Cartel enforcers employed ‘rampant violence’ to control Tijuana drug trade for CJNG

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June 15, 2021

Tijuana family digs up clandestine grave — A family digs up a clandestine grave earlier this year in Tijuana, searching for the remains of a family member believed to be a victim of cartel violence.

In order to ensure that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) maintained the ability to traffic drugs through Tijuana and into the United States, a group of cartel enforcers employed “rampant violence,” according to the U.S. government.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California issued a statement Monday advising that a superseding indictment and arrest warrants were recently unsealed in a federal court against alleged Mexican drug cartel enforcement leaders in connection with their violent support of heroin and methamphetamine trafficking.

Members of the cartel enforcers group, known as Los Cabos, are charged with conspiracy to distribute and import controlled substances.

Among the accused are Edgar Herrera Pardo, also known as Caiman; Carlos Lorenzo Hinojosa Guerrero, aka Cabo 96; Édgar Pérez Villa, aka Cabo 89; and Israel Alejandro Vázquez-Vázquez, aka Cabo 50.

According to court filings filed by the U.S. government, the four men were leaders of Los Cabos. The group operated in Baja California to secure control of the region for the CJNG, generally considered Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal organization.

CJNG enforcers indicted by US Attorney's Office — From left, Edgar Herrera Pardo, Carlos Lorenzo Hinojosa Guerrero, Édgar Pérez Villa and Israel Alejandro Vázquez-Vázquez of Los Cabos.

“Los Cabos allegedly employed rampant violence to ensure that [the] CJNG maintained the ability to traffic drugs through Tijuana, Mexico, and into the United States through San Diego,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

“Indeed, in one approximately 6.5-month period of judicially-authorized interceptions of a group chat operated by leaders of Los Cabos, these individuals planned over 150 murders, the majority of which took place in Tijuana, according to the filings.”

The U.S. government alleges that the cartel enforcers’ “bloody reign of terror” included the murder in Tijuana in November 2018 of two teenaged United States citizens from Chula Vista, California.

“The government also alleges that Los Cabos targeted law enforcement in Tijuana, killing at least three police officers,” the Attorney’s Office said.

“Los Cabos allegedly engaged in this violence in support of CJNG, one of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world. The cartel has its hands in trafficking multiple deadly substances. It is responsible for moving tons of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl-laced heroin into the United States,” it said.

“CJNG is also a prolific methamphetamine producer and chemical importer, using precursors procured from China and India. CJNG is one of the most powerful Mexican cartels operating within the United States,” the Attorney’s Office said, adding that the organization is “the most well-armed cartel in Mexico” and “has contributed to a catastrophic trail of human and physical destruction.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman said that authorities are determined to hold cartel operatives to account.

“For too long, powerful cartels have visited unspeakable violence on Tijuana, a city that is right next door to San Diego,” he said.

“We will continue our campaign to end the cartels’ reign of terror and stop the flow of drugs across the border by prosecuting the highest-ranking leaders and enforcers.”

Grossman praised U.S authorities, including Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, for their work on the Los Cabos case and thanked Mexico’s federal Attorney General’s Office for assisting.

DEA Special Agent in Charge John W. Callery said that cartels such as the CJNG “not only perpetrate violence and murders that affect our neighbors south of the border, but their drugs cause death and destruction in our own communities.”

If arrested and convicted, the Los Cabos members face up to life imprisonment and a US $10 million fine for drug importation offenses and the same penalties for narcotic distribution crimes. There is a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment for both crimes.

The CJNG’s leader, Nemesio Oseguera “El Mencho” Cervantes, is also a wanted man in the United States, where authorities are offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

Mexico News Daily

Health warnings issued as temperatures reach 46 C in Sonora heat wave

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MND Staff

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June 15, 2021

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Temperatures could reach 50 C in some parts of the state this week.

The Health Ministry has warned citizens in Sonora to take precautions to avoid dehydration and heat stroke after temperatures hit 46 C in recent days.

