Profepa authorities searched 65 intercity buses and other vehicles in an operation that netted the 320 trafficked turtles. (Profepa/X)
Mexican authorities seized 320 baby peacock turtles being smuggled on a passenger bus, the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) announced this week.
The baby turtles that Profepa authorities saved from traffickers (shown here) belong to the Trachemys genus, whose numerous species are known as slider turtles. The preferred common name in Mexico for this venusta species of Trachemys is tortuga pavo real, or peacock turtle. (Profepa)
Supported by the National Guard, the Profepa operation conducted searches of 65 intercity buses, two cargo vehicles and one private car.
The checkpoints were set up on the Mexico City-Puebla highway because it’s “the main entry route for transportation from the southeast of our country, a region of utmost importance for biodiversity and where various species are illegally extracted,” Profepa said in a statement issued Monday.
The halted vehicles were coming from the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Puebla, Profepa added.
The baby turtles were discovered in a box on the bus, but Profepa and news reports didn’t specify if it was in the underbus luggage hold or in the overhead storage area. Also not mentioned was the identity of the culprit or culprits.
Profepa did point out that “the document proving the specimens’ legal origin contained irregularities” and that the 320 hatchlings “were placed under precautionary custody and transferred to a wildlife conservation and research center, where they are now receiving the necessary care.”
“Profepa will continue to conduct random operations at various highway crossings as part of its strategy to prevent illegal wildlife trafficking,” Mariana Boy Tamborrell, head of Profepa, said in the press release. “We are committed to curbing this crime and protecting wildlife populations from the enormous impact caused by illegal extraction.”
Profepa identified the 320 found turtles as Trachemys venusta, sometimes known by the common name of Meso-American slider turtle. They’re also called peacock turtles for the vibrant green, orange and yellow patterns on their adult shells that resemble the eye-like patterns on peacock feathers.
The semi-aquatic, freshwater species plays an important role in aquatic ecosystems by helping to maintain balanced populations of plants and small aquatic animals. They are typically found in slow-moving rivers, ponds and marshes, and are native to the humid regions of southern Mexico.
However, due to habitat destruction, pollution and illegal trafficking, their populations are at risk in some areas.
The Taruk was developed by the Mexican conventional truck maker Dina and the Mexican EV auto conversion company, Megaflux. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico introduced the Taruk on Tuesday, an electric bus that is the nation’s first domestically manufactured electric vehicle (EV).
Its name means “roadrunner” in the Indigenous Yaqui language.
Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard, right, was on hand Tuesday to introduce Mexico’s Taruk, the nation’s first domestically made electric vehicle. With him is Altagracia Gómez Sierra, director of Mexico’s Economic Development Advisory Council. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
Fostering efficient and economically viable projects
The vehicle was developed by the Mexico automaker Dina and the EV conversion firm Megaflux, with support from the National Council of Humanities, Science and Technology (Conacyt) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s School of Engineering.
Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard presented Taruk at a press conference where he announced the first units will operate in the port city of Ensenada in Baja California.
The electric vehicle has a capacity of 60 passengers, half seated and the other half standing, Ebrard said.
Coordinator of the Economic Development Advisory Council Altagracia Gómez Sierra, Megaflux CEO Roberto Gottfried, the Mobility Minister Daniel Sibaja and Ensenada’s mayor Claudia Agatón also attended the event.
“It takes months of testing, adjustments, trial and error, improving its performance, the number of kilometers of autonomy, and increasing its efficiency compared to any other electric vehicle in Asia or any other region of the world,” Ebrard said at the event.
“And the Mexican one is better. It’s not just about supporting Mexican developments but rather ensuring that they are efficient and economically viable.”
The first models of the Taruk EV will operate in Ensenada, Baja California. (File photo)
The engine was developed in Iztapalapa, in the south of Mexico City. There are currently no other EVs with Mexican engines, making the launch of the Taruk a technological milestone, said Ebrard.
Mexico exports over 1 million vehicles a year to the United States and is the sixth-biggest exporter globally but is not known internationally for its car brands.
Ebrard awarded the “Made in Mexico” certification to Taruk, a program that falls under President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Plan México national investment initiative that seeks to grow Mexico’s GDP, provide more jobs and expand underdeveloped and new industries in the country.
Mexico’s space agency, for example, a signatory of NASA’s Artemis Accords, is also collaborating with the U.S. space agency on nanosatellite technology demonstrators that will contribute to the future of space exploration.
