Mexiconews

March is here, and with it the typical start to sargassum season, when the noxious seaweed begins washing up on Mexico’s Caribbean coastline, darkening the sea, fouling the sand and chasing away the tourists. This year could be worse than ever. Local authorities are hoping to avoid the kind of sargassum invasions that turned Playa del Carmen into a slippery field of seaweed in previous years. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro) For one thing, the season started earlier than usual, with the slimy invader first washing up on Isla Mujeres in the second week of January.  According to industry publication Reportur, 244 tonnes of sargassum were collected from Tulum in February, up from 59 in 2025. It has since accumulated in many other beaches along the Quintana Roo coastline, particularly near Playa del Carmen.  “This year is going to be terrible,” said Rosa Rodríguez, a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s Institute of Limnology and Marine Sciences in Puerto...

Five people were killed after an oil leak sparked a large fire just outside the Olmeca Refinery in the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco on Tuesday, state oil company Pemex reported. Four of the deceased were workers for a services company not affiliated with Pemex, while the fifth victim was a woman who worked for the state oil company. The refinery is located in the municipality of Paraíso. Pemex said in a statement that the four service company workers were in a vehicle on a federal road adjacent to the refinery when “the disaster occurred” on Tuesday morning. According to the newspaper El Universal, the workers abandoned the vehicle and attempted to reach safety, but were unable to outrun the flames. In addition to the five fatalities, Pemex said that people were injured in the blaze but didn’t specify how many. Pemex: Fire started outside the refinery limits  Pemex said that heavy rain caused an “overflow of oily water,” which accumulated outside the perimeter fence of the re...

With all the attention a few years back to the prospect of ‘Day Zero’ in CDMX, when the water taps run dry due to drought, decaying infrastructure, and overconsumption, little scrutiny has been paid to a similar crisis brewing in Guadalajara.  In 2026, the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (GMA) is facing serious water problems stemming from its own aging infrastructure, population growth, chronic underinvestment in new capacity, and poor decision-making. And now, these issues are impacting both the supply and quality of water reaching the city’s residents and businesses. SIAPA, Guadalajara’s municipal water authority, is struggling with several challenges that are affecting residents water supplies. (gob.mx) Aging infrastructure According to Josué Daniel Sánchez Tapetillo, a consultant and specialist in hydrology and hydraulics, Guadalajara faces a “vicious spiral” in which long-term neglect of its water infrastructure, limited financial capacity, and corruption conspire ...

The Foreign Relations Ministry (SRE) reported that as of Tuesday, March 17, it has facilitated the evacuation of 1,337 Mexican citizens from several countries in the war-ravaged Middle East. The SRE also reported that no Mexicans have been killed injured due to the conflict that began on Feb. 28.  Aviso importante a las personas mexicanas en EAU. pic.twitter.com/Qqfv3JGZ7C — Embamex Emiratos Árabes Unidos (@EmbaMexEAU) March 12, 2026 In addition to the U.S. and Israel strikes against Iran and Iran’s counterstrikes against Israel, Iran has launched continuous missiles and drones against Gulf countries hosting U.S. military bases, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.  The ongoing hostilities have led Mexican tourists and residents to seek support from the embassies to evacuate.   “Regarding the situation in the Middle East, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations reports that consular actions by our embassies in the M...

Federal authorities say efforts to clean up an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico are approximately 85% complete, though officials are still trying to determine the origin of the spill. Containment actions in the Gulf where the hydrocarbon plume was initially detected have concluded and no residue remains, officials say. More than 90 tonnes of waste impregnated with oil have been collected from beaches in the municipality of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz: 40 tonnes from Playa Barrillas, 20 tonnes from Playa Linda and 30 tonnes from Playa Jicacal.  At the same time, roughly 1 tonne of contaminated materials has been cleared from the Laguna del Ostión in the municipality of Pajapan to the northwest. The collected waste was transferred to temporary storage cells set up for handling and final disposal, while cleanup efforts continue apace. Simultaneously, land tours were conducted in the Tabasco municipalities of Paraíso and Cárdenas. The collection of contaminated waste was continuing in ...

The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) has just approved a resolution to prevent the use of specialized equipment and controlled materials in the production of synthetic drugs, following a proposal by Mexico.  With the official name of “the Resolution on Article 13 of the 1998 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances,” it was adopted as part of the 69th session of the CND in Vienna on March 13. It specifically targets tableting and encapsulating machines, which are normally used for legitimate purposes in the medical field, but according to Mexico’s Foreign Relations Ministry (SRE), “are being used for the production of synthetic drugs.” The international community came together this week at #CND69 to discuss and decide on global responses to the world drug problem. Watch the CND Chair, Ambassador Andranik Hovhannisyan @ARMEmbVienna share the highlights of this year’s session. pic.twitter.com/8VRmUELdHn — ...