that Ruiz, in order to smuggle fuel into Mexico from the United States without proper permits, “pays fees to cartels and other criminal organizations that control ports of entry between the United States and Mexico.”
Treasury said that according to investigative findings made public by Mexico’s Attorney General’s office, Jomadi — a firm in which Ruiz, a 64-year-old Guanajuato native, is said to play a role — “is an import and export company involved in huachicol fiscal.”
Jomadi and Ahavat — another company in which Ruiz is said to be involved — “have transacted through the U.S. financial system to the tune of tens of millions of dollars with third parties linked to CJNG that have been involved in huachicol-related activities,” Treasury said.
Hence, Ruiz and the two companies he allegedly works for were sanctioned by OFAC.
UIF blocks Mexican bank accounts of Juraidini, Ruiz and 9 others
Mexico’s Ministry of Finance (SHCP) noted in a statement on Tuesday that OFAC had sanctioned two individuals and nine entities allegedly linked to the CJNG-linked fuel theft/smuggling scheme.
The ministry said that its Financial Intelligence Unit, the UIF, “carried out the tax, financial and corporate analysis of the designated individuals, identifying possible evidence of operations with resources of illicit origin and discrepancies between the income reported to the tax authorities and the resources observed in the financial system.”
“As a result of those analyses and within the scope of its legal authority, the UIF added the individuals designated by OFAC, as well as nine additional people, to the List of Blocked Persons (LPB) with the aim of protecting the integrity of the national financial system and restricting its use for activities allegedly linked to operations with resources of illicit origin,” the SHCP said.
The ministry said that “the actions coordinated between Mexican and U.S. authorities strengthen the mechanisms of international cooperation to prevent the improper use of the financial system, combat transactions with resources of illicit origin and weaken financial structures that provide economic support to organizations dedicated to the theft and illegal commercialization of hydrocarbons.”
An "oustanding artificial signal" located in the Estadio Azteca area happened at 8:22 p.m. and captured by a seismic station located in Lomas de Sotelo in Naucalpan just north of the city limits. (Sismo Alerta Mexicana)
When Mexico’s Julián Quiñones scored in minute 22 of El Tri’s World Cup match against Ecuador at Mexico City Stadium on Tuesday, the exuberant celebrations that ensued caused vibrations that were detected by seismographs located in the capital.
The energy released by tens of thousands of fans jumping up and down simultaneously was captured by seismic monitoring instruments, which are sensitive enough to detect anthropogenic vibrations (movements generated by human activity).
Since it triggered quake monitors, calling Julián Quiñones’s go-ahead goal against Ecuador Tuesday night “earth-shattering” may not be as exaggerated as it sounds. (Moisés Pablo /Cuartoscuro.com)
According to a seismic alert, “an outstanding artificial signal” was registered at the Raspberry Shake station closest to the stadium in southern Mexico City.
Raspberry Shake stations are small, plug-and-play digital seismographs used by universities and researchers to monitor microseismicity, local tremors and even “artificial earthquakes” caused by massive crowd celebrations.
The Institute of Geological and Atmospheric Research (IIEGA) confirmed that an artificial earthquake was recorded in the perimeter of Estadio Azteca at 8:22 p.m. and captured by a seismic station located in Lomas de Sotelo near Naucalpan just north of the capital.
The IIGEA did not specify the intensity its instruments registered, but the newspaper Milenio speculated that it was likely above 1 degree on the Richter scale.
John E. Vidale, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center, has said that such fan-induced earthquakes would generate no more than a 2 on the Richter Scale, which would go unnoticed by the public if it were a typical quake.
A social media account named Sismo Alerta Mexicana (Mexican Seismic Alert) also commented on the incident, saying that two seismic stations detected “rapid vibration of people jumping at the same time.”
Describing the registered activity as a “sharp and collective thud against the ground that generates short surface waves,” the account specified that the instruments could distinguish that it was not a real earthquake.
“These are instruments that detect earthquakes on the other side of the world, so their sensitivity is extremely high,” a subsequent post explained.
The incident brings to mind a similar occurrence during a Mexico game at the World Cup held in Russia eight years ago.
Thirty-five minutes into El Tri’s June 17, 2018, match against defending champion Germany, Hirving Lozano scored, setting off raucous celebrations across Mexico.