Clear to light cloud cover, subtropical winds, and little to zero probability of rain have all contributed to the heat wave. Temperatures could rise to as high as 50 in some parts of the state this week, said the National Meteorological Service Tuesday morning.

Last week there was a 33% rise in hospital visits for health problems related to the heat. Commander of the Red Cross in Sonora, José Luis Osegueda, confirmed that the organization is providing a “large percentage of services” to people with dehydration problems.

Health Minister Enrique Clausen Iberri said residents should avoid exposure to the sun from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., wear sunscreen and loose-fitting, lightly-colored clothes which cover the skin, and use a hat or umbrella for sun protection.

He urged citizens to seek medical attention if presented with any of the following symptoms: intense thirst, restlessness, reduced elasticity in the skin, sunken eyes, weakness, headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and an accelerated heartbeat, adding that the main dangers are heatstroke and dehydration due to profuse sweating, diarrhea or insufficient consumption of liquids.

“Care must be taken when faced with high temperatures. Above all, minors and older adults must be taken care of, they must not have long exposure to the sun … and should stay adequately hydrated,” he said.

Other safety recommendations for heat waves include: consuming a minimum of two liters of water per day, covering windows to reduce the heat inside, avoiding intense physical activity in the sun, eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding alcoholic or sugary drinks.

With reports from El Universal

Drought dries up Copper Canyon waterfall although some blame mining

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MND Staff

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June 15, 2021

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The Basaseachi waterfall now and three years ago.

A waterfall in the Copper Canyon in Ocampo, Chihuahua, has dried up due to the severe drought affecting the area.

The 246-meter Basaseachi waterfall — the second highest in Mexico — is normally a tourist attraction, but has been reduced to a trickle of water falling onto the walls of the canyon.

The nationwide drought has affected all municipalities in Chihuahua this year, where crop losses of up to 90% have been recorded. Reservoirs have been at exceptionally low levels, sparking predictions of an economic and social crisis.

Residents of Ocampo said there has been alarm about the waterfall since April. They name an exterior cause: two mines which divert the river to serve their extraction activities.

Local councillor Javier Ruiz Acuña said the fate of the waterfall is the simple consequence of the nationwide drought and dismissed other theories. He added that the waterfall had dried up in other periods of water scarcity, and said that once the rain returned the water would run again.

Ocampo residents said the waterfall usually runs at full strength in August.

With reports from El Diario and Milenio

Governor, electricity commission chief clash over Coahuila coal mine collapse

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MND Staff

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June 15, 2021

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Micaran mine collapse, Muzquiz, Coahuila — Rescue workers during the last night of the search for bodies at the Micarán mine in Múzquiz, Coahuila, on Thursday.

The director of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and the governor of Coahuila have clashed on Twitter over the partial collapse of a coal mine that killed seven miners earlier this month.

CFE chief Manuel Bartlett and Governor Miguel Riquelme blamed each other for the disaster at the Micarán mine in Múzquiz.

Bartlett acknowledged that Riquelme last week apportioned “moral responsibility” to him for the mine collapse, which occurred on June 4 after heavy rain, “for having lowered the price” the CFE pays for coal extracted in Coahuila.

“According to him, that caused the mining entrepreneurs to neglect the maintenance of their mines,” the CFE director wrote.

In another Twitter post, Bartlett asserted that Riquelme should have avoided the disaster by imposing safety measures at the mine through the Labor Ministry.

“Therefore, the person responsible for the lack of safety is Governor Miguel Riquelme,” he wrote.

The governor countered that mining — and therefore mine safety — is a federal responsibility rather than a state one.

“Mr. Manuel Bartlett, you should know better than anyone that mining and electricity are the exclusive purview of the federal government; state governments can only intervene on the request of federal authorities,” Riquelme wrote in a Twitter post that included an image of a relevant page of the constitution.

“Your ignorance is a very serious matter, and your shamelessness in allocating these responsibilities to those who don’t have legal authority over this sector is even more serious. #TheLiesOfBartlett,” the Institutional Revolutionary Party governor added.

Riquelme also accused Bartlett of provoking “a serious crisis in the coal mining region of Coahuila” that has left hundreds of families without income.

