Immigration Agency Orders Halt on Southward Migrant Deportations and Transfers
In a December 1 memo, the head of Mexico’s immigration agency cited a lack of funding during a record year of migration through Mexico; previously, the government had been busing migrants who reached areas near the U.S.-Mexico border to those farther south in the country in order to relieve pressure on border cities (AP)
Mexican Photojournalist Killed in Ciudad Juarez
Authorities said Ismael Villagómez was shot in his car; the city lies on the U.S.-Mexico border and has long been dominated by cartels (AP)
U.S., Mexican Presidents to Meet at APEC
President Joe Biden will hold bilateral talks with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in San Francisco today as the APEC summit continues; the two leaders are due to discuss migration, trade, and efforts to control fentanyl trafficking (El País)
Cartel War Grips Mexico’s Chiapas State
Security has further deteriorated in Chiapas, which is Mexico’s poorest state and borders Guatemala, as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel continue to battle for control of territory; even the left-wing Zapatista rebels recently announced a retreat from areas they had administered (France 24)
Thousands March After Death of Mexico’s First Nonbinary Political Figure
The first openly nonbinary person to assume judicial office in Mexico was found dead yesterday after receiving death threats due to their gender identity, officials said; Jesús Ociel Baena was one of the most visible LGBTQ+ figures in Mexico and was among the first to be issued a nonbinary passport (AP)
Thousands of people marched in the country’s capital last night demanding justice for Baena (CBS)
Mexico City Announces Water Restrictions Amid Drought
The restrictions will reduce water pressure in twelve of the city’s boroughs for several months due to a drought that has severely depleted reservoirs, authorities announced; the limits on water use mark the most severe drought-induced water restrictions in Mexico City’s history (AP)
Mexico to Increase Security Presence in Acapulco After Hurricane
Authorities announced plans to nearly triple the size of the National Guard force in the state of Guerrero, including the deployment of nearly 10,000 members to the crime-stricken town of Acapulco, to guarantee security as the region recovers from a hurricane that caused billions of dollars of damage (Reuters)
Shootouts Reported for Two Consecutive Days in Mexico’s Sonora State
Alleged local gang members ambushed Mexican security forces, leading to a manhunt for the shooters in nearby mountains (AP)
Category Five Hurricane Hits Mexico’s Pacific Coast
The storm brought heavy wind and rain to the city of Acapulco and nearby towns (AP)
Three Attacks in Southwest Mexico Kill At Least Twenty-Four People
Two attacks in Guerrero and Michoacan states targeted security forces and a mayor’s family, leaving at least twelve police officers and four civilians dead, and alleged drug dealers engaged in a gunfight in Puebla (AFP)
Mexican President to Propose Joint Latin American Strategy on Migration to U.S.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he will take joint Latin American proposals on addressing the hemispheric migrant crisis to Washington after hosting officials from nine countries to discuss the matter on Sunday; the proposals include increased economic cooperation measures (Bloomberg)
Mexico Says Cartel Forced a Dozen Tanker Trucks to Dump Gasoline
A government official confirmed the veracity of a video of the incident in Matamoros, along the U.S. border; a presumed member of the Scorpions, a faction of the Gulf cartel, said in the video all trucks would suffer the same fate if they did not pay the gang protection money (AP)
Mexico Honors Former General at Center of 2020 Diplomatic Spat With U.S.
The country gave a military honor to General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda; in 2020, he was arrested in the United States on drug-related charges, but prosecutors dropped them a month later over Mexico’s heavy objections (AP)
U.S., Mexican Officials Hold High-Level Talks on Drug Trade, Arms, Migration
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is leading a high-level delegation to Mexico City today to discuss the potential for bilateral and regional cooperation to address the smuggling of drugs and arms into the United States, as well as northward migration; the talks are particularly focused on preventing fentanyl trafficking, and Washington has urged Mexico to crack down on labs where the synthetic opioid is produced (NYT)
Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Colombia and Panama will participate in the migration portion of the meeting, as the Joe Biden administration has in recent months aimed to move migrant processing stations for northbound asylum seekers farther south, away from the southern U.S. border (AP)
Yesterday, Biden used an executive action to allow for the expansion of a border wall in southern Texas (AP)
Two Ruling Party Poll Workers Killed in Southern Mexico
A third member of the team was kidnapped while conducting polling for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s Morena party in Chiapas state; the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels are competing for influence in the area and reportedly recruit gunmen from across the Guatemalan border (AP)
Officials Find Six Dead, One Survivor After Seven People Abducted in Mexico
The youths were abducted from a farm in the north-central Zacatecas province, and the sole survivor was injured but stable; the kidnappings follow months of other mass abductions and gruesome killings throughout the country (AP)
Around a Dozen Bodies Found Scattered Around Monterrey
At least seven bodies and five bags of body parts were found, including in some of the country’s wealthiest neighborhoods, a day after a drug cartel placed threatening banners around the city; the violence was likely an internal purge and indicates persistent dangers in Mexico’s industrial hub, a city seen as a success story (AP)
Mexico’s Cartels Have Around 175,000 Members, Study Finds
These numbers make organized crime groups, numbering nearly two hundred, the fifth largest employer in the country; the authors argue that cutting down recruitment numbers would reduce violence, whereas incarcerating current members will only increase the murder rate (Guardian)
Ovidio Guzman Extradited to the United States
Ovidio Guzman, son of infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, will face fentanyl trafficking charges in a significant win for U.S. efforts to crack down on drug trafficking operations run by the Sinaloa Cartel (Reuters)
Attorney General Representative Killed in Gun Attack
Fernando Garcia Fernandez, the delegate for Mexico’s Attorney General’s office in the southern state of Guerrero, was attacked by gunmen near his office in the city of Chilpancingo (AP)
Gun Attack Injures Three in Northern Mexico
Armed civilians attacked a group of Mexican and American citizens traveling along the Roma Bridge in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas, injuring three Mexican passengers (Reuters)
U.S. Consulate Issues ‘Shelter in Place’ Order for Staff in Border Town Amid Gun Violence
The order was given to staff in the U.S. Consulate in the northern Mexican border town of Matamoros, which has recently experienced high levels of gun violence linked to drug trafficking (Reuters)
Mexican President Avoids Drugs, Crime in State of the Union Address
Though Mexico has over 111,000 missing people and many pockets of the country are run by gangs and drug cartels, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador did not mention crime or drugs in his hour-and-a-half-long speech (AP)
Record Number of Migrant Families Cross U.S.-Mexico Border
American border authorities arrested at least ninety-one thousand migrants who attempted to cross the southern U.S. border as part of a family group in August, the Washington Post reported; the number exceeds the May 2019 record of 84,486 (WaPo)
Mexico Sends 1,200 Troops to Michoacan Amid Rising Cartel Violence
The announcement follows a turbulent weekend, with stores and trucks set ablaze as part of extortion enforcement; the additional units were ordered to prevent road blockades so that normal business can resume (AP)