Sheinbaum and Fraser expressed optimism for the economic collaboration between Mexico and the banking giant. (Claudia Sheinbaum/X)
President Claudia Sheinbaum discussed opportunities for collaboration with Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser on Monday, including ways the bank can support the Mexican president’s economic development initiatives.
Sheinbaum posted a brief message on social media, lauding the bank executive’s “intelligence” and the “big opportunities” awaiting Mexico. (Claudia Sheinbaum/X)
“It’s always an honor and a privilege to chat with President Sheinbaum, to express the confidence that both Citi and Banamex have in the country’s perspectives, and to confirm our commitment to Mexico,” Fraser said in a statement.
Sheinbaum posted a brief message on social media, lauding the bank executive’s “intelligence” and the “big opportunities” awaiting Mexico. Fraser described the meeting as productive, noting discussions on “a variety of projects that promote economic growth and equitable social development.”
Their statements made no mention of Citi’s proposed initial public offering (IPO) of Banamex, its retail banking arm that it separated from on Dec. 1, 2024, after operating as Citibanamex for over 20 years.
Citi acquired Banamex, one of Mexico’s oldest and most prestigious bank brands, for US $12.5 billion in 2001. According to the newspaper The Financial Times, Citibanamex struggled to compete in a market dominated by other foreign lenders and fell from Mexico’s second-largest bank to its fourth due to poor management, bloated costs and U.S. regulatory constraints.
In January 2022, Citigroup began efforts to sell Banamex and nearly closed a US $7 billion deal with Grupo México — a conglomerate owned by Mexican billionaire German Larrea — in February 2023.
The transaction fizzled in May 2023 after then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador interfered, complicating the process by requiring pro-labor concessions, such as demanding layoff protections for workers.
Following Citi’s decision to pursue an IPO instead of selling Banamex outright, López Obrador floated the idea that the Mexican government would enter the bidding process if no other deal materialized. The government scuttled that idea just a few months late, opting for a “different path” without providing further details.
The tourism revenue Mexico is expecting in late April is 4.4% higher than in 2024. (Carlos Alberto Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico is expected to attract 282 billion pesos (US $13.6 billion) from tourism during the Easter holiday, known locally as Semana Santa, or Holy Week, the Tourism Ministry (Sectur) reported on Monday. This marks an increase of 4.4% compared to the same period last year.
According to Sectur, an estimated 14.7 million tourists are expected to travel to Mexico’s various destinations during the upcoming vacation period, which spans Saturday, April 12 to Sunday, April 27.
Millones de turistas, derrama económica y ocupación hotelera se espera en los maravillosos destinos de nuestro país. 🇲🇽
¡Gracias a todas y todos los que hacen del turismo una fuerza que impulsa a México! 🌞🏖️✈️
The head of Sectur, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, said the agency expects an average occupancy rate of 65.7% across Mexico, marking a 2.2% increase on the same period in 2024.
Meanwhile, popular beach destinations, traditional towns (pueblos mágicos) and traditional religious sites, such as Iztapalapa, Taxco, Morelia, Oaxaca and Los Remedios in México state, could see occupancy rates of up to 90%.
Sectur highlighted some of the destinations with the highest anticipated occupancy rates during Holy Week:
Nuevo Nayarit: 88.3%
Riviera Maya: 87.1%
Cancún: 84%
Puerto Vallarta: 82.7%
Bahías de Huatulco: 80.2%
Querétaro: 76.4%
Monterrey: 76%
Tecate: 75.6%
Mérida: 72.7%
Mazatlán: 71.4%
Campeche: 69%
An estimated 6.57 million will stay in Mexico’s hotels during Easter, including around 4.85 million domestic tourists and 1.72 million foreign visitors, according to Sectur.
In addition to staying in hotels, approximately 7.46 million domestic tourists will stay with family and friends or in second homes. Meanwhile, around 716,000 international tourists are expected to use digital lodging platforms, such as Airbnb.
Income from lodging is expected to total around 15.6 billion pesos ($753.9 billion) during Holy Week, according to Rodríguez.
“These figures reflect tourist confidence in Mexico and the government’s commitment to maintaining a diverse, safe and competitive tourism offering,” said Rodríguez.
The businesses that will benefit the most from the influx of Easter tourism include lodging, transportation, restaurants, food vendors, stores and tourism service providers, including thousands of small and medium-sized businesses across Mexico.
Popular beach destinations Cancún, Nuevo Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta could see occupancy rates of up to 90% during this year’s Holy Week. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico City is expected to attract 21.27 billion pesos ($1 billion) in revenue during Holy Week, marking a 29.4% increase on the previous year, according to the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism of Mexico City.
