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Former Pemex CEO’s legal troubles deepen with a 4.8 billion-peso corruption complaint

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A day after being remanded to prison on domestic abuse charges, former Pemex CEO Víctor Rodríguez is now being linked to a questionable 4.8 billion-peso (US $277 million) no-bid vehicle-leasing contract while in charge of the state oil company. A formal complaint about the contract was submitted to the Anti-Corruption Ministry on July 6 and then forwarded to the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), the Tax Administration Service (SAT) and the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR). The shadow of corruption now hangs over two former leaders of Pemex — Emilio Lozoya and Victor Rodríguez — with a complaint against the latter in the hands of three powerful federal agencies — SAT, UIF and FGR. (Roberto Arcide / Unsplash) The complaint requests a review of the legality of the procedure by which the contract was awarded, as well as an investigation into the technical and financial capacity of the consortium comprising the companies Arrendo Serv and Impulsa Tu Ganancia to which it was g...

A Chiapas zoo welcomes a newborn tapir, a conservation win for the endangered mammal

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The Miguél Álvarez del Toro Zoo in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, is celebrating the birth of a male Baird’s tapir , a mammal that is classified as endangered. The birth of the calf is the result of the Central American Tapir Conservation and Reproduction Program, carried out in coordination with Mexico City’s Chapultepec Zoo. The baby tapir clearly has a lot of growing to do, but he may never reach the size of his mother, Coco, since adult females are generally larger than males and can reach up to 600 pounds. (ZooMAT) The zoo, known as ZooMAT, announced the arrival of the baby tapir in a Facebook post: “Our little one was born weighing 8.4 kilograms and remains with his mother, Coco, who is caring for him naturally and has already allowed him to have his first colostrum feedings, essential to strengthen his immune system and provide him with protection during his first stage of life.” Zoo officials cautioned that the first few weeks are critical for the development and survival...

Cartel leader ‘El Mayo’ Zambada says he’ll accept a life sentence, but asks for medical care

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Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, the Sinaloa Cartel leader who last year pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court, needs — and deserves — to be incarcerated in a prison where he can receive adequate medical care for his various health issues. That’s the crux of a letter Frank A. Perez, Zambada’s lawyer, sent this week to Brian M. Cogan, federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York . Frank Perez, El Mayo’s attorney, made the unusual argument to the presiding judge that his client not only deserves to be incarcerated but needs to be. The catch? He is pleading for adequate medical care for El Mayo while he’s behind bars. (Frank Perez) At the start of the July 6 “ sentencing letter ,” Perez wrote that its purpose was to “assist the Court with its decision regarding an appropriate sentence, and particularly, an appropriate recommendation for designation within the U.S. Bureau...

Mexico in Numbers: Mexico’s largest and most populous islands

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Mexico has 4,110 islands, islets, reefs and keys , according to the national statistics agency INEGI . Among the country’s many islands, which are the largest and which have the highest population? If you don’t already know, you’ll find out in this week’s “Mexico in Numbers” article! Mexico’s largest islands  Mexico’s largest island is Isla Tiburón (Shark Island), an uninhabited island in the Gulf of California off the coast of the northern state of Sonora. The area of Isla Tiburón is 1,198.7 square kilometers , according to INEGI. Thus, Isla Tiburón is just over 20 times larger than the island of Manhattan , New York, whose area is approximately 59 square kilometers. Mexico’s second largest island is Isla Ángel de la Guarda (Guardian Angel Island), which is also in the Gulf of California. The area of Isla Ángel de la Guarda, located off the eastern coast of Baja California, is 930.4 square kilometers . The island is around 16 ...

MND Local: Multi-year plan announced to fix water problems in Guadalajara, plus a World Cup economic boost

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Based on a new strategy unveiled by the Intermunicipal System of Drinking Water and Sewerage Services (SIAPA) last week, the road to better water quality in the Guadalajara Metro Area (GMA) will be long and expensive. But with receipts now in, local authorities are highlighting some positive (if surprising) economic impacts from tourism tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Jalisco’s strategic plan to improve water quality and access in the Guadalajara Metro  With one in 10 neighborhoods in the GMA experiencing dirty water from water taps and others suffering from service outages, Jalisco state officials announced last week that solving these problems will require infrastructure investment of more than 20 billion pesos (US $1.1 billion), with projects spanning years. Protestan en Casa Jalisco: exigen a Pablo Lemus alerta sanitaria por agua contaminada con plomo y mercurio pic.twitter.com/kuZ1m0Fg3r — SIAPA CORRUPTO (@SiapaCorrupto) July 4, 2026 The high cost reflects the need to rep...

MND Local: Ecological and tourism challenges for Baja California Sur’s 3 oldest protected areas

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The first Protected Natural Area (in Spanish, Área Natural Protegida , or ANP) in Baja California Sur was established in 1972, two years before the then territory officially became a Mexican state. That was the Ojo de Liebre Lagoon Complex, a gray whale sanctuary whose designation as a Biosphere Reserve helped pave the way not only for the state’s whale watching industry but for the 12 other ANPs that would subsequently be added.  These protected areas have been the site of many conservation success stories, but there have also been numerous setbacks, both due to climate change and to the pressures on these ecosystems from business and tourism-related developments. This is particularly true for the three oldest ANPs, which all date to the 1970s. Ojo de Liebre Lagoon Complex and El Vizcaíno The Ojo de Liebre Lagoon Complex has been a federally protected breeding sanctuary for gray whales in Baja California Sur for over 50 years. (Simec/Conanp) Ojo de Liebre is a case in point. By 19...

Ex-Pemex CEO arrested on domestic violence charges

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Víctor Rodríguez Padilla, the former CEO of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), was arrested in Mexico City on Tuesday following a domestic violence complaint filed by his wife, María Felicia Jiménez Lavie. The arrest came after Jiménez posted a video on YouTube that shows Rodríguez hitting, pulling and pushing his wife at their home in the state of Morelos. The security camera video also shows the pair’s 6-year-old son fleeing the scene after the violence erupts.  Mexico’s National Arrest Registry indicates that Rodríguez’s arrest took place in the Narvarte neighborhood of the Benito Juárez borough on Tuesday afternoon at 5:32 p.m., after which he was handed over to the Morelos Public Prosecutor’s Office, where an investigation file for the crime of domestic violence was opened.   Following the release of the video, President Claudia Sheinbaum advocated for the full application of the law in the case involving Rodríguez and pledged that her government “wouldn’t protect anyone in the face ...