Kidnappings, threats and ‘protection fees’: how can Mexico confront rise in deadly extortion?

With corrupt police on the streets and shopkeepers forced to pay gangs, president has vowed to tackle crime that now affects all parts of society

It was about 11pm and Luis* was about to get into an Uber to go home when the police car pulled up. One of the officers frisked him and produced two plastic bags with what looked like drugs: one contained some sort of powder, the other little crystals. Luis had never seen them before.

Luis, who asked not to use his real name for fear of reprisals, insisted that the drugs weren’t his, but the officers didn’t seem to care. They shoved him into the back of the police truck and drove into the night.

Continue reading...

Alarm at Mexico bill allowing elections to be annulled for ‘foreign interference’

Opposition says constitutional amendment would give bill ruling party carte blanche to overturn will of voters

Amid fierce criticism from opposition groups, Mexico’s senate has passed ‌a constitutional amendment to include “foreign interference” as grounds to annul election results in the country.

The bill, which was presented by the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, defines foreign interference as “illicit financing, propaganda, the systematic ⁠dissemination of misinformation, digital manipulation, and ⁠the intervention of foreign governments ⁠or agencies”.

Continue reading...

President Sheinbaum allows Iran team to stay in Mexico during World Cup after US refusal

Fifa approached Mexico after US declined to host Iran squad despite it playing group games in the United States

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Monday her government agreed to allow the Iranian national football team to stay in Mexico during the World Cup, adding that the US did not want to host the team.

The team will still play its group stage matches in the US but its base has been moved to Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, California, a move that Iran’s football federation announced recently and that was formally confirmed by Fifa, the sport’s governing body, on Monday.

Continue reading...

Pressure on Mexico after two ex-officials surrender to US over alleged cartel ties

Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum denies any links between her Morena party and organized crime

Pressure is mounting on Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, after two former top officials from the country’s Sinaloa state – both members of her Morena party – gave themselves up to US authorities over alleged ties to the Sinaloa cartel.

The state’s former security minister Gerardo Mérida Sánchez crossed the border into Arizona last week and was taken into custody by US marshals, Mexico’s security ministry said. Sinaloa’s former finance minister, Enrique Díaz Vega, was taken into custody in New York.

Continue reading...

Cartel corruption claims push US-Mexico relations to breaking point

With Mexico under pressure from Trump to tackle drug trafficking groups, analysts say ‘it’s the most tense situation since the 1980s’

Relations between Mexico and the United States are being pushed to breaking point amid accusations by Washington that Mexican officials have been “in bed for years” with drug traffickers, and reports of CIA agents freely operating south of the border.

“There are many who are betting on the defeat and failure of the Mexican government,” said Claudia Sheinbaum tersely on Wednesday, when asked about the allegations at a news conference. ”We want a good relationship with the United States government. What are our limits? The defence of sovereignty and respect for the Mexican people and their dignity.”

Continue reading...

Mexico warns US involvement in anti-drug operation should not be repeated

Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexico was not aware of US participation until four officials were killed in car crash

Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, said on Monday that her government told the United States, in a diplomatic note, that the unauthorized presence of US officials at an anti-narcotics operation in the northern state of Chihuahua should not be repeated.

The incident came to light after two US officials, along with two Mexican officials, were killed in a car crash on 19 April after the operation. Sheinbaum has said the federal government was not aware of the participation of the US officials, who were widely reported to be CIA officers.

Continue reading...

Sheinbaum vows to ‘defend Mexicans at every level’ amid anger at Trump over migrant deaths

Sheinbaum has recently been taking a firmer stance with the US, defying pressures where other countries have caved

The Mexican government has voiced concern about the deaths of its citizens in US custody, with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum also pushing back against the Trump administration’s decision to impose an energy blockade on Cuba.

The progressive Mexican leader has walked a careful line with Trump for more than a year, addressing provocations with a measured tone and meeting US requests to crack down on cartels more so than her predecessors, in an effort to offset threats of tariffs and US military action against gangs.

Continue reading...

Sheinbaum tells Trump: stop illegal arms trade from the US to Mexico

US president claimed he wanted to eradicate cartels and made comments about Mexico’s president that were deemed sexist in summit speech

Claudia Sheinbaum has responded to Donald Trump’s description of Mexico as the “epicenter of violence,” by calling on the US government to step up efforts to combat gun trafficking.

“There is something that the US can help us a lot with: stop the trafficking of illegal weapons from the US to Mexico,” the president of Mexico said. “If they stopped the entry of illegal weapons from the United States into Mexico, then these groups wouldn’t have access to this type of high-powered weaponry to carry out their criminal activities.”

Continue reading...

Trump convenes ‘Shield of Americas’ summit with 12 Latin American leaders

In Miami, president calls for regional cooperation to counter Chinese economic and political interests

Donald Trump changed the channel from Iran to the western hemisphere on Saturday, convening a gathering of Latin American leaders at his Miami-area golf club to discuss regional interests and establishing what he called a “counter-cartel coalition”.

“Just as we formed a coalition to eradicate Isis, we now need a coalition to eradicate the cartels,” he told 12 regional leaders gathered at what the White House called the “Shield of the Americas” summit.

Continue reading...

Disappearances in Mexico surge by 200% over 10 years

More than 130,000 people considered missing or disappeared in Mexico as drug cartels expand

It was a bright morning in August 2022 when Ángel Montenegro was taken. A 31-year-old construction worker, Montenegro had been out all night drinking with some work buddies in the city of Cuautla and was waiting for a bus back to nearby Cuernavaca, where he lived.