Which beaches to avoid
Domestic and foreign visitors alike will be flocking to Mexico’s beaches during Holy Week. However, it is worth following the guidelines from the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris), which has deemed six Mexican beaches unfit for tourists due to coastal sewage pollution.
Cofepris assessed over 2,000 samples of seawater collected at 393 locations for its Clean Beaches 2025 water quality monitoring program. It found that 98% of beaches in Mexico met the necessary standard for recreational use: fewer than 200 MPN (Most Probable Number) fecal enterococci in 100 ml of water. However, six beaches were found to exceed acceptable levels of fecal enterococci.
The beaches Cofepris deemed contaminated include Rosarito and Rosarito I, as well as Tijuana and Tijuana I in Baja California, Icacos Beach in Acapulco, Guerrero and Sayulita in Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit.
While Oasis Beach in Puerto Vallarta, in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, exceeded the acceptable level in Cofepris’s December 2024 assessment, it has since met the standard for recreational use.
Fourteen-year-old twins Mía and Lía Cueva Lobato, from Guadalajara, took home a historic silver medal in the women’s 3-meter synchronized springboard final. (Fernando Carranza García/Cuartoscuro)
Diving, a sport at which Mexico has historically excelled, drew national pride once again in the latest edition of the World Aquatics Diving World Cup in Guadalajara, Jalisco, with two golds and four silver medals.
The competition took place from April 3 to 6, at the Zapopan Aquatic Center.
La clavadista mexicana Lía Cueva participa en su primera final individual en una Copa del Mundo de Clavados, compitiendo desde el trampolín de 3 metros femenil, en Guadalajara, Jalisco. 🇲🇽💦 pic.twitter.com/cf27ScTag2
Fourteen-year-old twins Mía and Lía Cueva Lobato, from Guadalajara, took home a historic silver medal in the women’s 3-meter synchronized springboard final, earning an impressive 298.08 points across five rounds.
The podium included China, who took the gold, and Australia, who earned the bronze.
After securing the gold, Lía revealed that the twins dream of representing Mexico in the upcoming Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
“This is [just] the beginning,” Lía said. “We’ll try to give it our all in the competitions that follow and reach our goal, the Los Angeles Olympic Games.”
The Cueva sisters began diving at 11 years old following the lead of their sister Suri, who also participated in Guadalajara’s Diving World Cup. The sister’s participation marked the first time three siblings represented Mexico in a world diving competition. This was also the twin’s first-ever international diving competition.
Mexico’s male divers take home two golds
In a historic synchronized performance, Osmar Olvera and Juan Celaya became the first Mexicans to win a Diving World Cup title on April 6.
The Olympic duo that brought home a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics were crowned champions on Sunday in the three-meter springboard synchronized diving competition, with a final score of 430.23 points. The runner-up spot went to China, while the bronze went to Great Britain.
In a historic day for Mexico’s diving community, the Olympic duo Osmar Olvera and Juan Celaya became the first Mexicans to win a Diving World Cup title — and on home turf. (Comité Olímpico Mexicano/X)
In an interview with ESPN, Olvera noted that “it is a feat in any competition to beat the Chinese.” Meanwhile, Celaya, who holds one gold and one silver medal from previous world cups, said that listening to the national anthem from the podium and seeing the support of the crowds and his family — in his home country — “is the most beautiful thing.”
Sunday’s second gold was secured by Randal Willars in the 10-meter platform competition, marking a historic day for Mexican divers.
HISTORY MADE 🇲🇽🥇
Randal Willars Valdez claims his first-ever #Diving World Cup gold — and he did it in front of a roaring home crowd in Guadalajara!
Flawless dives, massive score (547.70), and a golden moment for Mexico! 💥 pic.twitter.com/N3vPLlXetP
Adding another silver to Mexico’s medal tally, Alejandra Estudillo and Gabriela Agúndez (also a medalist at Tokyo 2020), took silver in the women’s synchronized event.
Willars and partner Kevin Berlin also bounced back after missing out on a medal at Paris 2024 to take silver in the men’s synchronized platform contest.
In the individual 3-meter springboard competition, Celaya also claimed another silver medal, rounding out a brilliant performance for the host country.
One former United States official who NBC said is "familiar" with the Trump administration’s plans said that the recent U.S. drone and spy plane flights over and near Mexico are "looking to build a target deck" to attack cartels. (Especial/Cuartoscuro)
Are these missions a precursor to U.S. drone strikes on Mexican cartels? Possibly, according to an exclusive NBC News report published on Tuesday.
