Mexico

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Mexico has a tactic to cut immigration to the US Driven by mounting pressure from the U.S. to block millions of vulnerable people headed north, but lacking the funds to deport them, Mexican authorities are employing a simple but harsh tactic: wearing migrants out until they give up. Read more.

Why this matters: Migrants are churning in limbo as authorities round them up across the country and dump them in the southern Mexican cities of Villahermosa and Tapachula. Some have been punted back as many as six times.   The moves have forced migrants, including pregnant women and children, into even more precarious situations. That’s likely to worsen under President Joe Biden’s new asylum restrictions, analysts say.   Mexico’s actions explain a plunge in arrivals to the U.S.-Mexico border, which dropped 40% from an all-time high in December and persisted through the spring. U.S. officials mostly credit Mexican vigilance around rail yards and highway checkpoints.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ President Joe Biden faces first lawsuit over new asylum crackdown at the border   AP sources: 8 people with possible Islamic State ties arrested in US on immigration violations   Some nationalities escape Biden’s sweeping asylum ban because deportation flights are scarce

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Through connection to their land, Tarahumara runners are among Mexico’s most beloved champions

CHIHUAHUA, México (AP) — Miguel Lara was born to run. It’s in his blood, his people’s history and tied to the land he calls “home.”

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-indigenous-runners-tarahumara-mountains-raramuri-e1915da4a0f63b9ea930fde57b699990?

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Assault on US avocado inspectors in Mexican state led to suspension of inspections

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two employees of the U.S. Agriculture Department were assaulted and temporarily held by assailants in the Mexican state of Michoacan, prompting the U.S. government to suspend inspections of avocado and mango shipments, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico said Tuesday.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-us-avocados-inspections-michoacan-3779355273cbce6bcf81d2763839daa3?

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Massive displacement is the latest sign of fear in a Mexican state disputed by cartels

It was night when residents began hearing gunshots in the remote town of Tila in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Then came trucks and the voices of men discussing which houses to burn. Five hours of shooting were followed by three days of people hiding inside their homes waiting for help. When soldiers showed up and some 5,000 people fled with what they could carry, it was one of the largest displacements of people in southern Mexico since the 1990s. Read more.

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US arrests 2 leaders of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel: ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and son of ‘El Chapo’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a longtime leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of another infamous cartel leader, were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas on Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department said.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-drug-lord-captured-mayo-zambada-092bb02d8116fe462b6e1340547a4c77?

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Cartel leaders   Two alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel were arrested Thursday, including the son of the notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 38, and the alleged co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, 76, were caught in a sting operation in El Paso, Texas, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. Both Zambada and Guzman Lopez face several charges for allegedly leading the cartel's criminal operations, including the trafficking of "tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the US along with related violence," FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

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Mexico suggests US made a deal with Mexican drug lord to get his brother transferred from prison

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Prosecutors in Mexico suggested Thursday that U.S. authorities made a deal with a Mexican drug lord who turned in himself and another capo, to get his brother transferred from a U.S. prison.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-mayo-zambada-drug-lord-sinaloa-cartel-b6845a2a85ad8d316d7929b4fdae016e?

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As Mexican protesters block Congress over judicial overhaul, lawmakers head to vote in nearby gym

MEXICO CITY (AP) — After protesters blocked the entrance to Mexico’s Congress on Tuesday in an attempt to stop a controversial judicial overhaul, lawmakers took the first steps to jam through the proposal at a nearby gymnasium.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-constitutional-changes-elected-judges-06828fb40cdfe51956e86e4d4e8c802d?

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Mexico protests

 

Mexican lawmakers were forced to suspend debate on a controversial judicial reform after protesters broke down the doors of the Senate building and forced their way into the upper level of the chamber. The vote on the sweeping constitutional reform — under which Mexicans would elect judges by popular vote — was later passed by the Senate, clearing a key hurdle. Dramatic footage of the scene showed protesters banging on the doors of the chamber while others waved the Mexican flag from a gallery above the floor of the Senate. The constitutional changes that sparked the unrest are being championed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has long been critical of his country's Supreme Court after it stood in the way of some of his signature policy proposals.

