Category Archives: Mexico

Mayor shot dead in Mexico months after surviving assassination attempt

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Valentín Lavín Romero is the 14th mayor to be murdered since Claudia Sheinbaum became president in 2024

A mayor was shot dead on Wednesday in the Mexican state of Morelos after having survived a previous assassination attempt earlier this year. He is the 14th mayor to be murdered since Claudia Sheinbaum became president in October 2024.

Valentín Lavín Romero, who was from the Green party, an ally of the ruling leftwing Morena party, was wounded at the end of January when hitmen shot him at a petrol station on a motorway.

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Mexican drug lord ‘El Mayo’ sentenced to life in prison in US federal court

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Case against Ismael Zambada García, who helped co-found and lead the violent Sinaloa cartel, unfolded in New York

The Mexican drug kingpin, Ismael Zambada García, known as “El Mayo”, was sentenced in a US federal court on Monday to life in prison, after a plea deal last year in which he admitted ⁠to shipping vast amounts of cocaine and other substances as leader of the violent Sinaloa cartel.

Zambada is 76 and one of the most high-profile Mexican ⁠drug traffickers to be sentenced in a US court since his fellow Sinaloa leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán ​was sentenced to life in prison in ‌2019. The case unfolded in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

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CDC and FDA link lettuce at Taco Bell in five states to cyclospora outbreak

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FDA investigation identified a single supplier of the lettuce, but federal warnings did not name the company

Federal health officials have identified lettuce from Mexico served by Taco Bell locations across five US states as a source of the widespread outbreak of the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the source late on Thursday and warned consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

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Mexico asks US state attorneys general to investigate immigrant ICE deaths

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Since start of Trump’s second term, 14 Mexican immigrants have died in ICE custody and three in agency operations

Mexico formally requested that US state attorneys general criminally investigate cases of immigrants who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody or during raids, the Mexican government said Tuesday.

The request follows the death of Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston. Since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term, 17 Mexican immigrants have died during immigration enforcement, 14 in ICE custody and three in agency operations.

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Derision at US chain Chipotle’s plan to sell its Mexican food in Mexico

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One social media user described the opening of its first outlet in Monterrey as ‘like the dog teaching a duck to fly’

A US chain’s plan to sell its version of Mexican food to Mexicans with a first branch south of the border has prompted bemusement, skepticism and anger among local people.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, known for its customisable burritos, tacos and bowls, has more than 4,000 locations worldwide and announced on Tuesday that it was expanding into Mexico in what it described as a significant milestone.

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Mexico to demand criminal complaints over migrants killed by ICE in US

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Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexicans ‘outraged’ over killing last week of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by agents in Houston

Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Monday that Mexico would be demanding criminal complaints in the US for the deaths of more than a dozen Mexican migrants in immigration detention and those killed in anti-migrant operations.

The deaths include last week’s killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, whom Sheinbaum said was “practically murdered”.

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Experts warn of ways screwworm could spread in the US and new difficulties in keeping it at bay

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Scientists worry that current eradication efforts won’t be able to contain parasitic infestation pushing into US

When conservationists set up cameras in remote regions of Central American forests, they wanted to monitor illegal cattle movement, which can lead to deforestation. But in recent months, they discovered another alarming development: wildlife rapidly infected with the new world screwworm.

It’s a warning sign of how the fly could spread in the US – and it signals new difficulties in pushing it back south, a process that will probably take years, experts say.

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Four people die in mass fan celebrations in Mexico City after World Cup victory

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  • Three of the victims died from suffocation

  • More than a million people gathered in Mexico City

Four people died, three ⁠from suffocation, as thousands of fans crowded Mexico City streets during World Cup celebrations, the capital’s health secretariat ⁠said in the early ⁠hours ​of Wednesday.

The deaths occurred near the Angel of Independence landmark, where thousands of fans had gathered to ⁠celebrate Mexico’s 2-0 victory over Ecuador in the last 32.

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Vehicle hits crowd in Cabo San Lucas after Mexico’s World Cup victory over Czechia

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  • City hall confirms a car drove through crowd

  • ‘Several people injured’ following incident

A ⁠vehicle struck multiple people at a gathering ⁠in ⁠the popular ​tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas ⁠following Mexico’s victory in a World ⁠Cup match on Wednesday night, ​Los ‌Cabos’ city ‌hall said in ‌a statement.