Since his first day in office, the U.S. president has said that using direct force to “take out” cartels “could happen.” (@WhiteHouse/X)
Citing information from six current and former U.S. military, law enforcement and intelligence officials with purported knowledge of U.S. security discussions, NBC reported that the Trump administration is considering carrying out drone strikes on cartels in Mexico.
The sources told NBC that White House, Pentagon and intelligence officials have discussed the possibility of launching drone strikes against cartel figures and their logistical networks in Mexico with the cooperation of the Mexican government.
NBC’s sources also said that unilateral covert action against cartels in Mexico — i.e. without the Mexican government’s consent — has not been ruled out and could be an option of last resort.
NBC said it was “unclear whether American officials have floated the possibility of drone strikes to the Mexican government.”
When asked on the first day of his second term whether he would consider “ordering U.S. special forces into Mexico” to “take out” cartels, the U.S. president said it “could happen.”
President Claudia Sheinbaum promptly rebuffed that declaration. With regard to the CIA drone flights over Mexico, Sheinbaum said in February that her government had requested them in order to obtain information to be able to respond to prevailing “security conditions.”
In late February, The Wall Street Journal reported that in his first call with top Mexican military officials, United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “that if Mexico didn’t deal with the collusion between the country’s government and drug cartels, the U.S. military was prepared to take unilateral action.”
US surveillance flights ‘looking to build a target deck’
One former United States official who NBC said is “familiar” with the Trump administration’s plans said that the recent U.S. drone and spy plane flights over and near Mexico are “looking to build a target deck.”
NBC’s sources said that targets could include cartel members, vehicles and warehouses and other parts of their networks in Mexico. Those networks include clandestine drug labs that are frequently dismantled by Mexican authorities.
NBC reported that “what the Trump administration is contemplating could be unprecedented” in the context of U.S.-Mexico security collaboration, “both in the number of U.S. personnel involved and in the use of American unmanned aircraft to bomb cartel personnel and assets.”
NEW: The Trump administration is considering launching drone strikes on drug cartels in Mexico, according to six current and former U.S. military, law enforcement and intelligence officials. https://t.co/03HXrEmVss
The six former and current officials said that the Trump administration’s refusal to publicly rule out unilateral U.S. military action in Mexico, as well as tariffs on imports from Mexico and other measures, could push the Mexican government to agree to joint operations it wouldn’t previously have agreed to.
“There is no doubt if there were unilateral action inside Mexico, this would put the bilateral relationship into a nosedive,” said Sarukhán, who is now a consultant and academic based in Washington D.C.
“It would be put in a tailspin, as it would represent a violation of international law and an act of war,” he said.
Sarukhán, ambassador during the presidency of Felipe Calderón, said that Mexico’s failure to combat cartels and transnational drug traffickingt over the past decade has tried the patience of the United States.
“At the end of the day, it’s Mexico’s failings and mistakes that have put us in this position today,” he said.
Mexico's latest social media hero is an elderly woman who shot three alleged squatters on her family's property in México state. (General AI-generated image for illustrative purposes)
I first heard about the so-called“Killer Granny” from the woman who helps me with housework.
“It’s all over the news!” she said.
For many in Mexico, Carlota N., “the killer granny” has become an Everywoman for millions of Mexicans who feel impotent in the face of crime. (Internet)
She seemed ambivalently excited about it. On the one hand, it’s awful for people to die violent deaths. On the other hand, well, when authorities won’t enforce an already difficult-to-enforce law, what options are there for you to get justice?
I made a mental note to read about it later but forgot: my memory is basically a fishnet bag, much too easy for things to fall out of. I didn’t have to remember, though, because I soon saw Mexico News Daily’s own article about it.
I immediately thought of the United States’ own most recent “folk hero” killer. Luigi Mangione, of course, is now known far and widefor having killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
To many, this was a justified, if unsavory, act, and many hailed Mangione as a hero. Bankruptcy, continued suffering and death are common results of U.S. insurance companies refusing to cover medically necessary care. Most people know at least someone — in many cases, lots of people — who’ve suffered greatly because their insurance provider refused to cover needed care.
So, yes. Ask people in the U.S. if they think murder is wrong, and you’ll get a resounding “absolutely!” Ask people if murder is wrong in very specific circumstances, and you’ll get some more nuanced answers. Killing someone who’s done nothing to you — bad. Killing someone whom you know the justice system will never touch might be a different story.
Mexicans, it turns out, feel the same way by and large.