 

Protesters storm Mexico’s Senate after ruling party wins votes for court overhaul

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hundreds of protesters broke into Mexico’s Senate on Tuesday as lawmakers weighed a contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary, forcing the body to take a temporary recess for the safety of the senators.

https://apnews.com/article/senate-judicial-overhaul-mexico-lopez-obrador-morena-democracy-pan-51fc7937a7b9a8be3217ef0ae9262602?

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Mexican president blames the US for bloodshed in Sinaloa as cartel violence surges

CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blamed the United States in part on Thursday for the surge in cartel violence terrorizing the northern state of Sinaloa which has left at least 30 people dead in the past week.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-sinaloa-cartel-violence-culiacan-lopez-obrador-671dd018e57d9bea1e3f8b58c866939b?

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Claudia Sheinbaum sworn in as 1st female president of Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in Tuesday as Mexico’s first female president, riding the enthusiasm over her predecessor’s social programs but also facing challenges that include stubbornly high levels of violence.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-president-claudia-sheinbaum-7d3599b39a7298df46e7eda34d80afee?

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For Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, the old ways have changed and violence rages Cellphone chats have become death sentences in the bloody factional war inside Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel. Cartel gunmen stop youths on the street or in their cars and demand their phones. If they find a contact who’s a member of a rival faction, a chat with the wrong word, or a photo with the wrong person, the phone owner is dead. Then, they’ll go after everyone on that person’s contact list, forming a potential chain of kidnapping, torture and death. Read more.

Why this matters: In Culiacan, the presence of the Sinaloa cartel is woven into everyday life and people know to stay indoors when they see the convoys of double-cab pickups racing through the streets. Residents had long been accustomed to a day or two of violence, until they saw the solid month of fighting that broke out Sept. 9 between factions of the Sinaloa cartel after drug lords Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were apprehended in the United States on July 25.    The State Council on Public Safety, a civic group, estimates that in the past month there have been an average of six killings and seven disappearances or kidnappings in and around the city every day. The group said about 200 families have fled their homes in outlying communities because of the violence.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Mexico’s former public security chief set to be sentenced in US drug case   4 mayors in Mexico ask for protection after another was beheaded    Mexico’s president lays out a plan to combat cartel violence. But it looks like more of the same

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Mexico announces food and agriculture plan that could take the country back to the 1980s

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s new president announced an agriculture plan Tuesday that could make the country’s food production and distribution look a lot more like it did in the 1980s, when meals in Mexico were dominated by tortillas, beans, instant coffee and cheap hot chocolate.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-food-agriculture-plan-beans-nostalgia-1e3bd9d5e1af9e57376d2509e90d1260?

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Scientists detect traces of an ancient Mayan city in southern Mexico using laser-sensor technology

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Archaeologists using laser-sensing technology have detected what may be an ancient Mayan city cloaked by jungle in southern Mexico, authorities said Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/valeriana-mexico-maya-lost-city-campeche-lasers-archaeology-e849a21fc3063c6cf023f6718207e110?

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Afraid of losing the US-Canada trade pact, Mexico alters its laws and removes Chinese parts

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has been taking a bashing lately for allegedly serving as a conduit for Chinese parts and products into North America, and officials here are afraid a re-elected Donald Trump or politically struggling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could try to leave their country out of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-us-canada-free-trade-agreement-fa29352ff219a4ab76a8f158d72d2651?

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Mexico's president would impose retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump's plan

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that she would impose tariffs in retaliation to those proposed by President-elect Trump in a newly outlined plan for the start of his administration.

https://www.axios.com/2024/11/26/tariffs-retaliation-trump-mexico-canada-china?

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Notorious drug lord Osiel Cárdenas returned to Mexico after US sentence, is quickly re-arrested

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Notorious drug lord Osiel Cárdenas Guillén has been returned to Mexico after serving a U.S. sentence and was quickly re-arrested and sent to a maximum security prison to face Mexican charges.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-drug-lord-rearrested-osiel-cardenas-gulf-cartel-82bd9b69649a9ceaee53a39b1b971ee9?