In 2024, Mexico successfully launched nanorobots to the moon in its first lunar mission — dubbed Proyecto Colmena — from NASA facilities in Cape Canaveral, Florida. While a malfunction in the U.S.-built lunar lander carrying the robots prevented a soft landing on the moon, the robots did function correctly in deep space, proving the project’s viability.
Mexico is also making progress in the production of vaccines, semiconductors and messenger RNA-based therapies.
“We can do anything we set our minds to,” Ebrard said at the event.
Economic uncertainty
Ebrard announced during the event his plans to travel to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to continue economic and trade negotiations with the United States.
“We are facing the complex issue of what the future of the relationship with the United States will be, not politically but economically. Mexico exports more than a million vehicles to the United States, and today the discussion is about what future that model will have,” he said.
Most of the 43 Iguala college students who were abducted in 2014 in the unsolved Ayotzinapa case have never been found neither alive nor dead. (Cuartoscuro)
Federal authorities on Tuesday arrested an ex-municipal police officer in connection with the infamous case of the abduction and presumed murder of 43 students in Guerrero in 2014.
Rey Flores Hernández, alias “El Negro,” was detained in Iguala, Guerrero, according to a statement issued by the Defense Ministry, the Navy Ministry, the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR), the National Guard and the Security Ministry.
Rey Flores Hernández is an ex-municipal police officer in Iguala, Guerrero, where the 43 Ayotzinapa students were abducted in 2014. (Gov. of Mexico)
The statement said that as a “result of investigative work about the disappearance of the students from the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers College in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, in 2014,” federal security forces executed an arrest warrant for the crimes of organized crime and enforced disappearance.
Video footage shows the suspect being marched into a facility, possibly FGR offices, after his arrest.
The statement said that authorities have determined that Flores, the 50-year-old ex-police officer in Iguala, belonged to a criminal group and was “linked” to the disappearance of the 43 students.
The criminal group to which he belonged was reportedly “Los Bélicos,” which allegedly moved drugs for the Guerreros Unidos crime group.
The 43 students — all young men — were allegedly abducted by members of the Guerreros Unidos in Iguala on Sept. 26, 2014, after buses they had commandeered to travel to a protest in Mexico City were stopped by municipal police.
Flores reportedly provided a police escort for a flatbed truck linked to the abduction. He was also allegedly involved in the abduction of members of rival criminal groups.
Gildardo López Astudillo in 2015, immediately after his arrest by federal authoriities. (Cuartoscuro)
The news website Reporte Indigo reported that the aforesaid flatbed truck took a group of students to the ranch of Gildardo López Astudillo, a regional leader of the Guerrero Unidos.
He was arrested in 2015, but acquitted and released in 2019.
Scores of people, including soldiers and other Iguala municipal police officers, have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of the students. However, no one has been convicted of the crime, and 21 police officers were released from custody in 2019.
Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador pledged to resolve the Ayotzinapa case, which was a major scandal during the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-18).
However, no one has yet been held accountable for the crime, and the remains of the vast majority of the students have never been found.
Mexico’s presidents as far back as Enrique Peña Nieto 2012-18) — seen here meeting with Ayotzinapa victims’ families — have promised to resolve the Ayotzinapa abductions but have not succeeded. (Cuartoscuro)
The government said there may have been “confusion” on the part of Guerreros Unidos members with respect to the “alleged infiltration” of Los Rojos gangsters among the Ayotzinapa students. That “confusion” could have occurred “within the context of” a turf war in the Iguala region between the two crime groups, the government said.
The intention may have been to “teach the students a lesson within the context of threats from [then Iguala] mayor José Luis Abarca and the Guerreros Unidos after protests and damage to the Iguala municipal palace,” the government said. Those protests occurred after the abduction and murder of three “social leaders.” Abarca is currently serving a 92-year prison sentence for the abduction of six Iguala activists unrelated to the Ayotzinapa case.
“Drug trafficking and the possible presence of drugs, weapons or money” on buses commandeered by the students was the third possible reason identified by the government.
The fire blazed through the night Tuesday and was still just 40% under control on Wednesday morning. (Margarito Pérez Retana/ Cuartoscuro.com)
A forest fire near the Magic Town of Tepoztlán has consumed more than 100 hectares of oak forest and was still burning as of noon Wednesday.