Carlota N., left, was arrested along with her daughter, Mariana N., center, and her son Eduardo N., right. Mariana, according to authorities, was the legal owner of the property in question. (Internet)
Only, the person in question here is an older woman wielding a gun. In case you haven’t read the article, here’s the gist of it:
A woman named Carlota — whose adult daughter, Mariana N., is the owner of what Mariana claimed was an illegally occupied property — arrived with a pistol at said property with Mariana as well as with Mariana’s brother, also an adult, who is seen in videos also holding a pistol.
What was caught on a security camera was Carlota confronting the occupants on the home’s lawn with her two children. She then shot three people: a 19-year-old who died instantly, a 51-year-old who died later at a hospital and a teenage survivor who was hospitalized.
There are still quite a few unanswered questions in this case. For example, did the alleged squatters know they were squatters? They allegedly claimed to have had a rental agreement, though they couldn’t produce it in time for Carlota’s satisfaction. This is understandable: I doubt anyone would have the presence of mind to think of solutions with a gun in their face.
Other questions: Had someone rented the house to them without the occupants knowing it wasn’t theirs to rent? Also: Carlota’s daughter Mariana N. had gone to México state authorities without any resolution, but how long did Mariana wait without action by authorities before turning to her mother for a solution?
For many, the answers to these questions were either assumed or considered unimportant. This sociological wisdom is something that’s rung true for me every time, and this case is no exception: If something is believed to be real, then it is real in its consequences.
As I looked through video after video on the subject, I kept an eye on the comments. Here’s a typical sampling:
“It’s impotence that moves people to these extremes.”
“What’s really sad is having to take justice into one’s own hands.”
Shoppers browse the selection of weapons at Mexico’s only gun shop. Buying a gun legally in Mexico has strict requirements and necessitates jumping through many hoops. Few people here own documented guns. (File photo/Cuartoscuro)
“It’s just that we’re sick of these kinds of people who invade property, and of the authorities who pay no mind to these cases.”
“I know people whose property’s been invaded for more than 20 years, and they still can’t get them out!”
“That woman showed us how justice should be carried out in these times… If the authorities ignore our complaints, then they’re basically gifting us the power of taking justice into our own hands.”
And on and on and on. Clearly, many people felt that the violence in this case was justified.
How big of a problem is squatting in Mexico?
Actually, it’s pretty significant. I personally know people who’ve had their property stolen; it’s not always by squatters. Plenty of cases have involved rich developers swiping land plots and paying off authorities too. I say this mostly because I want to take away the perception that this is only something perpetrated by poor people.
That said, the law is most definitely not on the side of owners. Once someone else takes hold of your property,it’s not easy to get rid of them. At all. To do so is a long, complicated and expensive process. And even so, anyone who’s lived in Mexico long enough knows how the law here both does and doesn’t work.
Frequently, squatters are families taking over abandoned homes or building makeshift structures on unoccupied land. But a newer problem has developed with criminal groups taking over unoccupied rental properties to use for illicit activity. (Christian Serna/Cuartoscuro)
This is because citizens’ right to “dignified housing” is protected by the Mexican constitution. Try kicking someone out of dignified housing — even if their name isn’t on the deed — and you could run into trouble. To bypass the law, some owners try other means of “smoking out” squatters.
This might include cutting off water to the house or even sending extrajudicial thugs to oust them. If they can prove you did that, though, then they become the victims before the law, not you.
So that’s the context of this incident: if Carlota is to be believed, squatters took over her daughter’s home. Knowing she’d not easily be able to get them out, she “ousted” them herself.
And judging from the public response, quite a lot of people are familiar with — and are mad about — this very common form of injustice. They’re holding Carlota up like many in the U.S. held up Mangione.
What will happen in this case? Time will tell. But chances are, Carlota’s new permanent home will be a jail cell, her plan having backfired spectacularly.
Eggshells and volcanic rock clinkers, also called scoria, are the secret to H2O Lerma's success. (John Pint)
The Lerma River originates in the state of Mexico, flows into Lake Chapala and emerges in Jalisco as the Santiago River. The two rivers are among the most polluted in the country, contaminated by so much human and industrial waste that treatment plants are overwhelmed, exposing locals to a toxic environment and a nauseating stench.
Numerous projects have been launched to clean up the Lerma-Santiago river system, but none have succeeded, prompting people living alongside the rivers to seek their own solutions.
The Santiago River is one of Mexico’s most polluted. (Universidad de Guadalajara)
Two of these grassroots approaches have stood the test of time. Both are schemes to filter the noxious river water, one employing eggshells and the other volcanic tezontle stones also known as clinkers or scoria.