At about 10am, a white van pulled up: several men jumped out and dragged Montenegro and a co-worker inside before speeding off. Montenegro’s co-worker was released a few hundred meters down the street, but Montenegro was driven away.

Continue reading...

Sheinbaum again dismisses Trump’s threat of sending troops to Mexico: ‘We do not want intervention’

Mexico’s president responds to Trump’s latest warning that he could authorize strikes against drug cartels in country

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has again dismissed Donald Trump’s threat of military action against drug cartels inside her country, telling reporters: “It’s not going to happen.”

Sheinbaum made the comments on Tuesday morning in response to the US president’s latest warning that he could authorise strikes in Mexico.

Continue reading...

At least 120 hurt in gen Z protests over corruption and drug violence in Mexico

Clashes erupt between protesters and riot police in the capital as rallies take place in cities across the country

At least 120 people were injured as thousands of gen Z protesters took to the streets of Mexico City and across the country to voice their anger at corruption and the drug violence that claims tens of thousands of Mexican lives each year.

​Saturday’s rallies, which took place in dozens of cities from Tijuana in the north to Oaxaca in the south drew large crowds, with some demonstrators carrying the One Piece pirate flag that has become a global symbol of the youth movement.

Continue reading...

Mexico takes action to combat sexual abuse after president publicly groped

Secretary for women presents plan, including prison sentences, after Claudia Sheinbaum was groped on street

The shocking public groping of Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has prompted rapid political action to tackle sexual abuse, as well as public debate on how best to address the problem, which is widespread across the country.

Citlalli Hernández, Mexico’s secretary for women, presented a presidential plan to confront the issue, which would include actions such as ensuring prison sentences for sexual abuse across Mexico, encouraging women to report incidents, and training prosecutors and other officials on how to handle the matter.

Continue reading...

Man gropes Mexican president as she speaks to citizens on the streets

Man tries to kiss and embrace Claudia Sheinbaum, highlighting security risk and harassment women face in Mexico

The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has been groped by a man as she mingled with citizens on the streets of Mexico City, raising questions about the lack of presidential security and the level of sexual harassment the country’s women face.

A video of the incident on Tuesday shows a visibly drunk man trying to kiss the president on the neck and embrace her from behind, as she removes his hands and turns to face him, before a government official steps in and places himself between them.

Continue reading...

Sheinbaum denies reports US will send troops to Mexico: ‘It’s not going to happen’

President says she’s repeatedly rejected such offers from Trump for US to confront Mexico’s powerful drug cartels

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has flatly denied reports that the United States is planning to send troops into Mexico to confront the country’s powerful cartels, noting that she had repeatedly rejected such offers from Donald Trump.

“It’s not going to happen,” Sheinbaum said during her daily morning news conference on Tuesday. “We do not agree with any process of interference or interventionism.”

Continue reading...

Sheinbaum’s expulsion of criminals is more about placating Trump than keeping Mexico safe

Perhaps not coincidentally, the timing of tariff discussions was closely followed by the transfer of wanted criminals

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has denied that the transfer of 26 alleged cartel members to the United States was part of any kind of deal with Washington and was instead about her country’s own security priorities.

This week’s expulsion marked the second time Mexico had sent top criminals to the US this year: in February, Mexican authorities handed over 29 cartel members, including druglord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was responsible for the murder of a DEA agent in 1985. The latest transfers took place after US authorities vowed that prosecutors would not seek the death penalty in any of the cases.

Continue reading...

Sheinbaum demands return of Mexican citizens held at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

Mexican president said citizens held at controversial Florida immigration jail ‘should be repatriated immediately’

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has said that the country is demanding the repatriation of at least 30 of its citizens currently being held in the controversial Florida immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz”.

The Mexican leader said on Wednesday that a note had been sent to US authorities “demanding that any Mexicans who might enter this detention center should be repatriated immediately”.

Continue reading...

Firefighters from Mexico aid Texas flood search and rescue: ‘There are no borders’

Team of firefighters and first responders volunteer along Guadalupe River after mass flooding in show of solidarity

A contingent of firefighters and first responders from Mexico arrived in Texas over the weekend to aid in search and rescue efforts following the devastating flooding of the Guadalupe River in a show of solidarity with their northern neighbors.

“When it comes to firefighters, there’s no borders,” Ismael Aldaba, founder of Fundación 911, in Acuña, Mexico, told CNN on Tuesday. “There’s nothing that’ll avoid us from helping another firefighter, another family. It doesn’t matter where we’re at in the world. That’s the whole point of our discipline and what we do.”

Continue reading...

Indigenous lawyer to head Mexico’s supreme court after direct election

Hugo Aguilar, who has links to governing party, topped unprecedented and controversial popular vote

An Indigenous lawyer from the state of Oaxaca is set to become the president of Mexico’s supreme court following the country’s unprecedented elections to appoint its entire judicial system by popular vote.

Activists hailed the election of Hugo Aguilar, a member of the Mixtec Indigenous group, as a symbolic victory – while noting that Aguilar, who topped the poll of candidates for the supreme court, had long since shifted from his own roots as an activist to a figure much more closely aligned with the state, and involved in controversial mega-projects such as the Maya Train.

Continue reading...

Mexican president hails ‘complete success’ after just 13% vote in judicial elections

Claudia Sheinbaum defends decision to put 2,600 judges’ posts to vote despite record low turnout

Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has defended the country’s unprecedented judicial elections after just 13% of Mexicans turned out to vote, a record low in a federal election.

Roughly 2,600 posts, from local magistrates to supreme court justices, were up for grabs on Sunday, as an entire judicial system was put to the vote for the first time in the world.

Continue reading...