The affected area, known as Chicuacemac, lies within the Protected Natural Area of El Tepozteco National Park in Tepoztlán, just 50 miles from Mexico City in the state of Morelos.
The firefighting efforts were hampered by the rugged terrain of the Tepozteco’s jagged mountains. (Conafor)
With cobblestoned streets and tiled roofs, Tepoztlán is one of the most popular tourist destinations for Mexico City residents. The town sits on an archaeological site built between 1150 and 1350 A.D., and stands about 600 meters above the Tepoztlán Valley.
On Wednesday, the National Forestry Commission (Conafor) reported that the fire is 40% contained and 30% extinguished. Conafor said it is sending 12 firefighters from Mexico City to support the existing brigade team of more than 250.
Two helicopters from the Naval Ministry (Semar) and Defense Ministry (Defensa) have also been ordered to assist in the firefighting effort.
According to authorities, the fire broke out at approximately 6 p.m. on Monday evening and may have been due to “human causes.” Tepoztlán Mayor Perseo Quiroz Rendón said that all three levels of government would proceed with the corresponding complaints.
The firefighting effort has been hampered by the topography of the Tepozteco, which consists of high, jagged mountains rising abruptly from almost flat terrain. As a result, brigade teams have focused on firebreaks, rehabilitating 2,500 meters of previously existing breaks and opening up 3,500 meters of new ones.
According to officials, the fire currently poses no risk to the inhabitants of Tepoztlán.
Still, authorities have called on the population to avoid joining the firefighting efforts unless they have proper training. Instead, they’ve requested residents to coordinate their efforts with local authorities.
Arca Continental has operated in Mexico for 99 years and is the second-largest Coca-Cola bottler in the Americas. (Shutterstock)
Mexican Coca-Cola bottler Arca Continental will invest a record 18 billion pesos (US $895 million) to expand its business in 2025. Arca made the announcement during its annual shareholders’ meeting, where it presented its 2024 consolidated financial results.
Approximately 50% of the funds will go towards Arca’s operations in Mexico, with the other 50% supporting business expansion in the United States and South America, the company said on Tuesday.
The nearly billion-dollar investment will go toward strengthening Arca’s production and distribution capacity, accelerating the use of digital tools, launching new beverage categories and improving its sustainable business model. (Arca Continental)
“This amount will be primarily allocated to increasing production and distribution capacity, accelerating the use of digital tools, launching new beverage categories, as well as strengthening [Arca’s] sustainable business model and creating shared value in the communities it serves,” Arca said in a statement.
Arca Continental has operated in Mexico for 99 years and is the second-largest Coca-Cola bottler in the Americas and one of the largest in the world.
Highlights from the meeting included an 11.8% increase in net income, totaling almost 20 billion pesos ($992 million) and a net sales growth of 10.9%, totaling 237 billion pesos ($11.8 billion).
“We will continue with the digital transformation of the business and maintain the impeccable execution that distinguishes us, with the firm desire to make a positive difference in every territory we serve,” the bottler’s CEO Arturo Gutiérrez stated at the event.
Arca has been recognized for its sustainable practices, having been included in both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook.
“Guided by our strategy of profitable and sustainable growth, we continue to consistently create shared value in the markets where we operate,” Chairman of Arca’s Board of Directors Jorge Santos Reyna said at the shareholders’ meeting.
In February, Arca said that the looming tariffs would have a marginal impact on the total costs of its products sold in the U.S.
Arca’s Director of Administration and Finance Emilio Marcos Charur said that aluminum represents 10% of the total cost of products sold in the U.S., therefore, any price increase resulting from the tariffs would have a cost impact of less than 1%.
"They have stepped it up a lot, Mexico and Canada, so see how it works, right?" Trump said on Tuesday. (Cuartoscuro/The White House/X)
United States President Donald Trump and his nominee for ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson both praised the Mexican government on Tuesday for ramping up the fight against the trafficking of illegal drugs to the U.S. and the northward flow of migrants.
Ron Johnson, embajador de Estados Unidos en nuestro país, dijo sentirse alentado por las conversaciones con la presidenta @Claudiashein y le agradeció el apoyo en la frontera.
Donald Trump destacó que México ha intensificado mucho las medidas.
Johnson — an army veteran and former CIA official who served as ambassador to El Salvador during Trump’s first term as president — thanked the U.S. president “for the nomination to represent you and the United States to the United Mexican States.”