The CFE chief “has favored a few companies” for the state-owned utility’s coal purchases, he wrote.

Head of the Federal Electricity Commision (CFE) Manuel Bartlett — Head of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) Manuel Bartlett.

“From Tony Flores’ [companies], for example, the brother of then Morena party candidate now mayor-elect for the municipality of Múzquiz, [Tania Flores] … they’ve benefited from the purchase of more than two million tonnes [of coal] without a tendering process,” Riquelme wrote.

“Who allows and protects the coal monopoly? You or me?” the governor added, referring to a tweet Bartlett posted in which he accused Riquelme of “cynically protecting those who want to monopolize the purchase of coal, to the detriment of small producers.”

“Mr. Manuel Bartlett, as [federal] interior minister, the [vote-counting] system failed,” Riquelme wrote, referring to the 1988 presidential election won by Carlos Salinas amid widespread accusations of electoral fraud.

“As CFE director you invent fires to justify your blackouts. What lies will you come out with tomorrow?”

After a power blackout that affected over 10 million customers last December, the CFE claimed a wildfire in Tamaulipas was responsible and issued a document to support the claim. It later turned that the commission had forged the document, but it insisted nonetheless that the fire actually occurred. Bartlett dismissed the forgery as a minor issue.

With reports from El Universal and Reforma

Anti-graft group uncovers scheme that diverted half a billion pesos in Chiapas

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MND Staff

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June 14, 2021

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PVEM Senator Manuel Velasco — Former governor of Chiapas Manuel Velasco is now a federal senator with the Green Party, which is currently allied with the Morena party.

The federal government detected a scheme in which the 2012–2018 Chiapas government led by Green Party (PVEM) governor Manuel Velasco appeared to embezzle more than 500 million pesos of public money, but it has not initiated legal action against any officials who served in the administration, according to an anti-graft group.

In a report published Sunday, Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) said the Federal Tax Administration (SAT) detected “irregular operations” carried out by the Velasco government between 2019 and 2020. It discovered the operations in audits of six companies that have been identified as shell or ghost firms.

MCCI, which obtained SAT documents, said its reporters visited the addresses listed for the supposed partners of the companies in Chiapas and Morelos and found that “humble” people with no business interests lived at them. Their identities were presumably stolen, MCCI said, adding that the tax addresses didn’t correspond to companies either.

“In one case, the address is a house with a sheet metal roof, and in another it’s a vacant lot,” the group said.

The amount allegedly embezzled via contracts awarded to the ghost companies for a wide range of goods and services is equivalent to about US $25 million at today’s exchange rate.

Manuel Velasco, Anahi, AMLO in Chiapas — Velasco and his actress wife, who goes by Anahí, receive President Lopez Obrador in Chiapas in 2018 while Velasco was governor. Twitter

Not only has the federal government not launched legal action in relation to the alleged misappropriation of government money, the MCCI noted, the ruling Morena party in March formalized an electoral alliance with the PVEM, who Velasco now represents as a federal senator.

“This agreement was made … when the administration of [President] López Obrador already knew of the diversion of resources in Velasco’s government,” the group said.

As a result of the alliance, the PVEM is expected to increase the number of seats it holds in the lower house of federal Congress to 43 from 11. Speaking last Sunday — the day federal, state and municipal elections were held — Velasco spoke out in favor of the PVEM’s alliance with Morena, a partnership that allows the latter to keep its majority in the Chamber of Deputies.

A lawyer for the former governor distanced him from involvement in the alleged embezzlement scheme, telling MCCI that Velasco was not aware of all the transactions carried out by his government because he delegated decisions to members of his cabinet.

“When a person wins the executive tenure [governorship] of a state by popular election, it’s his obligation to put together a cabinet. Each [government] department has its own budgetary autonomy,” José Luis Nassar said, adding that Velasco didn’t have time to carry out his duties as governor and supervise how ministries were spending the public money at their disposal.

Among the government departments that allegedly diverted resources to ghost companies were the Development Ministry, the Security Ministry and the Ministry for Women’s Empowerment.

