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US issues security alert concerning area of Mexicali

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U.S. officials have expressed concern that a recent drug bust in the northern border city of Mexicali could result in retaliatory violence by the “Los Rusos” crime gang. In a tersely worded alert issued on Monday , the U.S. Embassy in Mexico urged U.S. citizens to be aware of the potential threat, adding that all “U.S. government activities in, and travel to, Mexicali have been suspended on August 25.” The statement encouraged U.S. citizens to be aware of their surroundings at all times, to avoid local government buildings in Mexicali and to “notify friends and family of your safety in the event of an incident.” The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana — about 180 kilometers (112 miles) east of Mexicali — shared the warning, but did not provide any details about the supposed threat. On Tuesday morning, President Claudia Sheinbaum said the alert was issued due to the possibility that a criminal group could pose a danger, though she said “there is no specific issue.” The Baja California state...
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Another major bust nets weapons, drugs and 20 CJNG-related arrests 

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Federal authorities dismantled a major criminal cell over the weekend, arresting 20 people and seizing weapons and exotic animals.  The joint operation targeted a network allegedly linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and featured simultaneous raids on 36 properties in the states of Hidalgo, Jalisco and Michoacán. Security Minister Omar García Harfuch released this photo on his Facebook page along with a statement in which he mentioned that among the contraband confiscated from the detained alleged CJNG members were exotic animals, including tigers and panthers. (Omar García Harfuch) In an official statement , Mexico’s Security Ministry said the Aug. 21-23 operation was the result of intelligence and investigative work by the Defense Ministry, the Navy, the Security Ministry, the Federal Attorney General’s Office and the National Guard. The statement said that the operation resulted “in the arrest of 20 individuals linked to the CJNG,” adding that “authorities se...
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Several storm systems, including a potential hurricane, are dumping rain across much of Mexico

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Mexico’s National Meteorological Service (SMN) is monitoring three simultaneously occurring and potentially cyclonic tropical storms that are expected to continue to bring rain to much of the country, along with lightning, hail and strong winds. One of the storms is Tropical Storm Iselle, safely offshore but expected to reach Category 1 hurricane force as it moves further out into the Pacific. Tropical Storm Iselle is developing far enough offshore (920 km) that Mexico’s Pacific coast is not visible in this satellite photo released by the National Meteorological Service, but Iselle still has done its share to bring rain to much of Mexico. (SMN) The atmospheric instability over northwestern Mexico will lead to continued showers and heavy rain. As a result, heavy rainfall of between 50 and 75 mm is expected on Monday in the western states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima and Michoacán, along with strong waves in Baja California Sur. At the same time, low-pressure troughs will interac...
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Mexico’s week in review: Fugitive swaps, a strawberry spat and a stronger peso

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Mexico and the United States spent the week of Aug. 17 trading shows of security cooperation, from fugitive handovers to a new drone-technology pact, culminating Wednesday in a federal operation in Michoacán that saw nine alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel arrested and set off narco-blockades at more than 20 points across the state. That cooperation ran alongside friction on other fronts. Mexico is contesting a proposed U.S. antidumping tariff on strawberry exports and objecting to Washington’s decision to deport some Mexicans to Central America rather than home, as trade uncertainty lingers more than a month after the U.S. declined to renew the USMCA free trade deal in its current form. Domestically, the fallout from the U.S. visa revocation of former president López Obrador’s son continued to shadow the government’s messaging on fuel-smuggling enforcement. Against that backdrop, the peso’s push below 17 to the dollar stood out as a rare poi...
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Guadalajara residents turn to citizen science as water crisis deepens

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On a Saturday morning in Guadalajara’s historic Analco neighborhood, residents arrived at the Casa Bandera community center carrying bottles and jars filled with water from their homes . At folding tables, researchers from ITESO, Guadalajara’s Jesuit university, showed them how to dip inexpensive reactive strips into the samples, wait for the colors to change and compare the results against a chart measuring pH, chlorine, lead, mercury and other indicators. Samples showing signs of possible bacterial contamination could undergo additional testing for E. coli. It was the latest workshop in an expanding citizen water-monitoring network that has grown out of Guadalajara’s months-long water crisis — and out of residents’ frustration with what they see as inadequate information and action from the authorities responsible for providing safe water. “We don’t claim to be scientific specialists or water experts,” Héctor Morales, one of the workshop presenters, told participants. “We are cit...
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Missed the deadline? Here’s how to get your cell phone service back

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The first enforced deadline for compliance with mandatory cell phone registration came and went on Aug. 15 and approximately 2.6 million phone lines were suspended, prompting chaos and confusion for users whose now-unregistered phone numbers end in “0.” Mexico’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT) announced on Thursday that nearly 9.7 million users whose number ends in “0” successfully registered their cell phones before the deadline. (CRT / X) The CRT also said that just over 2.3 million users whose lines had been suspended managed to reactivate their phone service by Aug. 19. Another 2.6 million mobile phones are expected to be reactivated in the coming days, while the CRT expects 2.5 million “unused” lines to be decommissioned. Those who failed to register before the deadline faced plenty of online misinformation, but those whose service was suspended can still recover their service because their phone number was not canceled. To reactivate the service, users must c...
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Mexico’s urban sprawl is steadily reshaping life in its biggest cities

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A new study has found that 69 Mexican metropolitan areas nearly doubled their urban populations from 1990 to 2020, but much of that growth occurred farther from the heart of downtown, leaving their central areas with 2.5 million fewer residents. The study, published July 25 by researchers at Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Center for the Future of Cities (CFC) and the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna, Austria, examined census data from 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020. Typical of many large Mexican urban areas, Guadalajara’s recent growth has resulted in a loss of 200,000 residents from within a 5-kilometer radius of the city center. (Shutterstock) It found that population distribution shifted steadily toward intermediate, distant and peripheral areas. More than 40% of residents in the metro areas studied lived in central areas in 1990. By 2020, that share had fallen to 22%, according to the research. Researchers said limited affordable housing in established urban areas — where land an...
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