“And I’m really encouraged by some of the conversations you’ve had with President [Claudia] Sheinbaum recently, and … the increase in support that we’ve seen from her government along our border,” he added.
“They have stepped it up a lot, Mexico and Canada, so see how it works, right?” Trump responded.
Trump said he took the decision “as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum.”
“Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl,” he wrote on social media on March 6.
In her March 6 call with Trump, Sheinbaum said she highlighted that fentanyl seizures at the border — which can be as used as a proxy to estimate whether the amount of the opioid entering the United States is going up or down — declined 41.5% in February compared to January.
Following her March 6 call with the U.S. president, Sheinbaum shared the statistics she showed Trump to convince him that Mexico is stopping the flow of fentanyl across the border. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
Sheinbaum said that Trump wasn’t aware of that statistic, and attributed it to the increase in fentanyl seizures in Mexico. The number of migrants detected by United States authorities illegally crossing the Mexico-U.S. border has also fallen significantly since the new U.S. government took office on Jan. 20.
Sheinbaum: US sees that Mexico’s security strategy is working
On Wednesday morning, a reporter asked Sheinbaum about the remarks Johnson made on Tuesday in the presence of President Trump.
In response, she outlined the four pillars of her government’s security strategy, namely addressing the root causes of crime; strengthening the National Guard; improving intelligence and investigation practices; and enhancing the federal government’s coordination with other authorities.
“This strategy is what has allowed us to achieve the results we presented yesterday,” she said, referring to a reduction in the homicide rate since she took office, the seizure of more than 134 tonnes of drugs in the past six months and the arrest of almost 16,000 people for high-impact crimes such as murder.
Sheinbaum highlighted that preliminary data shows that Mexico has recorded 19 fewer homicides per day this month compared to September 2024, the final month of the six-year presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
“Nineteen fewer homicides per day,” she reiterated.
“Of course, the United States sees this. What else are we doing in this strategy? Avoiding that fentanyl crosses [into the United States] … for humanitarian reasons and due to the collaboration and coordination we have with the United States,” Sheinbaum said.
“… I assume this is what the ambassador sees,” she said.
This ecosystem is what you find if you enter Mexico through Mexicali or Ciudad Juarez.It’s the Mexico of film, song and cartoon: the hot, dry habitat of the Gila monster and the jumping cholla cactus. It’s arid — and semi-arid! — scrubland.
How is it possible that this same ecosystem is today the chosen home of thousands of Canadian and U.S. expatriates?
(Tomás Castellano/CC BY-SA 2.5)
It’s not so surprising. The northern extreme of Mexico’s arid and semi-arid scrubland includes the Sonoran Desert, where a temperature of 52 C (126 F) was recorded last June. But at the southern end of the system we find Mexico’s largest lake, Chapala, on whose shores the average temperature is about 21 C (70 F), which aligns with the standard comfortable room temperature in most parts of the world.
Living in the scrubland
Few of the 20,000 expats living on the shores of Lake Chapala would describe their neighborhood as ”semi-arid scrubland,” despite what the geography books say. On the contrary, realtors in the area have long and loudly stated that Chapala has the second best climate in the world according to National Geographic.
Investigation by geographer Tony Burton, backed up by an AI search conducted by Copilot, gives the lie to this claim. If it’s any consolation, International Living lists Mexico’s climate as third-best in the world… but neglects even a mention of Lake Chapala.Let us turn instead to local resident and historian Jim Cook for a description of the climate.
“Lake Chapala has three seasons,” Cook writes. “June through October is the rainy season, with average daily temperatures in the mid-70s to mid-80s F. Although we get some dramatic thunderstorms during the rainy season, nearly all the rain occurs at night.”
“Winter begins in November and runs through March. Temperatures are a little lower, but the days are glorious, crystal clear and sunny with cool breezes, free of humidity. In late March, the ‘hot season’ begins, running from then through mid-June. The hot season is quite dry, sometimes dusty, and temperatures can rise into the low 90s. Still, it is nothing like the baking-hot summers of Texas or the thickly damp and humid heat of Louisiana.”
“Every morning,” says Chapala resident Susan Street, “I join a friend for a stroll along the Malecón (waterfront promenade). The view of the lake is always magnificent and there are waterbirds everywhere: herons, ducks, seagulls and, of course, the magnificently beautiful American white pelicans that come all the way from Canada to spend the winter with us.”