Nassar said he was in favor of an investigation and punishment of officials if it is determined that money was indeed stolen.

The MCCI’s revelation of the SAT’s detection of apparent embezzlement comes almost a year after two videos surfaced showing David León, an advisor to Velasco’s government, giving large sums of money in 2015 to Pío López Obrador, the president’s brother.

MCCI insinuated that the 1.4 million pesos given to the president’s brother in the two videos was embezzled public money.

The anti-graft group said it had contacted León, who said he didn’t work for the Chiapas government or as an advisor to Velasco and therefore didn’t know whether public money was diverted via ghost companies.

“However, there are journalists who have confirmed that when Velasco was governor, it was David León who contacted them in his name,” MCCI said.

“With respect to his participation in the videos with Pío López Obrador and the origin of the money delivered for [Morena party] campaigns, León said that he cannot speak about it because there is an open investigation,” it said.

President López Obrador has claimed that the money that his brother received consisted of “contributions” from ordinary people who supported the Morena party.

MCCI noted that the Federal Auditor’s Office (ASF) also detected a separate alleged embezzlement scheme that appeared to divert 685 million pesos to 26 presumed ghost companies during Velasco’s term as governor.

“Together, the irregular payments to ghost companies reported by the ASF previously and by the SAT now add up to about 1.18 billion pesos [US $ 59.4 million] during Velasco’s government,” it said.

Mexico News Daily

Authorities estimate one-quarter of Mexicans have been infected with Covid

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MND Staff

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June 14, 2021

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Deputy Health Minister López-Gatell at a Covid press conference. The last one was held Friday.

More than 30 million Mexicans, or about one-quarter of the population, have been infected with the coronavirus, according to Health Ministry estimates.

The ministry said on Friday that the 2020 National Health and Nutrition Survey indicated that 31.1 million people in Mexico have had the virus. That figure is more than 12 times higher than Mexico’s official tally of confirmed cases, which currently stands at 2.45 million.

Tonatiuh Barrientos, an official at the National Institute of Public Health, said that not all of the people in the survey’s estimate would have had symptoms. Many coronavirus cases, especially asymptomatic ones, are believed to have gone uncounted in Mexico due to the low testing rate.

The health survey was conducted with members of almost 14,000 households between August and November of last year.

Mexico went through a second – and worse – wave of the pandemic in December and January after the first wave receded in the middle of 2020.

Mexico’s official Covid-19 death toll – currently 230,150 – is also considered a vast undercount due to the low testing rate. The government acknowledged in March that the country’s true Covid-19 death toll was almost 60% higher than official numbers indicated.

The publication of the estimate on the number of people infected came on the same day that the Health Ministry held its final nightly Covid-19 briefing, more than a year after officials began fronting up to the press on a daily basis to outline the pandemic situation and offer advice to citizens about how to avoid being infected.

Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell, the coronavirus czar who led the majority of the press conferences, announced earlier last week that the daily appearances would come to an end, explaining that the Health Ministry would convey information about the pandemic to citizens in another way.

In presenting daily briefings since early last year, the ministry has reached a point of “exhaustion,” the government’s pandemic point man said.

“We will always be open to having [future] press conferences and interviews, but now with a different regularity according to what’s necessary.”

After Friday night’s final press conference – the 451st – López-Gatell was met by supporters and admirers outside the National Palace in Mexico City and the deputy minister was presented with a cake and flowers, and serenaded by mariachi musicians.

The first Johnson & Johnson vaccines arrive Tuesday and will be administered in the northern border region.

“We have to keep looking after ourselves, [the pandemic] hasn’t ended,” he told his fans before posing for photos with them.

The end of the nightly coronavirus press conferences coincides with a significant decline in the intensity of the pandemic. Reported case numbers were down 35% in May compared to April, and Covid-19 deaths declined 51% to an average of 215 per day last month. Nineteen of Mexico’s 32 states, including Mexico City – the nation’s coronavirus epicenter – are currently low risk green on the federal government’s coronavirus stoplight map.