The eggshell movement got its start around 2019 when Lerma resident Elvia Evangelina Árias discovered that her neighbor, a water researcher named Verónica Martínez Miranda, had clean water coming out of her tap. In contrast, Árias’s water was yellow and smelly.
The homemade eggshell filter
Both Árias and Martínez got their water from wells partially contaminated by the Lerma River, but Martínez had protected her well with a homemade filter made of eggshells, lime and magnesium oxide.
Says Árias: “From Dr. Martínez I learned that eggshells — which are made of calcium carbonate — contain countless tiny pores that trap heavy metals and contaminants like nitrogen and phosphorus.”
Elvia Evangelina Árias supervises the collection of five tons of eggshells per month to help filter noxious river water (Ulises Martínez)
From this conversation, a plan was formed: to create filters around wells near the Lerma River. The filters would be ditches filled with eggshells, quicklime and magnesium, and the aim would be to transform contaminated wells into sources of clean, drinkable water.
With this in mind, Árias and Martínez formed a civil society organization called H2O Lerma con Encanto which put out a call for eggshells.
The response was widespread and surprising. People all over began to save their eggshells and to take them to collection centers, which forwarded them to H2O Lerma.
Clean water from contaminated wells
“We made 10 protective barriers around 10 wells,” Árias told me. “Our barriers filter out the contaminants from the river. Each well is different and each requires a study. For example, you can add dolomite or iron filings, if needed— it all depends on the contaminants present. The upshot is that all 10 wells are now producing clean, potable water and they will continue to produce it for five to 40 years, depending on how close the well is to the river.”
Dr. Verónica Martínez developed an inexpensive filter to protect wells located near polluted rivers.
After demonstrating the effectiveness of their filters near Mexico City and Toluca, plans were made to protect a well near the town of El Salto on the bank of the Santiago River in Jalisco. Hundreds of people contributed eggshells from all over the state.
In August of 2021, however, local authorities intervened, citing legal requirements that had not been met. Practically overnight, the project had to be abandoned in Jalisco.
Five tons of eggshells
In the state of Mexico, however, the donation of eggshells continued unabated and today has reached the point where around five tons are collected every month.
A volunteer from the Toluca Rotary Club collects eggshells on a street corner. (Rotary International)
H2O Lerma, however, has started using Martínez’s system for a new purpose: to help wastewater treatment plants do their job better.
“We are creating eggshell biofilters for these plants,” says Árias, “for example, we are helping a treatment plant in the town of Jocotitlán meet its standards. It used to have to pay a fine for not meeting them! Now, thanks to our filters, the plant’s consumption of electricity has been reduced, at times by 50 percent.”
While the use of eggshell filters has been put on hold in Jalisco, a different approach to cleaning contaminated water — using volcanic rock — is presently undergoing testing on the banks of the Santiago at one of its most polluted points, alongside the town of Juanacaxtle.
Toxic water, desperate farmers
“All along the trajectory from Lake Chapala to Guadalajara,” says water researcher Joshua Greene, “there are 2,000 families that have concessions to use the river for irrigation purposes. They are trying to eke out a living by farming, and when the weather gets dry, they have no choice but to irrigate their crops with the malodorous, toxic, river water.”
“They’re using it to grow wheat and oats and hopefully not so much for vegetables. Are they concerned? They certainly are, in fact, they don’t consume the stuff that grows on their own land because they know what they’re putting on it. So they sell it and buy their wheat and oats from somewhere else.”
Eggshells and tezontle clinkers.
Clinkers to the rescue
In 2016 Greene helped local people get funding to build the prototype of a simple filtration system that might allow farmers to take the filthy water from the river and transform it into grey water suitable for irrigation purposes.
This filter, known as a constructed wetland, is a channel filled with a cheap, readily available volcanic rock called tezontle in Mexican Spanish and scoria or volcanic clinkers in English. This lightweight rock is full of holes which are home to bacteria that break down human waste.
Reeds and certain flowers are then planted in the bed of wet tezontle to absorb chemicals and heavy metals.
“We set up our system for educational purposes,” says Greene, “to show what might be possible. It measures 4 by 16 meters, but you could make something simpler: just a channel the width of a backhoe would do the trick. It’s on the property of a farmer whose family now happily uses the water that comes from it to grow things like moringa and tobacco and to water a small orchard.”
The pros and cons of using eggshell and tezontle filters to clean dirty water are presently being looked into by the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum. Worried Mexicans living alongside the Lerma, the Santiago and many other polluted rivers are hopeful that the great clean-up of filthy rivers will finally become a reality.