When it comes to entertainment and cultural attractions, residents of La Ribera enjoy never-ending musical, theatrical, gastronomic, artistic and artisanal events.
Folks with an itch for travel and adventure have a range of attractions that few places in the world could surpass.
Easy access to several ecosystems
As far as natural sites are concerned, you can access several other ecosystems within a few hours, an opportunity available to very few communities around the world.
In a matter of minutes, you can head into the hills above the lake, enter the temperate forest ecosystem, and wander through silent woods of stately pine and oak trees that look suspiciously Canadian. Or they can travel 50 kilometers north into the grasslands ecosystem and spend the day picking magic mushrooms. If they feel a yen for ocean and beach, they have only to drive a few hours south to the Pacific coast and two tropical ecosystems, where they can liberate baby sea turtles, and photograph crocodiles up close and personal.
See it all from a hang-glider
For an eye-opening look at the thorny, semi-arid terrain around Chapala, hop over to the hills at the west end of the lake to San José de los Pozos, only 17 kilometers from the water. Here you’ll find a sheer, 595-meter-high cliff, and beyond it the desert-like salt flats of Sayula.
This clifftop is one of the world’s best launch points for hang-gliding.
“We jump,” says enthusiast Pedro Kordich, “and we soar off into the distance exactly like a hawk or a seagull, wings extended, hovering, then gently floating to a new position where a thermal lifts us higher and higher. This is our game, floating and floating, rising and descending and rising again. This is surely the very maximum for a bird; the quintessence of flying and it is effortless, it is pure freedom and it is pure joy.”
You can experience this joy by signing up at Kordich Air Sports for a tandem flight, where you and an expert are strapped to a hang glider and towed into the air by a motorized glider known as a trike. Once the cord is detached, you and your instructor are on your own.
This is the best way to see the salt flats and the semi-arid ecosystem and at the same time to experience “pura libertad,” unbounded freedom.
If you don’t feel like flying, though, there are plenty of other, less risky attractions in the Lake Chapala area.
What to see around Lake Chapala
Lake Chapala vineyards
Viñedos El Tejón grows a wide variety of grapes on 26 hectares of land near San Luís Soyatlán, Jalisco. (John Pint)
Viñedos El Tejón is just one of several wineries and vineyards on the south shore of Lake Chapala. Here you can taste a locally grown syrah, chardonnay or pinot noir offered to you in a ranch house by Lupita, wife of Don Serapio Ruiz, said to be known throughout Napa Valley as one of the great experts in grafting grapevines.
La Bella Cristina Mansion
(John Pint)
Also known as La Maltaraña, this old casona — with 365 doors and windows — stands at the east end of Lake Chapala, just waiting for visitors to admire its beauty and dive into its history.
The artisans around Lake Cajititlán
(John Pint)
Basalt molcajetes and sculptures, burnished pottery, horsehair and cane creations, and the finest hand-made ropes in Mexico: you can see artisans working on all of these only 13 kilometers north of Chapala.
The “flying white sheep” of Petatán
(John Pint)
Late every workday afternoon, thousands of American pelicans gather at this town at the southeast end of Lake Chapala to enjoy huge quantities of fish scraps. The sights and sounds make for a unique and unforgettable experience. Just don’t go there on Sunday, because the pelicans won’t show up!
As you stand there taking in the sight of ten thousand lovely pelicans hovering above a gorgeous lake, please bear in mind that you really are in semi-arid scrubland— but Mexican style!
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.
Korea meets Mexico in this recipe for kimchi quesadillas. (Charles Haynes, Nate Beaty / CC SA 2.0)
Mexico has never been afraid of taking something foreign and making it better. Ask the pig.Ask shawarma. So why not kimchi? Why not throw fermented cabbage, born in Korean winters, into a hot pan with melted cheese and a tortilla, the Mexican comfort blanket? And while we’re at it, why not drop in a little anchovy to tie it all together with that quiet, briny punch for delicious kimchi quesadillas?
Let’s back up. Fish has always been part of Mexico’s cooking story. Long before missionaries and European spices arrived, coastal peoples grilled and smoked fish over open fires, folded it into masa or dried it to travel. When the Spanish arrived, they brought olive oil, garlic and wheat— and suddenly fish was being fried, stewed and served with sauces that smelled suspiciously like a monk’s dinner party.