The end of the nightly pressers also comes as the government’s vaccination program continues to gather speed. More than 36.4 million shots have been administered across Mexico and the government has received more than 46.2 million doses of five different vaccines.

The government said Monday that a shipment of a sixth vaccine – made by Johnson & Johnson – would arrive on Tuesday, 12 days after the United States told Mexico it would send 1 million doses.

“I can confirm that 1.3 million doses of the Jannsen [single-shot] vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson will arrive tomorrow from the United States,” Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Twitter.

“With that, the vaccination of people aged 18-39 in the municipalities on the border with the United States will be able to start,” he wrote.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was authorized for emergency use by health regulator Cofepris last month but has not yet been used in Mexico. The five used to date have been the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, CanSino, SinoVac and Sputnik V shots.

Mexico has previously received some 2.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the U.S. government under a loan scheme, and has now begun donating some of its shots to other countries in the Americas.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) said on Saturday that the government would deliver 400,000 doses of AstraZeneca that were manufactured in Argentina and bottled in Mexico to Bolivia, Paraguay and Belize.

Bolivia and Paraguay will get 150,000 doses each and Belize will get 100,000, the SRE said.

“The decision was taken by the president of the republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and executed by the Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, with the aim of showing the solidarity of Mexico [with other nations] and fostering access to vaccines in countries of the region,” the statement said.

“… We hope to be able to prepare more shipments for other countries in the near future,” said Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Martha Delgado.

With reports from Reuters, El Universal, Animal Político and Milenio

Latest Yucatán cenote clean-up removes 318 kilos of garbage

By

MND Staff

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June 14, 2021

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A diver with bags of waste recovered from a cenote.

Four tonnes of garbage were cleared from 24 cenotes in Yucatán last year, mainly in the form of plastic and glass bottles, and an equal number are on the agenda for this year.

The Ministry of Sustainable Development has cleaned a further seven cenotes this year through its environmental drive, and hopes to tackle 17 more. In one cenote — Chankom — 318 kilos of waste were removed last Thursday.

Divers and local residents have worked together to restore the natural beauty of the sinkholes, many of which have become tourist attractions.

“The work consists of the removal of waste at the depths of the cenotes, cleaning around the site and on the main roads around the community where you collect rubbish hidden in the flora. Also, the planting of native plants and the promotion of local participation,” the ministry said.

Head of the ministry, Sayda Rodríguez Gómez, said that part of the objective is to increase local awareness. “It is not just about improving the aesthetic aspect, but also about preventing health problems among residents and generating a consciousness about the environment and how to avoid contamination,” she said.

Cenotes are natural pits, or sinkholes, which have emerged from the collapse of limestone bedrock, exposing groundwater. The term comes from a word used by the lowland Yucatec Maya: cenotes were commonly used for water supplies by the ancient Maya.

With reports from Por Esto

Who knew getting your greens could taste so good?

By

Janet Blaser

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June 14, 2021

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Shrimp and Creamy Dill Salad — This creamy dill dressing made with grilled shrimp is so refreshing on those hot summer days.

With the warmer weather already here, I often don’t want to cook. My go-to is to make salads that include protein, even if it’s just a can of tuna dumped on top.

But putting just a bit of thought into a full-meal salad can result in something really wonderful.

And because we’re in the tropics, we can easily add things like mangos, papaya, fresh or dried coconut, avocado and shrimp.

There’s actually a basic formula that will make your salads look and taste like something you’d order in a restaurant and not leave you hungry in an hour.