John Pint has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 years and is the author of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors in Western Mexico.” More of his writing can be found on his website.
Trump's newest Mexico-related social media posts and Sheinbaum's favorite new music were also covered at the Monday morning presser. (Presidencia)
At her Monday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about her upcoming trip to Honduras and revealed she was surprised by some of U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media activity over the weekend.
She also gave presidential endorsements to a deceased Mexican singer-songwriter from the state of Guanajuato and an active musical group from Tijuana.
Sheinbaum: It’s an ‘important time’ to talk about Latin American and Caribbean unity
Sheinbaum said that the first reason why she decided to attend the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Wednesday is “because we love Xiomara [Castro], the president of Honduras, and she invited us and it’s hard to say no to her.”
“She’s very persistent, I already said that, so she convinced me [to go],” she said.
Sheinbaum said on Friday that she would attend the CELAC summit, but only “for around two hours.”
On Monday, the president indicated that she wasn’t initially inclined to attend the regional summit “because we have a lot of work here.”
Over 30 nations are members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). (Ecuador Ministry of Foreign Relations/Flickr)
Being away, even if it’s just for half a day, means that one doesn’t have the opportunity to attend to “other issues,” she said.
Sheinbaum told reporters that the second reason why she decided to attend the CELAC summit is because she believes it’s “an important time to talk about the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Sheinbaum said she’s not going to Tegucigalpa just to engage with like-minded presidents from the “progressive” side of politics, but rather to discuss “the importance of expanding the Latin America and Caribbean relationship.”
“We’re a region with enormous potential, with a very close culture. And this is part of what I’m going to propose,” she said.
Trump has previously expressed admiration for the strong imagery used in Mexico’s anti-fentanyl ad campaign. (Secretaría de Salud)
Sheinbaum said she sent the videos to Trump a week or so ago, and applauded his decision to share them given the worldwide reach of his social media posts.
“A lot of people in the whole world look at President Trump’s social media,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that Trump’s decision to post the two videos to Truth Social amounted to “recognition” that “the phenomenon of drugs or drug addiction” is not just a matter of combating the trafficking of drugs within Mexico and to the United States, but also of stopping people from taking drugs in the first place.
“There is a substantive part, which is addressing the causes,” she said. “Why does a young woman or young man start to use a drug?”
“Everything,” Sheinbaum responded before giving a shout-out to José Alfredo Jiménez, a long-deceased singer-songwriter from Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, who was known as “El Rey de la Canción Ranchera” (The King of Ranchera Music) or simply “El Rey” — the title of one of his most iconic songs.
“Anything more recent,” probed the reporter.
“More recent? I listen to Grupo Firme,” Sheinbaum said, providing a presidential endorsement of the regional Mexican music band from Tijuana.
“… I also listen to a lot of oldies because they’re from my time. I also like to listen to rock, I listen to rock en español a lot,” she said.
While the Zócalo in Mexico City naturally drew the biggest crowd, modern technology enabled more than 500,000 to participate in the National Boxing Class at other sites across the country. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
President Claudia Sheinbaum led a historic National Boxing Class in Mexico City’s Zócalo square on Sunday, drawing a reported 42,000 participants in the capital alone, with a nationwide attendance of about 500,000, according to the president’s social media.
Beginning at 9 a.m., the event was held simultaneously in public squares in every Mexican state, such as Plaza del Ángel in the city of Chihuahua, where more than 10,000 people participated, and Plaza Mayor in Torreón, Coahuila, where the turnout was 1,500.
President Sheinbaum was an eager participant at the event, and made a point of reminding everybody of its purpose: “Yes to education, yes to sports, yes to peace, yes to love.” (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
The event was not held in 2024, and this year, officials opted to not seek Guinness recertification as the largest boxing class in the world.
According to a press release, the event was part of Mexico’s National Security Strategy, a framework introduced in 2019 during the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
One of its tenets is “Attention to Causes,” which aims to reduce crime, violence, recruitment into cartels and other social ills by various means — one of which is providing opportunities for young people.
The mass class thus served to promote increased youth participation in community sports, including boxing. It was organized with the support of the Mexico-based World Boxing Council (WBC).
The event at the Zócalo, which was beamed to other sites, featured legendary boxing figuressuch as Julio César Chávez, Roberto Durán, Óscar de la Hoya, Marco Antonio Barrera and Mariana “La Barbie” Juárez.
Participants in the National Boxing Class enjoyed the presence of legendary practitioners of the sweet science, including one who’s often considered the greatest Mexican boxer ever — Julio César Chávez. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
They shared their passion for the sport with young people from all over Mexico, and with prisoners, too, as the event was held in prisons, as well.