Korea’s kimchi offers a sharp flavor profile that stands out when paired with Mexican cuisine. (Jeremy Keith/CC 2.0)
So what happens when pungent, spicy, unapologetic kimchi meets the warm, gooey embrace of a quesadilla? Magic. Fermentation has long been part of Mexico’s culinary DNA: pulque, tepache, even the tangy sourdough notes in ancient corn masa. Kimchi doesn’t clash: it thrives with Mexican ingredients. It brings a sharpness that cuts through the richness of cheese, much like pickled jalapeños have done for generations. But bolder. Louder. Kimchi is the mariachi song in the room.
Then we add anchovies. Not to make things more complicated, but to tie the story together. Mexican cooking has long used fish sauce equivalents — dried shrimp, salted fish, that fifth flavor hiding in a mole or caldo that you can’t quite name but crave endlessly. The anchovy disappears into the pan but leaves behind a savory echo. It’s the ocean’s signature on the recipe.
The only way a tortilla could be more Mexican is if it was filled with grilled cheese…wait a minute. (Unsplash)
And if anyone asks, “Is that authentic?” just smile. Authenticity is a story we tell ourselves to feel safe. Deliciousness, on the other hand, is real. It’s hot, messy, dripping down your fingers, and making you reach for another bite.
In the end, Mexico’s culinary genius has always been this: take what the world gives you, love it, change it, make it better. Kimchi and cheese, meet tortilla and anchovy. Now sit down, eat and let me know what you think in the comments.
Optional garnish: sesame seeds, extra scallions, lime wedges
Instructions
Make the flavor base: Heat a small pan over medium heat, add a splash of oil, the minced garlic, and the chopped anchovies. Stir until the anchovies dissolve into the garlic, about 30 seconds. Add the chopped kimchi, sesame oil and gochujang. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes until it smells so good you consider eating it straight from the pan. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Assemble: Lay out one tortilla. Sprinkle half the cheese, spread the warm kimchi-anchovy mixture evenly on top, then scatter the scallions. Add the rest of the cheese and top with the second tortilla.
Cook: Heat a pan over medium heat, add a little butter or oil. Slide in the quesadilla and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown and crisp and the cheese is melting out the sides.
Slice and serve: Transfer to a cutting board, slice into wedges, sprinkle with sesame seeds, maybe a squeeze of lime, and more scallions if you’re feeling fancy.
Stephen Randall has lived in Mexico since 2018 by way of Kentucky, and before that, Germany. He’s an enthusiastic amateur chef who takes inspiration from many different cuisines, with favorites including Mexican and Mediterranean.
The April 2 U.S. tariffs and the federal government's response to the "extermination camp" in Jalisco were the main topics of the president's Tuesday morning press conference. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
Many Mexicans are currently in a state of collective suspense.
Will the United States impose additional tariffs on imports from Mexico next week? How will Mexico respond if it does?
How many people were killed at the property in Jalisco that has been described as a cartel “extermination camp”? Who were the victims? What really happened at the now infamous ranch?
These questions are at the center of Mexico’s current national conversation.
Time is once again ticking on President Trump’s tariff clock. Will Mexico avoid the threatened 25% tax a third time? (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
At President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Tuesday morning press conference, they were once again a central focus of the dialogue between officials and reporters. But the questions remain.
Mexico could announce retaliatory tariffs on April 3
Sheinbaum told reporters that her government will wait until April 2 before deciding whether it will retaliate against U.S. protectionism.
Sheinbaum said that in meetings with the United States government, Mexican officials are “providing all the information” about the impact that additional tariffs on Mexican goods would have on both the U.S. and Mexico.
“There is a lot of communication between [Economy] Minister [Marcelo] Ebrard and [Commerce] Secretary [Howard] Lutnick. They are in permanent communication,” she said.
Ebrard has previously asserted that blanket tariffs on Mexican goods would cause significant job losses in the United States and increase prices for American consumers. The Mexican economy would go into recession if blanket tariffs on Mexican exports to the U.S. were maintained for an extended period of time, according to some economists.
Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that she will announce measures against United States imports on April 3 if need be.
“According to what they present on April 2, we would announce measures, if that’s the case, on April 3,” she said.
Sheinbaum has repeatedly stated that her government has a plan B in the case that the U.S. enacts 25% tariffs on Mexico’s exports. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
On numerous occasions, Sheinbaum has expressed confidence that Mexico will avoid retaliatory tariffs on its exports to the United States as Mexico doesn’t impose duties on the majority of imports from the U.S. That may well be the case, but President Donald Trump is not known for being predictable, and has already shown he is willing to use tariffs to pressure Mexico to do more to stem the flow of drugs and migrants to the United States.