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🇲🇽 Mexico creating app for migrants

Migrants hold smartphones and chargers through a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego last year. Photo: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images Mexico is launching a smartphone app that allows Mexican migrants to warn relatives and instantly alert the nearest consulate if U.S. immigration agents detain them, Axios' Russell Contreras reports. Why it matters: The announcement is part of a broad warning by Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum that the nation will defend Mexican citizens in the U.S. amid President-elect Trump's mass deportation plans. Mexico Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente said at a press conference that the "emergency notification" app will go live in January. Read the announcement ...

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Mexico opens possibility of receiving non-Mexican deportees from Trump

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico opened the possibility Friday of receiving non-Mexican migrants deported by the United States after initially saying they would push President-elect Donald Trump to return other nationalities directly to their countries of origin.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-us-migrants-trump-deportations-c18d850aa67e39e826a2050eaf7c440a?

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Punks distribute toys to children in need for Three Kings Day in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY (AP) — As a teenage punk 35 years ago, José Luis Escobar Hoyos wanted to show his mother that his lifestyle wasn’t just about dressing in chains and spikes and listening to loud, accelerated music.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-three-kings-punk-toys-312389de72a6dbdd9a8bf937cfd0157d?

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Mexico offers protection to famed singer after drug cartel death threats

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in Mexico are offering state protection to famed regional Mexican singer Natanael Cano and other artists after a drug cartel in northern Mexico publicly threatened them, prosecutors confirmed to The Associated Press.

https://apnews.com/article/natanael-cano-mexico-corridos-chapitos-peso-pluma-sinaloa-cartel-47789cd8d983d2dc9c3ceabbe9fc3455?

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Mexico threatens Google with lawsuit over "Gulf of America" label on maps

Mexico is threatening to sue Google over the tech giant's use of President Trump's "Gulf of America" (renamed from Gulf of Mexico) label on its maps.

https://www.axios.com/2025/02/18/mexico-google-maps-lawsuit-gulf-of-america-trump?

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A cartel-plagued Mexican city pins its hopes on Trump's anti-drug trafficking pressure

For the past six months, Mexico's Culiacan has been the battlefield for the two main factions of the Sinaloa drug cartel. Now, many residents are grateful for the pressure applied by U.S. President Donald Trump to get Mexico to go after the cartels. Read More.

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Mexico City bans violent bullfighting, sparking fury and celebration

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City lawmakers on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to ban violent bullfighting, triggering outrage from aficionados and celebration from animal rights advocates.

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-city-bullfighting-animal-rights-fiesta-brava-09707d6eddef807bc330fc286d7b1b15?

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Jalisco cartel lures recruits with fake jobs through social platforms and kills those who resist Online recruiting techniques and complicit local authorities have been among the details revealed by the renewed investigation of a ranch in western Mexico where authorities say the Jalisco New Generation Cartel trained its recruits. Lured by fake job offers, those who resisted risked death. Read more.

Why this matters: One of Mexico’s most powerful cartels, which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says has around 19,000 in its ranks, developed rapidly into an extremely violent and capable force after it split from the Sinaloa cartel. The Jalisco cartel is led by Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, for whom the U.S. government has offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture.   The Jalisco cartel employs three recruiting methods: There are volunteers drawn by the pay and imagined lifestyle, which experts say make up the bulk of their number; there’s targeted recruitment of ex-military and police forces, who enter the cartel as trainers and leaders of squads of gunmen. Finally, there’s the kind of forced recruitment that investigators say happened at the Jalisco ranch. Authorities say the cartel uses social platforms — they’ve identified at least 60 pages — to offer fake job opportunities, especially as security guards, with weekly salaries of $600, well above the average for such positions. Once they have the applicants, they force them to join the cartel.   The case of the ranch also serves as an example of how the Jalisco cartel is able to operate with impunity in territory it controls thanks to the complicity of local authorities, Center for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology researcher Carlos Flores said. Jalisco’s “capacity for violent action” and style of “irregular warfare” aided its speedy rise, Flores added, which coincided with the emergence of fentanyl as a highly profitable revenue stream.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Mexico’s security chief quietly forms an elite force to take on the drug cartels   US sanctions Sinaloa Cartel associates for alleged money laundering   Facts, not fear: Inside Mexico’s pioneering drug harm reduction programs