First, choose your base: greens or grains. Using a mix of either adds texture, flavor and eye appeal, or just stick to one. Cooked grains like quinoa, couscous or brown rice add bulk (and B vitamins!). And of course, there’s always pasta — either as the main ingredient or in a more supporting role.
Be generous with fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, dill, or basil and some edible flowers or microgreens (different than sprouts).
Think about adding some veggies: raw, grilled or pickled; cut into matchsticks; julienned; spiral-cut or in bite-size wedges or chunks.
Fresh or dried fruit adds a burst of sweetness, color and flavor — just don’t add too much. Slivered avocado, any kind of berries, thin-sliced apple or pear, tiny cubes of mango, papaya or fresh coconut meat from the vendor at the beach (which can be sautéed in a bit of coconut oil for added deliciousness) will all add pizazz to any bowl of greens.
You also want some “crunch.” Think nuts (always toasted!), croutons (super easy to make in a skillet with some olive oil) or seeds, toasted or raw. Again, don’t overdo it; these are accents, not the main actors in the show.
Now for the protein! Fish (grilled, poached or smoked). Cheese (soft and crumbled, hard and grated or sliced paper-thin. Eggs, hard-boiled or poached. Don’t forget about cooked or canned beans — garbanzos are especially tasty sautéed in a little oil, salted and then added just before serving so they stay crisp.
A homemade salad dressing will always taste better than store-bought; my trick is to make it first, or even the day before, so it’s done. Choose a vinaigrette or creamy style, depending on your salad ingredients. A vinaigrette is good for more delicate greens and ingredients, while a rich, creamy dressing works best for heartier salads.

Chicken of the Tropics recipe — Mangos and avocados truly make this salad taste of the tropics!

Chilled Shrimp and Creamy Dill Salad

Zest from 1 lemon, plus juice
1 cup white wine or rice vinegar
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. salt, plus more
1¼ lb. jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 white onion, slivered
¾ cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp. minced fresh dill, plus more
1 head Boston, Bibb or baby Romaine lettuce

Combine zest, vinegar, sugar, 3 Tbsp. salt and 6 cups water in a large pot; squeeze in juice from 1 lemon half. Bring to boil, remove from heat, add shrimp. Let sit about 3 minutes till shrimp are cooked through. Drain. Cool in freezer about 10 minutes.

Combine shrimp, celery, onion, cream and 3 Tbsp. dill in large bowl; squeeze in juice from remaining lemon half. Season with salt. Toss gently. Arrange lettuce on platter, spoon shrimp mixture on top, sprinkle with dill.

Chicken in the Tropics

2 Tbsp. brown sugar
¼ cup water
⅓ cup lime juice
½ cup chili garlic sauce OR 3 garlic cloves and 1 serrano chile, minced
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 mangos, diced
2 avocados, diced
1 cup sliced almonds, chopped roasted peanuts OR cacahuates Japones
1 (10 oz.) package spring lettuce mix

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, mix brown sugar and water. (Add fresh garlic and serrano chile at this point, if using.) Bring to a boil. Pour into medium-sized bowl.

Stir in garlic chili sauce and lime juice; set aside. In large bowl, toss chicken, mangos and avocados.

Arrange salad mix on serving plates; top with chicken mixture. Pour dressing over all, sprinkle with peanuts/almonds, and serve.

Apple Couscous Salad

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup couscous
¼ tsp. salt
1 Gala apple
1 Granny Smith apple
¼ cup fresh lemon/lime juice
2 Tbsp. minced shallot
4 oz. feta cheese
¼ cup. toasted pine nuts
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
1 tsp. oregano
Black pepper

Cook couscous as directed on package; set aside. Core and thinly slice both apples. In large bowl, toss apples and 2 Tbsp. citrus juice. Add shallot and couscous. Transfer apple mixture to serving dish; top with feta and pine nuts. In food processor or blender, pulse mint, oregano and remaining lemon juice until finely chopped. Stream in oil until blended. Season with pepper. Drizzle over salad, gently toss and serve.

Steak and Potato Salad

1 lb. small new potatoes, halved
Salt and pepper
2 tsp. canola oil
1¼ lb. New York strip steak
5 cups arugula OR mixed baby lettuces
2 scallions, sliced
¼ cup fresh dill, parsley or cilantro
3 oz. goat cheese, crumbled (about ¾ cup)
Dijon Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Cook potatoes in salted water until tender but firm. Drain. In a bowl, toss with ⅓ cup vinaigrette. Let sit, stirring occasionally.

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Season steak with salt and pepper. Cook, partially covered, until medium-rare, 5–7 minutes per side or to desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat; rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Mix greens, scallions, fresh herbs and goat cheese; arrange on plates, add potatoes and steak. Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve.

