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Mexico City’s invisible recyclers fight for rights — and a share of the profits

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“Living from garbage doesn’t mean we become part of the garbage,” Soledad Mella told a packed auditorium in Iztapalapa, the Mexico City borough most burdened with the megacity’s massive waste stream. “We must dignify and defend our work. But above all, we must organize.” The energetic grassroots recycler — referred to here in Mexico as a pepenadora — had carried her message all the way from Chile on an international tour through the region. She has carried that message from the streets and landfills of Santiago to international climate conferences and United Nations negotiations. At Iztapalapa’s Forum on Inclusive Circular Economy, she spoke directly to Mexican pepenadores confronting a pivotal question: Will the country’s new circular economy become a route out of invisibility, or another lucrative industry that leaves them behind? A push for legal recognition Arnold Ricalde, environmental adviser to Iztapalapa Mayor Aleida Alavez Ruiz and principal organizer of the forum, summa...
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Mexico’s week in review: Independence Day fireworks give way to trade deal hopes

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Mexico’s Independence Day on Sept. 16 was the focal point this past week, even as less celebratory news circulated. Over the weekend, 21-year-old Spanish exchange student Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera, attending the Autonomous University of Morelos (UAEM) in Cuernavaca, Morelos, was stabbed and killed in Cuautla — the fourth femicide of a UAEM student just this year. On Thursday, Morelos authorities announced the arrest of a suspect , Francisco Javier “N,” but the attack on Tacoronte and the emergency medical response were met with indignation both locally and in Spain. Also on Sept. 12, Pemex admitted it had contained another oil spill off the coast of Campeche , which the Navy and the state oil company moved quickly to seal and clean up — a contrast to the government’s slower handling of a major spill in February. Meanwhile, the peso spent most of the week trading above 17 to the dollar , weakening toward its worst week since March as markets digested the U.S. ...
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Using US intelligence, Mexican Army downs drone and arrests its operator in Tijuana

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After receiving information from U.S. officials, the Mexican Army successfully deactivated a drone that crossed the border into Tijuana and arrested the operator in Mexican territory. The Defense Ministry (Defensa) on Thursday provided details of the Monday operation, explaining that the drone was being used by a criminal group to monitor human trafficking routes. En Tijuana, Baja California, como parte de la “Operación Águila Alta” y mediante el intercambio de información con autoridades de Estados Unidos, elementos de @Defensamx1 detectaron e inhibieron un dron utilizado por un grupo delictivo para vigilar rutas destinadas al tráfico… pic.twitter.com/xiRtDrlljY — Gabinete de Seguridad de México (@GabSeguridadMX) September 18, 2026 The drone operator was apprehended and found to be in possession of a handgun, ammunition and the aircraft control system. Defensa said the Tijuana operation resulted from information-sharing with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after its r...
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59 million liters of stolen fuel seized in Guanajuato state, the largest such bust in Mexican history

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Authorities confiscated 59 million liters of stolen fuel, the largest single-site seizure in Mexico’s history and five times larger than the March 2025 bust in Tamaulipas that led to 14 arrests, including six members of the Navy. The operation, which was triggered after a July 3 arrest involving a tanker truck loaded with stolen fuel, occurred at a property located in the small community of La Fragua i n the San José Iturbide municipality, Guanajuato state, alongside Federal Highway 57.  Las indagatorias para combatir a redes delictivas vinculadas al contrabando de combustible llevaron a la #FGR a cumplimentar órdenes de cateo que derivaron en el hallazgo de más de 59 millones de litros de hidrocarburo en #Guanajuato . Más ▶️ https://t.co/1aA8iguFlJ pic.twitter.com/D6A7lUbh4n — Guanajuato (@FGR_Gto) September 18, 2026 State and federal agents seized 10 tanks containing suspected fuel (diesel, regular gasoline and premium gasoline), three tanker trucks, containers used to tran...
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CFE’s ‘Project Oasis’ aims to bring solar power to an energy-challenged region of Baja California Sur

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The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) is developing a solar project to bolster the electricity supply of the picturesque Baja California Sur town of Mulegé, in  a region with no direct connection to the national electric system and that has historically relied on fossil fuels. Mulegé, a natural oasis in the northern part of the state, is situated at the mouth of the Mulegé River near the Gulf of California. Mulegé is a picturesque town popular with visitors, but it is also the name of its region in northern Baja California Sur that is somewhat isolated from the rest of the peninsula and therefore traditionally underserved in its energy needs.   (CFE) Dubbed the Oasis BCS Project, the initiative seeks to address the region’s key energy challenge of ensuring reliable electricity in an area that operates as an isolated system  —and meeting that challenge sustainably through the integration of solar energy, batteries, and green hydrogen. “At CFE, we are working to provide a solutio...
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Morelos issues arrest warrant in Spanish exchange student’s murder

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The Morelos Attorney General’s Office (FGE) has identified a suspect in the murder of a Spanish exchange student, resulting in an arrest warrant issued for Francisco Javier “N,” alias “El Trompas,” on charges of femicide, state Attorney General Fernando Blumenkron announced on Wednesday. The breakthrough came as state authorities face accusations of a slow emergency medical response after the fatal stabbing attack on the 21-year-old Claudia Tacoronte.  The tragic attack on Claudia Tacoronte has ignited a new wave of anti-femicide mobilization. Morelos authorities are asking the public to help them apprehend the newly identified suspect in the case, Francisco Javier “N,” alias “El Trompas.” (Margarito Pérez Retana / Cuartoscuro.com) “The investigative work and videos provided by the public, among other evidence, allowed the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Investigation and Prosecution of Femicide to request an arrest warrant,” the FGE stated in a press release. “Personnel a...
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The Mexican Navy’s at-sea cocaine seizures are up nearly 50% this year

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Cocaine seizures by the Mexican Navy have increased significantly this year, rising 47.2% from 25.7 metric tonnes in 2025 to 37.9 tonnes this year as of Sept. 10. “These results are the product of operations carried out by the Mexican Navy through surface, air, and Marine Corps units, focused on monitoring the coasts and national waters, as well as detecting, intercepting, and seizing vessels linked to illicit activities,” the Navy (Semar) stated in a report. The Navy points out that the at-sea actions are not spur of the moment but rather “the product of operations carried out by the Mexican Navy through surface, air, and Marine Corps units, focused on monitoring the coasts and national waters.” (Semar) Semar’s maritime operations aim to disrupt the logistical capacity of criminal organizations operating in the maritime domain, according to Semar.  In addition to the drugs seized, the Navy’s maritime operations this year have resulted in the confiscations of 26 vessels,...
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