A ponytailed Sheinbaum, wearing a white “National Boxing Class” T-shirt, emphasized sport as a tool for social transformation.
“Young Mexicans say: No to violence, no to addiction,” she said. “The people of Mexico say: Yes to education, yes to sports, yes to peace, yes to love.”
Held on the International Day of Sport for Peace, the class included 45 minutes of drills led by the aforementioned boxers.
Mexican Mauricio Sulaimán, the WBC president, was on the stage as well, where he proclaimed, “Being in Mexico City’s Zócalo is an honor … Seeing that we’re all making history together is something that moves me greatly.”
In Chihuahua, participants trained with WBC female super-bantamweight champion Yamileth Mercado, while other states hosted sessions led by local stars, such as former world champion and current Chamber of Deputies Representative Erik Morales in Tijuana and World Boxing Hall of Fame member José “Pipino” Cuevas in Hidalgo.
The federal government’s “Stay Away from Drugs. Fentanyl Kills You” campaign played on screens during workouts, aligning with Sheinbaum’s strategy to address crime and addiction through sports programs in high-risk cities like León and Ciudad Juárez.
Attendees received white wristbands symbolizing the global #WhiteCard movement — encouraging people to unite through sports — and Sheinbaum signed a “Belt of Peace.” The WBC presented her with a golden glove, honoring Mexico’s boxing legacy as a “nation of champions.”
The search collective Hasta Encontrarles CDMX installed a memorial along Mexico City's iconic Paseo de la Reforma in January, in honor of few of the over 100,000 people reported missing in Mexico. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
The United Nations’ Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) said Friday that it would seek additional information from the Mexican government after receiving information that “seems to indicate” that enforced disappearances is a “widespread and systematic practice” in Mexico.
The announcement drew a pointed response from the Mexican government, which said in a statement that it “rejects the statements of the committee members regarding the alleged practice of enforced disappearance by the state.”
Family and friends of missing people gather in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, for a memorial in March. (Adolfo Vladimir/Cuartoscuro)
According to the United Nations, “an enforced disappearance is considered to be the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the state or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the state.”
The abduction and presumed murder of 43 students in Guerrero in 2014 is one example of a case in which the Mexican state was allegedly involved. There have been many other cases of abduction over the years in which Mexican authorities were involved, or allegedly involved.
The CED’s airing of the allegation that the carrying out of enforced disappearances is a “widespread and systematic practice” in Mexico came during concluding remarks at the committee’s 28th session, held between March 17 and April 4 in Geneva, Switzerland.
“This session was also the occasion to look at another worrying situation, that of Mexico,” said CED chairperson Olivier de Frouville, according to the United Nations’ simultaneous interpretation of his remarks in French.
“… The committee has received information which seems to indicate — substantiated indications according to which … [enforced disappearance] is a widespread and systematic practice … in the territory under the jurisdiction of Mexico,” he said without specifying who provided the information.
The request is a first step toward the CED potentially referring the matter to the General Assembly of the United Nations as article 34 of the convention states that:
“If the Committee receives information which appears to it to contain well-founded indications that enforced disappearance is being practiced on a widespread or systematic basis in the territory under the jurisdiction of a state party, it may, after seeking from the state party concerned all relevant information on the situation, urgently bring the matter to the attention of the General Assembly of the United Nations, through the Secretary-General of the United Nations.”
De Frouville said that the request for information from Mexico “does in no way preempt subsequent stages of the procedure.”
“This request for information will be transmitted in the upcoming weeks to the state party,” he added.
Family of a group of young Sanborns employees who disappeared in 2019 search for evidence in Tepeyac National Park near Mexico City in late March. (Haarón Álvarez/Cuartoscuro)
“… The committee’s aim is to have with the state cooperation and constructive exchanges in order to achieve our joint goal, which is full and complete implementation of the convention,” de Frouville said.
Citing “social organizations,” La Jornada newspaper reported that it is the first time that the CED has initiated the ICPPED’s article 34 procedure.
The CED’s consideration of enforced disappearances in Mexico at its 28th session came after a search collective found evidence early last month that suggested that a ranch in the state of Jalisco was used by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) to kill and/or cremate scores of people.
The CED said in a 2022 report that was informed by a visit to Mexico in late 2021 by four of its members that impunity in missing person cases in Mexico is “almost absolute.
With regard to the Teuchitlán case, the United Nations’ committee last week issued a range of advice to Mexican authorities, including recommendations that they adequately protect all bone fragments and other evidence found at the property and immediately subject human remains to genetic testing.