Two monitoring stations in Mexico City picked up signals of a temblor at roughly the same time Lozano scored.
The following day, The Guardian newspaper reported that the IIGEA “said highly sensitive earthquake sensors registered tremors at two sites in Mexico City, seven seconds after the game’s 35th minute,” calling the tremors an artificial earthquake.
First Coast News reported that seismologists in Chile also said that their instruments detected an artificial temblor at the same time.
“In general, it is safe to travel to Mexico," President Claudia Sheinbaum said in response to the British travel warning. "We’ve seen that throughout the entire World Cup.” (Andrea Murcia / Cuartoscuro.com)
With England set to play a World Cup match in Mexico City on Sunday, the U.K. government issued updated travel recommendations that warned of Mexico’s “risks related to crime and violence.”
The British travel alert prompted President Sheinbaum to once again defend her country’s preparedness in response to dire cautions from abroad.
“Es seguro visitar el país, no tiene ningún problema”: 🇲🇽😉 La presidenta Sheinbaum responde a la alerta de viaje emitida por Reino Unido y asegura que México ofrece condiciones para recibir a los visitantes.#GFpic.twitter.com/MaipJqELok
Ahead of the soccer tournament for which Mexico serves as co-host, the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) issued a World Cup travel guide. Among the featured sections about Mexico were “Warnings and insurance,” “Safety and security” and “Regional risks.”
It includes warnings against visiting specific regions of Mexico. Eleven states, primarily in the north, were mentioned as particularly dangerous (“Take extreme care outside tourist areas in all these states,” it cautioned) and British nationals were advised to be aware of restricted areas and surroundings.
After England advanced to Sunday’s Round of 16 match against Mexico at Mexico City Stadium (FIFA’s name for Estadio Azteca), the FCDO revamped its guidebook, anticipating that fans of The Three Lions team would attend the game en masse.
The updated alert retained the original cautions and added some new ones. For example, the FCDO said, “During the tournament, there has been an increase in reports of mobile phone thefts and adulteration of drinks.”
The United Kingdon advisory included a map showing updated travel recommendations for Mexico by state. (FCDO)
It even included the reports of fan deaths in Mexico City (from overcrowding, not “crime and violence”) during Tuesday night’s celebrations after El Tri’s victory over Ecuador.
While acknowledging that celebrations in Mexico City have gotten rather extreme, Sheinbaum said the federal government has been in contact with the Mexico City mayor’s office to better coordinate crowd control and reduce excessive congestion, especially on Reforma Avenue, the most popular gathering spot.
“It is difficult to expect police officers to be able to contain a million people,” she said, adding that federal and local authorities will continue to urge the public to act responsibly.
“In general, it is safe to travel to Mexico, there have been no problems,” she said. “We’ve seen that throughout the entire World Cup.”
The FCDO reminded citizens that traveling against its recommendations could affect the validity of travel insurance taken out by British citizens.
It also said that if a passport is lost or stolen, an Emergency Travel Document provided by the British Embassy cannot be used to enter the U.S. from Mexico. In this case, even if you had plans to go to the U.S. for a subsequent World Cup match, you’d have no choice but to return to the U.K.
Meanwhile in England, the government bowed to pressure from fans and businesses and will allow pubs to stay open past the usual closing times, when Sunday’s game will be taking place in that time zone.
Fans celebrate a goal against Ecuador on Tuesday at the Zócalo fan festival in Mexico City. (Camila Ayala Benabib / Cuartoscuro.com)
With each of Mexico’s World Cup victories over the past three weeks, more and more soccer fans took to the streets of Mexico City to celebrate.
In this week’s “Mexico in Numbers” article, we’ll look at how the number of revelers celebrating El Tri’s wins in the vicinity of the Angel of Independence (El Ángel) monument on Paseo de la Reforma has grown. We’ll also compare those numbers to the size of the crowd at a free Shakira concert staged earlier this year in the Zócalo, Mexico City’s main square.
Esta noche más de 800 mil personas celebran en las calles de la #CapitalDeLaTransformación el triunfo histórico de nuestra selección. Celebremos protegiéndonos todos y sin generar riesgos.
Following El Tri’s 1-0 win over South Korea in Guadalajara on June 18, around 400,000 people reveled in the victory around El Ángel, the Mexico City government reported. Thus the number of merrymakers increased166% compared to the previous week.