“According to preliminary information, the vehicle was surrounded by a group of people and, ‌for reasons to be determined by the ​competent authority, drove through the crowd, injuring several people,” city ⁠hall added.

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Duck off: World Cup hero Merlín barred from Mexico game due to Fifa’s animal ban

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  • World’s sixth-most famous duck falls short of dream

  • Two-year-old must watch Czechia game from distance

Merlín the duck’s bid to see his beloved Mexico live has hit a snag after he was barred from El Tri’s match with Czechia on Wednesday.

Merlín has become a folk hero in Mexico after becoming a symbol of El Tri’s World Cup campaign on home soil. His fans had launched a campaign for Merlín to attend Wednesday’s match alongside his human family. But his journey was cut short by Fifa regulations.

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NetJets aircraft crashes on Texas highway, killing one and injuring five

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The jet, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, lost contact with air traffic control and crashed in Laredo

A private jet carrying six people crashed on a highway in Laredo, Texas on Tuesday night, killing one person, local police said.

Videos shared online by the Laredo police department showed the wreckage of the aircraft and firefighters working at the scene. Other footage, shared by the Associated Press, captured the immediate aftermath of the crash, with flames rising from the plane as police and others worked to pull people from it.

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Duck, duck, goal: bird dressed in Mexico’s World Cup jersey scores on social media

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Images of Merlin, a two-year-old duck, parading on the streets of Mexico City celebrated by fans on social media

Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez may have scored the goals, but a duck stole the show.

As Mexico celebrated its World Cup-opening victory over South Africa on Thursday, Merlin, a two-year-old duck dressed in the national team’s colors, became an unlikely internet sensation and the tournament’s first unofficial mascot.

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An ideological tug-of-war: the pressures facing Iran’s World Cup squad in US

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Flag bans, travel headaches and a religious regime video among bumps in road, as team prepares to be first to play in country with which it is at war

Iran will present a major challenge to Fifa’s “football unites the world” slogan on Monday by becoming the first country in World Cup history to compete on the soil of a host nation with which it is at war.

The national team’s opening match against New Zealand in Los Angeles will kick off amid continuing hostilities between Iran and the US that have intensified in recent days, as a fragile ceasefire has failed to hold and attempts at reaching a negotiated settlement have sputtered.

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Florida shaken by 6.1-magnitude earthquake off coast of Cuba

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Earthquake was region’s strongest tremor in nearly 150 years and was also felt in parts of Mexico including Cancún

An earthquake on Monday off the coast of Cuba, which was that region’s strongest tremor in nearly 150 years, could be felt in Florida and parts of Mexico.

The 6.1-magnitude earthquake, which struck in the afternoon, occurred approximately 65 miles (105km) north-west of Mantua, Cuba, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS added that the earthquake had a depth of 16 miles.

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Mexico’s ex-president accuses US of plotting to weaken governing party

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Andrés Manuel López Obrador says Washington is using investigations into governors and propaganda to boost rivals

Mexico’s former president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has accused US officials of trying to weaken the governing party to strengthen the opposition, amid rising tensions between the two countries over Washington’s investigations into several Mexican governors.

“Some US officials are plotting to weaken Morena and strengthen the rightwing opposition in Mexico with the aim of restoring a subservient, corrupt, mafia-like, and cruel government,” López Obrador wrote in a lengthy letter posted on X on Wednesday.

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

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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.

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Mexico City police teargas teachers’ protest 10 days before World Cup

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Teachers associated with CNTE union were marching toward Zócalo for salary raises and reversal of pension laws

Riot police fired teargas at teachers who were marching toward Mexico City’s historic Zócalo plaza, just days before the square is expected to host the 2026 World Cup “Fan Fest”. The incident is the second time police have clashed with teachers in the past week, and more conflict is likely as Mexico City prepares to hold the opening game of the Fifa World Cup on 11 June.

“This event will have to be suspended,” Filiberto Frausto, a union leader, told AFP, which witnessed police firing teargas on 1 June. “A cause like ours should be far above – it’s far more important than a little bit of distraction and fun.”

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

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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”.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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