Vinaigrette: Whisk together ¼ cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp. red wine or champagne vinegar, 1½ tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 minced garlic clove and ¾ tsp. sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

BLAT Salad

8 slices bacon
2-4 pieces bread (any kind), for croutons
⅓ cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon or lime juice
Salt and pepper
⅓ cup olive oil
Pinch sugar
Small handful of chives
2 Romaine hearts
1 lb. tomatoes, in bite-size wedges OR 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, sliced

Cook bacon in oven or toaster oven; drain on paper towels. Reserve pan with bacon fat.

Cut crusts off bread; discard. Tear bread into irregular 1-inch pieces to make 2 lightly packed cups. Scatter bread on reserved baking sheet; toss with tongs until evenly coated in bacon fat. Bake croutons at 425 F, stirring once, until pieces are golden and crisp, 10–15 minutes. Cool.

Whisk together mayonnaise and citrus juice. Add salt and pepper. Whisk in oil until dressing is thick and emulsified. Add pinch of sugar and 2 Tbsp. minced chives; set aside. Cut remaining chives into 1-inch pieces.

Arrange lettuce on platter or individual plates. Drizzle with a third of dressing. Scatter tomatoes, avocado and croutons on top. Break bacon into rough 1-inch pieces and distribute over salad. Drizzle with remaining dressing and chives.

Janet Blaser is the author of the best-selling book, Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats, featured on CNBC and MarketWatch. A retired journalist, she has lived in Mexico since 2006.

Televisa-Univision merger seeks to cash in on Latino growth

By

Jude Webber

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June 14, 2021

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Who killed Sara remains a mystery.

But Netflix’s smash-hit Mexican thriller has revealed Latin America as the latest front in the global streaming war being fought between the world’s biggest media groups.

For giants Disney, Amazon Prime and Netflix, countries such as Mexico with its 126 million population — in addition to the 60 million Hispanics in the U.S., and 600 million Latino market worldwide — represent a juicy growth opportunity.

Indeed, Who Killed Sara? was Netflix’s most popular non-English language show in the U.S. for the first month after it launched in March and one of the streamer’s biggest hits overall, proving to Latin producers that there is a big international market for Spanish-language content.

It is also a tempting target for traditional broadcasters making a painful shift to the digital age.

In mid-April — just before Netflix unveiled disappointing quarterly subscription figures in Latin America, a region that has long been an engine of growth — Mexico’s top broadcaster Televisa and New York-based Univision unveiled a US $4.8-billion content merger.

Bolstered by $1 billion in funding from Japan’s SoftBank, they aim to launch a streaming service next year targeting the global Spanish-language market.

The still-to-be-named venture will face stiff competition: Netflix entered Latin America a decade ago, while the past two years have seen the arrival of Amazon Prime’s video on-demand service and Disney Plus. WarnerMedia is launching its HBO Max platform in the region this month.

But Emilio Azcárraga, executive chair of Televisa, is confident they can pull it off. “Either Univision or Televisa alone would find it impossible to have the scale to generate the cash to be able to be relevant in content production and distribution,” he said. “Together, we have the reach, the size and we have the money.”

He points to the group’s experience in partnering with satellite TV service Sky in the 1990s, aiming to take on far larger rival DirecTV. “Many people said we were totally crazy — how were we going to be able to compete?” he told the Financial Times. “[But now] in the region in which we operate, DirecTV no longer exists.”

Still, it is a tall order for Televisa that has a library of hundreds of thousands of hours of melodramatic soaps known as telenovelas, films and sports, but little experience in producing edgier shows or in tailoring content to what audiences want to watch in the way the streamers do.

The venture by Televisa and Univision faces stiff competition.

Even Disney Plus is not expected to be profitable until 2023 while Netflix only said in January that it expected its cash flow to break even this year, after years of investing heavily in content.

Few local streaming services have succeeded in holding their own against the big global players. Nent, a Stockholm-based group, has managed to do so in part by increasing production of original Nordic drama.

