Mexiconews

How much sovereignty does Mexico really have? That question hung over the week of Jan. 26-30 as the United States exercised increasing authority within Mexico and weaponized tariffs to reshape Mexican foreign policy beyond its borders. The week began with President Claudia Sheinbaum insisting alleged drug trafficker Ryan Wedding had simply turned himself in at the U.S. Embassy last week — contradicted by a Wall Street Journal bombshell revealing FBI agents handcuffed the suspect in what one official called a “zero-margin, high-risk operation” on Mexican territory. By week’s end, Trump issued an executive order threatening tariffs on any country supplying oil to Cuba, putting Mexico’s solidarity with the island in direct conflict with its need to maintain trade relations with its northern neighbor. Between these episodes of American pressure, Sheinbaum grappled with a debilitated security narrative and the news of lackluster GDP growth in 2025. Didn’t have time to follow this week’s...

After an armed attack on two state legislators, the Defense Ministry (Sedena) has deployed 1,600 soldiers to the troubled state of Sinaloa which has been struggling to cope with a civil war between rival factions of one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels. A car in which Representatives Sergio Torres Félix and Elizabeth Montoya were riding was attacked by gunmen around noon Wednesday by unknown assailants who fled the scene before authorities arrived. The newly deployed troops have established their presence in the state capital, while Representatives Sergio Torres Félix and Elizabeth Montoya remain hospitalized from the attack. (José Betanzos Zárate/Cuartoscuro) During her Thursday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum said arrests had been made in connection with the attack, but no further details have been forthcoming. Sheinbaum also said she intends to go ahead with a working visit to Sinaloa in early February as planned. The internecine fighting involvi...

Mexico’s economy avoided a recession in 2025 as gross domestic product (GDP) rebounded in the final quarter thanks to growth in trade and stronger performances in the industrial and manufacturing sector. GDP grew by 0.7% in 2025, according to preliminary data released by the national statistics agency INEGI.   Unquestionably, the biggest contributor to Mexico’s limited success was exports .  During the year, shipments of goods abroad exceeded US $664.8 billion, a 7.6% increase compared to 2024. Despite the multitude of tariffs imposed by Trump, more than 83% of these exports went to the U.S. market.  Analysts cited by the newspaper El País agree that the performance of exports and the private sector’s residential construction were the driving forces behind Mexico’s economic growth in 2025, despite a collapse in public investment “due to the significant spending cuts implemented by the Sheinbaum administration to reduce the fiscal deficit.” Bloomberg News reported ...

President Claudia Sheinbaum asserted on Thursday that a Wall Street Journal report aligned with her government’s version of events regarding the arrest last week of alleged drug boss Ryan Wedding , even though it includes information she has previously rejected and which she continues to deny. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an exclusive report under the headline “A Secret FBI Bust Nabbed an Alleged Drug Lord — and Rocked Relations With Mexico.” Did accused drug trafficker Ryan Wedding turn himself into the U.S. Embassy, or was he arrested as part of a “high-risk operation”? The Mexican and U.S. government can’t agree. (U.S. Embassy) “Ryan Wedding was on the run,” the report begins. “Mexican security forces were closing in on the 44-year-old Canadian — a snowboarder who once competed for Canada in the Olympics but has since landed on America’s most-wanted list for allegedly running a vast cocaine-trafficking network — said Mexican and U.S. officials familia...

Mexico and the United States have agreed to begin formal discussions as part of the review of the USMCA free trade pact, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said Wednesday. The announcement came after U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard in Washington, D.C. The USMCA free trade deal, which replaced NAFTA starting in 2020, is due for a review and possible update this year. (Shutterstock) The USTR said the two officials met to “discuss bilateral trade relations and the upcoming USMCA Joint Review,” which Mexico, the United States and Canada must complete this year. “Both sides recognized substantial progress in recent months and agreed to continue intensive engagement to address non-tariff barriers,” the USTR said. “In addition, they agreed to begin formal discussions on possible structural and strategic reforms in the context of the first USMCA Joint Review, including stronger rules of origin for key industrial ...

Excessive speed was the cause of the Interoceanic Train crash that claimed 14 lives in southern Mexico in late 2025, Attorney General Ernestina Godoy said Tuesday. In a video message , Godoy said that when the train crashed, it was traveling at 65 kilometers per hour (km/h) on a curve where the maximum “authorized speed” is 50 km/h. She said that the speed the train was traveling when it derailed in the state of Oaxaca on Dec. 28 was determined via information obtained from the black box, which was located in one of the train’s two locomotives. In addition to the 14 fatalities, almost 100 people were injured in the crash, which occurred near the small Oaxaca town of Nizanda. The driver of the train was arrested in Palenque, Chiapas, on Monday. He faces charges of culpable homicide and causing injuries due to his allegedly negligent driving. Godoy said that the train was inspected after the accident and no defects that could have placed its operation at risk were found.   ...