For her part, Sheinbaum has repeatedly stressed that Mexico, the United States and Canada should respect the free trade rules established by the USMCA in order to maintain North America’s capacity to effectively compete with other regions of the world.
He noted that the FGR has been tasked with carrying out an investigation into the property and the illicit activities that allegedly took place there, but stressed that the government itself currently has no evidence that the ranch was an “extermination camp,” as it has been described in numerous media reports.
On Tuesday, a reporter asked Gertz whether the FGR would allow journalists to visit the property, as the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office did last week.
Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said on Tuesday that federal forensic experts are at the site of the mass grave in Jalisco “to determine the reality about what is there.” (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
“First let us take possession [of the ranch], we’re doing that at the moment. Our federal forces are going in at the moment, our experts are going in, they’re taking possession of the property,” the attorney general said.
“And we’re going to be reporting everything that is necessary every day,” Gertz said before indicating that journalists could be allowed to visit the site again as long as their presence “doesn’t hinder our work.”
Asked whether he was planning to visit the ranch himself, the attorney general responded:
“Those who have to be there are the [forensic] experts. I can’t replace the role of experts. I have the responsibility of an institution. And the experts have to give me an account of everything they find and I have the obligation to make it known to everyone. That’s my work.”
Tickets to the event start at US $1,400 for general access and go all the way up to 1.1 million. (Sergio Sala/Unsplash)
A March 21 post on Fyre Festival’s official social media account says that the second edition of the musical festival is moving to Playa del Carmen following a February announcement that it would take place in Isla Mujeres.
Fyre Festival, a fraudulent, disastrous music festival held in 2017, saw its creator Billy MacFarland face criminal charges in the United States after pleading guilty to charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and making false statements to federal officials. After spending four years in prison, he’s now attempting a second edition of the festival dubbed Fyre Festival 2.
The latest announcement changing the venue’s location was met with skeptical comments from social media users like: “How is this dude even legally allowed to try this again? Lol,” and “Does this guy not know how to plan? Situate location first. Then plan from there.”
Responding to the negative reaction to the event, MacFarland, 33, said in a video on Twitter early in March that “Fyre 2 is real,” claiming that he has contracts with partners that include a production company in Mexico, yachts, hotels and more.
According to its official Instagram page, Fyre Festival 2 is set to happen from May 30 to June 2. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday, March 27, in Playa del Carmen, to share further details of the event.
“This press conference marks a major milestone in bringing Fyre 2 Festival 2 to life as an intimate, curated event, bringing together the best of music, arts, community, and adventure in the heart of the Riviera Maya,” the statement says. Despite the announcement, details about the musical lineup remain scarce, leaving fans and skeptics wondering who might perform at the festival.
Tickets to the event start at US $1,400 for general access. VIP access can be purchased for $5,000, which in addition to the general access package, includes a shuttle service from a selection of local hotels.
For $25,000, fans can get backstage access to the “Water Stage, Pitside access to the Fight Pit, a curated itinerary of FYRE experiences, transportation throughout the weekend, accommodation for two nights amongst the artists and performers, concierge, and more,” according to the organizers.
As if those packages weren’t enticing enough, the festival’s site advertises a ticket priced at $1.1 million dubbed the “Prometheus God of Fyre” ticket, which includes the aforementioned “Artists” package plus access to the Prometheus Marina and accommodation in any of the following alternatives: the Marina four-stateroom yacht, a four-bedroom villa provided by the Nemesis Group or a three-bedroom Presidential Suite at the Chablé Maroma, for three nights.
Neither Chablé Maroma nor Nemesis Group have confirmed this collaboration.
The Playa del Carmen municipal government has not yet released a statement regarding Fyre Festival 2. (Dennis Sylvester Hurd/wikicommons)
The original Fyre Festival, which sold day passes ranging from $500 to $1,500, and VIP packages including airfare and accommodation for $12,000, was scheduled to take place in April 2017 in the Bahamas. When attendees arrived at the venue, they found flimsy camping tents instead of luxury villas and cheap food including a now-infamous cheese sandwich that was served along with some lettuce in a styrofoam container.
It remains to be seen how Fyre Festival 2 unfolds, and if MacFarland has regained the public’s trust.