Mexico defeated Czechia 3-0 in its third and final group stage match, played at Estadio Azteca on June 24. Following El Tri’s victory, more than 800,000 people celebrated in the streets of the capital, said Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada, making an apparent reference to the area around El Ángel. That figure represents a 433% increase compared to the number of celebrants after the South Africa match, and a 100% increase compared to the number of revelers after the South Korea match.
Mexico’s first elimination match
While it was widely reported that around 1 million people celebrated in the vicinity of El Ángel after Mexico’s 2-0 victory over Ecuador on Tuesday night, the Mexico City government announced a lower number on Wednesday.
According to the government, 820,000 people celebrated the win on Paseo de la Reforma near el Ángel, at the nearby Monument to the Revolution and on Juárez Avenue in the historic center of Mexico City. That figure represents a 2.5% increase compared to the 800,000 celebrants after the Mexico-Czechia match, a 105% increase compared to the 400,000 revelers after the Mexico-South Korea match and a 447% increase compared to the 150,000 merrymakers after the Mexico-South Africa match.
The Mexico City government also reported that 484,000 people attended fan festivals in Mexico City during the Mexico-Ecuador match, including the official FIFA one in the Zócalo, while 95,000 people celebrated El Tri’s victory in and around Estadio Azteca.
Thus, some 1.4 million people celebrated Mexico’s win in public places in Mexico City, according to the local government. Mayor Brugada said Wednesday that the crowds on the streets and in public places on Tuesday night were the largest on record in Mexico City and “probably” the largest ever in all of Mexico.
The Shakira benchmark
Shakira, the Colombian pop superstar, performed a free concert in the Zócalo in March that, according to the Mexico City government, drew more than 400,000 people to the central square as well as the Alameda Central park and the Plaza de la República, where the concert was shown on large screens. The 400,000 turnout for Shakira’s concert was the largest on record for a free concert in the Zócalo.
That number of concertgoers is 2.67 times greater than the 150,000 people who celebrated Mexico’s victory over South Africa near El Ángel. It is equal to the number of celebrants after El Tri’s victory over South Korea, but just half the number of people who took to the streets after Mexico’s win against Czechia.
Compared to the Shakira concert, the total number of people who celebrated Mexico’s Tuesday night win over Ecuador in the streets and other public places in Mexico City — 1.4 million — was 3.5 times greater. In percentage terms, the increase was 250%.
The St. Regis Costa Mujeres resort, a new Marriot brand resort located on the Costa Mujeres peninsula north of Cancún. (Mara Lezama/X)
The Mexican Caribbean continues to strengthen its reputation as a luxury destination with the opening of the St. Regis Costa Mujeres, an ultra-luxury resort developed with a US $250 million investment on the mainland of Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo.
The new hotel complex, operated by Marriott International in partnership with the development group AB Living, reinforces foreign investment confidence in one of the country’s most dynamic tourist hubs, Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez Zamora said during the resort’s opening ceremony.
“Each new investment is a sign of confidence in our country, in our communities, and in the enormous potential that tourism has to transform lives by generating employment, development, and well-being,” Rodríguez said.
During the construction phase, the project generated some 2,000 jobs, boosting local economic activity and the hiring of workers from nearby municipalities such as Benito Juárez and Isla Mujeres.
As it begins operations, the resort will start with around 250 employees and is projected to reach 350 direct jobs in its first year, in addition to positions related to supplies, transportation and tourist services.
During the opening ceremony, Idu Riberio, General Manager of The St. Regis Costa Mujeres Resort, welcomed guests and reflected on the significance of the opening for both the brand and the destination, before taking guests to a guided tour of the property.
Designed by the Mexican firm Sordo Madaleno, the resort incorporates architectural and artistic references inspired by Mayan heritage and the natural environment of the Yucatán Peninsula. The design seeks to integrate local cultural elements into a hospitality experience focused on international travelers who value design, privacy and personalized service.
The St. Regis Costa Mujeres adds 213 rooms to Quintana Roo’s lodging inventory, with 163 rooms and 50 suites geared toward the high-end market.
These luxurious rooms join the 11,500 hotel new rooms that the state plans to open throughout the year, Governor Mara Lezama said in an interview with Imagen Radio, solidifying Costa Mujeres as a strategic corridor within the Mexican Caribbean.