📍El Comité vs Desapariciones Forzadas #CED de @ONU_es dicta medidas cautelares a 🇲🇽 por hallazgo en #Teuchitlán. Tras petición de @solidaria_sc y @plataformagto pide entre otras cosas: resguardar el Rancho Izaguirre, resguardar restos y elementos de prueba, análisis genéticos.👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/RBU2meQX7D
Solidaria and the aforesaid platform — which describes itself as an “academic, political and social project for the strengthening of victims’ collectives and movements in Guanajuato” — detailed the CED’s recommended measures in a joint statement.
During the first six months of Sheinbaum’s presidency, almost 16,000 people were reported as missing, of whom 7,825 have not been located, according to official statistics cited by La Jornada in a report published on Sunday.
‘The Mexican government does not consent to, allow or order the disappearance of persons’
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Interior Ministry (SEGOB) said that Mexico, as a state that is party to the ICPPED, “maintains sustained cooperation” with the CED.
SEGOB subsequently noted that the CED said that it would seek information from Mexico related to “the situation of disappearances in the country.”
“… The Mexican state will analyze said request once it is received in order to share the actions and programs that are implemented at a national level to attend to and combat the phenomenon of disappearances in Mexico,” the ministry said.
“The government of Mexico rejects the statements of members of the committee regarding the alleged practice of enforced disappearance by the state. The Mexican government doesn’t consent to, allow or order the disappearance of persons,” SEGOB said.
Current Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez rejected any suggestion that the federal government carries out enforced disappearances. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
“Mexico is committed to the unconditional respect of human rights and addressing the causes of violence. It has also made clear its commitment to combat this scourge and has announced the implementation of forceful actions to this end,” the ministry added.
In an interview with La Jornada, Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez rejected any claim that the federal government carries out enforced disappearances. She also said that there is no “real” figure on the number of missing persons in Mexico because some cases aren’t reported due to lack of trust in authorities, while some people continued to be classified as missing even after they’re found because families don’t report the location of their loved ones.
With regard to the CED chairperson’s remarks, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) said in a statement that it believes that de Frouville is wrong to suggest that the Mexican state is involved in the carrying out of abductions.
“We believe that the position of the president of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances is completely disconnected from the reasons that cause the persistence of disappearances in our country.”
In effect, what the CNDH said was that dedicated kidnapping rings and members of criminal organizations, such as powerful drug cartels, are responsible for abductions in Mexico — not Mexican authorities.
The Plataforma por la paz y justicia en Guanajuato said that the CNDH’s denial of responsibility on behalf of the Mexican state was “pitiful.”
Despite an increase in March, Mexico's light vehicle exports slumped by 6% in Q1 compared to the same three-month period last year. (Shutterstock)
Mexico’s light vehicle exports fell by 6% during the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period last year, with Q1 exports totaling 775,866 units, the national statistics agency INEGI reported on Monday.
In its monthly survey, INEGI’s Administrative Registry of the Light Vehicle Automotive Industry (RAIAVL) — which provides information on the sale, production, and export of light vehicles in Mexico — noted that Mexico’s automotive exports had experienced their worst decline for a three-month period since 2021. In that COVID-19 pandemic year, exports fell by 14.1% in Q1.
The fact that exports increased in March just as the partial tariffs were becoming a reality is a bit of good news in an otherwise negative Q1 for light vehicle exports. (Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro)
The drop in light vehicle exports coincided with a rise in overall production. The most recent report shows that Mexico’s automotive industry produced 973,485 light vehicle units in Q1, marking a 4.8% increase compared to January-March 2024. Light trucks accounted for 76.1% of the total production figure, with the rest coming from automobile manufacturing.
The United States is the main destination for Mexico’s light vehicles, contributing 83% of the export market. Meanwhile, 365,025 vehicles were sold domestically, marking a 3.33% rise compared to Q1 of 2024.
In March alone, exports rose by 3.8% compared to the same month in 2024, to 296,964 units, the highest figure since March 2019. Mexico’s light vehicle production also increased, by 12.1% to 338,669 units.
However, the March improvement could not make up for the negative figures seen in January and February, which were blamed on the uncertainty surrounding the beginning of the threats — and later implementation — of tariffs by the United States.
The impact of tariffs on vehicle exports
For a fifth consecutive year in 2024, Mexico expanded its share of the U.S. import market. The value of automotive exports to the U.S. totaled US $181.4 billion in 2024 and contributed 38.5% of the U.S. market for automobiles, an increase from 37.8% in 2023.