But encouragingly for the new venture, Spanish-language and particularly Mexican-made content is booming in the important U.S. market, according to data provider Parrot Analytics.

The Televisa-Univision venture will use Televisa’s production capabilities and seek to leverage its vast back catalogue. But Televisa spends just $1 billion a year on content compared with Netflix’s $17 billion and Azcárraga did not say how much it would invest in content in future.

“The reality is that Televisa can’t compete with Netflix productions,” said analyst Gilberto García at Barclays.

In addition, at least some of what Televisa-Univision is currently producing appears to be content viewers don’t want. “Since 2015, Univision audiences have fallen more than 50%,” García said.

Alejandro Rojas, director at applied analytics at Parrot Analytics, said it would be essential for Televisa to make a mental shift from just producing large amounts of content to actually analyzing what consumers desired. “It’s a completely different mindset to TV,” he said.

Azcárraga acknowledged that people wanted more than just telenovelas. “Romance always sells [but] there are things we have to do differently . . . we are not closed to anything.”

He sees Televisa-Univision as an attractive shop window for independent producers looking to produce content for the Latin market and highlighted Televisa’s success with films, but did not specify where he wanted to focus as the venture goes head-to-head with film-laden rivals such as Disney.

“It’s like an arms race,” said Rojas. “Everybody needs to produce more.” Indeed, Netflix is planning a new office in Colombia later this year and film 30 new series, films, documentaries and other programs over 2021-2022. It is betting on new Latin productions such as reality dating show Too Hot to Handle and teen drama Control Z to reignite regional growth, according to Ampere Analysis.

But even the streaming giant is faltering in Latin America in a business where scale is everything.

Netflix subscriptions in the region rose less than 1% in the first quarter compared with the end of last year. Total subscribers in Latin America rose 19% last year, following annual rises of 20% in 2019 and 32% in 2018.

“What the pandemic has shown is that people bring forward their paid membership — people who might have subscribed in 2021 subscribed early, so we’re seeing a slowdown now in relation to an increase in growth in 2020,” said Rahul Patel at Ampere Analysis.

Azcárraga said a decision had also yet to be made about whether to make the new service subscription-based or advertising supported.

Televisa’s first-quarter ad sales rose 28% versus the same period last year while content revenues rose 10% and 200,000 subscribers were added. Univision’s own pay-TV venture, PrendeTV, launched in March with some 900,000 subscribers in its first month and core advertising revenues rose 7% in the first quarter.

Marcelo Claure, chief executive of SoftBank’s international arm, told analysts the combined entity “has the potential to be rewarded in the same way as the market rewarded Disney Plus, which is now trading at 35 times EBITDA.”

Televisa’s revenues have been largely flat for four years but net income has plunged. Analysts estimate it trades currently at some six to seven times EBITDA.

“Viewing figures [at Televisa] are definitely better and content has been getting slicker,” said Soomit Datta, analyst at New Street Research. “But they will live or die on the quality of their content.”

Coahuila family rescues 108-year-old man from life on the street

By

MND Staff

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June 14, 2021

0

A 108-year-old homeless man has been taken in by a family in Torreón, Coahuila.

Benita Dearz was driving when she saw Don Felipe in dirty clothes with a cane and a bag of plastic bottles, and decided to offer him a lift. Given the heat of the sun, he accepted. Dearz immediately bought him new clothes and invited him to her home to bathe, change into the clothes and eat a hot meal.

Don Felipe, who has trouble walking, had been sleeping in a square under a large palm tree and survived by collecting and selling plastic bottles retrieved from garbage. He said he was thrown out of his house by some of his 11 children.

The story came to light after Dearz shared the news on social media, where she uploaded a photo of her family with Don Felipe. She wrote that his seeing him on the street had “broken her heart.”

“This beautiful gesture towards him is in honor of my grandparents, Blas and Angelita, who are in heaven,” another post read.

Don Felipe now has a comfortable bed with clean sheets and pillows and is reportedly grateful for the generosity of his hosts.

With reports from El Universal