A court in Quintana Roo state ordered a provisional suspension of works by Royal Caribbean on its “Perfect Day” tourism project in Mahahual on Monday, while the potential environmental implications of the project are being assessed.  The injunction was requested by the civil society organization Defending the Right to a Healthy Environment (DMAS). The group argues that there are irregularities in the authorization of land-use changes provided to the Royal Caribbean cruise line. Juez protege manglares de Mahahual: Frena aval a cambios de suelo para desarrollo turístico https://t.co/tTWFwVd9xD pic.twitter.com/86XwAQiHKV — Aristegui Noticias (@AristeguiOnline) January 27, 2026 DMAS stressed that it is not against the proposed water park but that “we are in favor of respecting the law, urban planning, and the community’s right to a healthy environment.” Royal Caribbean first presented “Perfect Day” to a group of journalists in October, during which the U.S. firm’s director o...

In Puerto Vallarta , a mix of civic activism, economic expansion and infrastructure policy shifts is shaping early 2026 in the Bay of Banderas, with community groups, businesses and government authorities all in the spotlight. Protest demands public beach access Residents of Mismaloya , local tourism operators and environmentalists recently staged a blockade of Federal Highway 20, near the iconic beach zone of Los Arcos de Mismaloya. Protesters demanded unfettered public access to the shoreline after a private company installed fencing and signage on the federal coastal zone. Protesters cited constitutional protections guaranteeing free beach access and called for greater legal clarity on the status of the area.  Protesters near Puerto Vallarta make clear their dissatisfaction with being blocked from beach access. (Instagram) Puerto Vallarta City Council member Melissa Madero joined the demonstrators and helped broker an end to the temporary road closure, with promises from...

Mexicans will spend some 1.2 billion pesos on tamales for Feb. 2 in honor of Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas Day), a festivity that marks the end of the Christmas season and which is traditionally celebrated by Mexicans with a feast of tamales.  Based on data from INEGI and the restaurant industry, experts estimate that Mexicans consume around 40 million tamales on Feb. 2, with most purchased from street vendors and local markets. Día de la Candelaría is a Catholic holiday in Mexico that’s all about the Baby Jesus. That helps the sale of tamales on Feb. 2, as those who found a tiny plastic replica of the infant in their slice of Rosca de Reyes earlier this month must — by tradition — provide the tamales for the festivities. (Gabriela Pérez Montiel/Cuartoscuro) According to the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Concanaco Servytur), in the days leading up to and including Candlemas, 1.2 billion pesos (US $70 million) are spent nationwide on ta...

Residents in the state of San Luis Potosí were taken aback after videos of unusual wildlife sightings in various parts of the state circulated on social media. Last week, two jaguar cubs were spotted in the Huasteca Potosina region of the state, a rugged area known for its lush mountain environment, deep canyons and tropical rainforests.  #SLP | Captan a un pequeño oso negro en la Zona Media. Conductor de Ferrocarril lo notó frente al tren y aprovechó para grabar este video #Noticias #NoticiasSLP pic.twitter.com/hA43HqXX1P — Código San Luis (@codigosanluisi) January 21, 2026 Footage of the young jaguars was recorded by railway workers conducting routine inspections on the tracks that cross this area in the eastern part of the state.  The video shows the jaguar cubs moving together, briefly pausing to watch the train approach before returning to their natural habitat, showing no signs of disturbance or aggression. The images quickly went viral as the jaguar is one ...

Almost 90% of people who live in Uruapan — the city in Michoacán where the mayor was assassinated last November — believe that the city is an unsafe place to live. That was among the findings of the latest National Survey of Urban Public Security (ENSU), carried out by the national statistics agency INEGI in the final quarter of 2025. Published on Friday, the survey results show that 63.8% of respondents across 91 Mexican cities (including the 16 boroughs of Mexico City) consider their place of residence unsafe. The percentage rose 0.8 points compared to the third quarter ENSU and 2.1 points compared to a year earlier, reflecting an increase in people’s perceptions of insecurity during Claudia Sheinbaum’s presidency, even though official statistics show declines in the incidence of many crimes, including homicide . Almost seven in 10 women who responded to the survey (69.4%) said that their city is unsafe, while nearly six in ten men (57.1%) said the same. INEGI conducted the EN...