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Ohuira Bay communities weigh federal plan for Sinaloa ammonia plant

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TOPOLOBAMPO, Mexico — When federal officials finally unveiled a plan last week to address the 12-year conflict over a nearly completed ammonia plant beside Ohuira Bay, Indigenous Yoreme activist, rural sociologist and law student Melina Maldonado did not feel relieved. She felt crushed. Melina Maldonado Sandoval, rural sociologist and law student, comes from a long line of Yoreme fisherfolk. (Tracy L. Barnett) After six days of roundtable discussions, she had begun to feel hopeful; it seemed they were really taking in new information and seeing a different side to the debate. The proposal led her to believe otherwise. “They didn’t listen to our reasons for saying no,” Maldonado said. “They listened for a way to make it a yes.” The federal proposal promises environmental safeguards, community monitoring and public investment around the German-backed GPO-Proman plant in northern Sinaloa state . But it leaves the project’s operation largely intact — and that has exposed the fundament...
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Mexico’s week in review: US suspends avocado certs, fracking studies continue and Peru rift ends

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President Claudia Sheinbaum’s daily press conferences set much of the week’s agenda, moving from children’s social media use to a government transparency decree, a high-profile murder, fracking policy and a diplomatic breakthrough with Peru. Economic data told a mixed story too, with a strengthening peso set against a sharp drop in Pemex profit and a battered Sinaloa economy. Security developments also kept pace, including the arrest of a former Guerrero governor on Ayotzinapa-related charges, a jump in U.S. rewards tied to CJNG’s new leadership, and a fresh U.S. suspension of avocado certifications in Michoacán. On the public health and safety front, a UNAM cheating scandal, a UNESCO deadline to protect the vaquita and a cyclosporiasis scare linked to Riviera Maya travel all drew attention. Didn’t have time to catch this week’s top stories? Here’s what you missed. Economy: Peso strengthens and avocado trade swings Mexico’s currency ex...
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Seaweed diplomacy: Mexico and Japan to tackle sargassum crisis in new joint program

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The Foreign Ministry has announced that Japan will be participating in the development of a joint program to address the massive influx of sargassum on Mexico’s shores. Japan — which has been actively collaborating with Caribbean nations to tackle the sargassum problems plaguing the region — will offer ocean-monitoring technology, specialized equipment including robotics and sensors and financial cooperation. The collaboration aims to support academic research and businness development, with the goal of converting sargassum into useful products, including building materials like these Sarga Block bricks. (Elizabeth Ruiz / Cuartoscuro.com) Additionally, Japan will provide sargassum-collecting ships and vessels adapted for the collection of the macroalgae at sea in order to strengthen Mexico’s capacity to address the situation along its Caribbean beaches. The collaboration will also feature satellite monitoring, biological decomposition technologies for sargassum and technical trai...
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Reward for CJNG’s new leader jumps to $25 million after ‘El Mencho’s’ death

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The U.S. government on Wednesday raised from US $5 million to $25 million the maximum reward it is offering for information leading to the arrest of Juan Carlos Valencia González, the alleged new leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The U.S. State Department announced the higher bounty as part of reward offers totaling up to $102 million “for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions, in any country, of eight leaders and associates” of the CJNG, one of eight Mexican criminal organizations that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) by the U.S. government . All of the eight people — seven men and one woman — face criminal charges in the United States . The U.S. Justice Department is offering US $25 million for information leading to the capture of Juan Carlos Valencia González, aka “El Pelón.” (U.S. Justice Department) “The reward offers include up to $25 million (an increase from up to $5 million) for Ju...
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An American is caught fleeing to the US border after fatal shootings in Saltillo

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A Texas man is accused of murdering three people in the northern state of Coahuila and then fleeing with his 3-year-old son toward the United States, before being arrested while trying to cross the border. The suspect, identified as Chad Eberle, a former police officer, allegedly shot and killed two women and a man while seriously wounding another woman inside a home in the Espinoza Mireles neighborhood of Saltillo, the Coahuila state capital, on Tuesday afternoon. Murder suspect Chad Eberle during his days as a law enforcement officer in a small Texas town. (Bangs, Texas, Police Department) The Coahuila Attorney General’s Office (FGE) said the suspect was apprehended at the Piedras Negras border crossing in his gray Chevrolet Silverado around five hours after the shooting. The child was retrieved uninjured and was placed under the protection of the Office of the Attorney for Children and Families. According to initial reports, Eberle arrived at 1221 José Espinoza Fuente Stre...
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Nearly 60,000 UNAM applicants must retake entrance exam following AI cheating fiasco

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People seeking to gain admission to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) for the upcoming academic year will have to sit a second in-person entrance exam after the integrity of the first exams — the first ever held online — was undermined by test-takers’ alleged use of artificial intelligence and other cheating methods . A group of experts in fields including education, AI and law that was named by UNAM rector Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas to examine what happened during the initial online exams recommended that new exams be held . UNAM heeded that advice. Inside the massive cheating scandal shaking UNAM, Mexico’s top university In a statement issued on Tuesday, the university — Mexico’s largest and most prestigious — outlined the “procedure to participate in the in-person control exam as part of the selection contest to enter degree programs for the 2026/2027 academic year.” UNAM directed aspirants to a website where they can check whether ...
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MND Local: Summer news in San Miguel de Allende

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A new Home Depot, traffic chaos and the loss of another local dining icon are all in the news this week as we take a look at the San Miguel de Allende stories that matter to you. Home Depot opening new stores in Guanajuato The Georgia-based home improvement chain is investing US $21 million in the project in San Miguel and changed the design to comply with local requirements. The company also reportedly  agreed to replace mesquite trees removed at the construction site  behind MAC Hospital and include public space renovations. Construction has begun on the Home Depot store behind the MAC Hospital. (Shutterstock) In addition to San Miguel de Allende, Home Depot plans stores in León and Guanajuato as part of a total US $1.3 billion investment the company is making in Mexico through 2030. It employs more than 18,000 people working at 140 stores in at least 100 Mexican cities. San Miguel already has numerous hardware and home supply stores, including several Grupo Ferretero Don Pedro...
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