Protests against surge mass-tourism in Mexico City end in vandalism, harassment of tourists
Masked protesters smashed through the windows and looted high-end businesses in the touristic areas of Condesa and Roma, and screamed at tourists in the area. Marchers then continued on to protest outside the U.S. Embassy. Graffiti on glass shattered glass being smashed through with rocks read: 'get out of Mexico.'
Police reinforcements gathered outside the Embassy building as police sirens rung out in the city center Friday evening.
It marked a violent end to a more peaceful march throughout the day calling out against masses of American tourists who have flooded into Mexico's capital in recent years.
Tension had been mounting in the city since American 'digital nomads' flocked to Mexico City in 2020, many to escape coronavirus lockdowns in the U.S. Since, rents have soared and locals have increasingly gotten pushed out of their neighborhoods, particularly areas like Condesa and Roma, lush areas packed with coffee shops and restaurants.
The Mexico City protest comes at the same time other European cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Rome and more are also facing mounting protests railing against mass-tourism.
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Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Justice has no age limit warns Met commissioner after Palestine Action protester, 83, is arrested
The head of the Metropolitan Police has said the law 'does not have an age limit' after an 83-year-old reverend was arrested for supporting Palestine Action, which has been banned as a terror group. The Met Police said officers were responding to the demonstration in Parliament Square, London, and later added that 29 people were arrested. The protest started at about 1.10pm and officers were seen taking people away shortly after 1.30pm. Reverend Sue Parfitt, 83, who was sat in a camp chair with placards at her feet, appeared to have been taken away by officers. A woman seen lying on the ground in handcuffs was lifted by officers and put in a police van. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley was asked on the BBC 's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg whether it was a good use of police time after the priest was pictured being taken away from the demonstration. He said: 'The law doesn't have an age limit, whether you're 18 or 80. 'If you're supporting proscribed organisations, then the law is going to be enforced. 'Officers, you could see, did it with great care and tried to preserve that person's dignity, but they're breaking a serious law. 'Palestine Action have over the last 18 months, I have to be careful what I say, because there's cases coming to trial, but some really serious criminal offences that they're accused of. There are millions of pounds worth of damage on multiple occasions. There are assaults, there are weapons used. 'It is not about protest. This is about an organisation committing serious criminality and obviously the Home Secretary was persuaded by the papers on her desk to proscribe them, that law has come into force, and if people want to defy that law, then we have to enforce it.' Palestine Action lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday which sought to stop the protest group being banned, less than two hours before the new legislation came into force at midnight. Around two dozen people, including a professor and an emergency care worker who recently returned from Gaza, sat in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament Square on Saturday expressing support for the group, which is now a proscribed terrorist organisation. They held signs saying: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' Shortly after their arrival, police officers could be seen engaging with the protesters and the Met said it had began making arrests. Several people were seen being carried away by officers. A spokesperson for the force said: 'The group is now proscribed and expressing support for them is a criminal offence. Arrests are being made.' Campaign group Defend Our Juries said today's protest will be the first in a series of actions which will see activists take to Parliament Square every week. Around 20 people, including a priest, professor and an emergency care worker who is just back from Gaza, sat in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament Square on Saturday expressing support for the group It comes after the Home Office today welcomed the ban on Palestine Action, with the group failing to block its proscription as a terrorist organisation in a late-night legal bid. Lawyers representing co-founder Huda Ammori, whose father is Palestinian, asked for the decision to be delayed at least until July 21. The designation as a terror group means that membership of or support for Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Palestine Action argues it is a protest group that has never incited or encouraged violence, but does support civil disobedience. Activists protest against the continuing war in Gaza, which has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians since October 7 - when 1,200 Israelis were killed by a Hamas incursion into the country. One of those protesting today is former government lawyer Tim Crosland. He said: 'There are already 18 Palestine Actionists held in UK prisons without a trial, following lobbying by the Israeli government and Elbit Systems, the leading supplier of the machinery of genocide. 'If we cannot speak freely about the genocide of Palestinians, if we cannot condemn those who enable it and praise those who resist it, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning, and democracy in this country is dead.' The Met Police issued a warning ahead of the protest, stating there are a number of events taking place in London this weekend and 'anyone attending should be aware that officers policing these will act where criminal offences, including those related to support of proscribed groups or organisations, are committed'. Proscription makes it a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) to invite or express support for an organisation through chanting, wearing clothing or displaying articles such as flags, signs or logos, the Met said. It is also illegal to belong to the organisation or publish similar signs of support online. Police arresting protesters in Parliament Square were met with cries of 'Met Police you are puppets of the Zionist state' and 'leave them alone'. Another supporter, not directly involved in the Palestine Action protest, shouted: 'Who do you protect? Who do you serve?' There were also chants of 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'. A woman seen lying on the floor in handcuffs was carried away in the air by officers and put in a police van. While suspended and flanked by a large group of police, she said calmly: 'Free Palestine, stop the genocide, I oppose genocide, I support the rights of the Palestinian people, I support freedom of speech, I support freedom of assembly'. A mass of people crowded around to film the scene. Officers placed her in the vehicle parked on the road behind the square before returning to the Mahatma Ghandi statue, where almost no protesters remained. Chants of 'shame' broke out, directed at the police, and officers moved behind the Ghandi statue. Most of the police dispersed at around 2.10pm. One of those seen at today's protest is 83-year-old Reverend Sue Parfitt, who has previously been arrested for action she took to call for urgent change to tackle the climate crisis. The group's social media pages were removed overnight on Friday, with leaders stating this was due to the risk of people being prosecuted for liking or sharing posts online She was previously arrested for allegedly attempting to damage the Magna Carta with Just Stop Oil, and for protest action with Insulate Britain. Leslie Tate, 76, a Green councillor from Hertfordshire at the protest, said: 'Palestine Action are not a violent organisation, and the proscription is wrong. 'You do know, of course, that they were proscribed by Parliament with two other groups involved - all three at once - so that was a trick to make sure the Bill went through. 'The evidence from their actions that they've taken from the start of Palestine Action is that they all have been non-violent. 'This protest is necessary to defend our democracy, and this is the creeping edge of totalitarianism, frankly. 'We thought they (the police) would probably take pictures of people. It's the obvious thing to do, to photograph them, then they have their identity, rather than make arrests.' Paddy Friend, a 25-year-old law student from London who was watching the protest said: 'In 2025, we no longer have freedom of speech. We can no longer go down to Parliament Square and hold a sign. 'I'm here because I'm terrified. I'm absolutely terrified about this country and I hope to be as brave as these people (protesting), I really do because we cannot let this happen. 'If now isn't the time for hundreds and thousands of us to come together and stand against this, then when's it going to be? 'All arms exports (to Israel) need to stop. We need to stop providing military assistance, we need to cut off all diplomatic ties with Israel.' It came after Palestine Action lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday evening, which sought to stop it being banned, less than two hours before the move came into force at midnight. Large crowds gathered outside the Court of Appeal yesterday in support of Palestinians. The group's social media pages were removed overnight on Friday, with leaders stating this was due to the risk of people being prosecuted for liking or sharing posts online. A Home Office spokesperson said on Saturday: 'We welcome the Court's decision and Palestine Action are now a proscribed group. 'The Government will always take the strongest possible action to protect our national security and our priority remains maintaining the safety and security of our citizens.' The move to ban the organisation was announced after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused around £7 million of damage. In a letter to the Home Secretary, protesters said: 'We do not wish to go to prison or to be branded with a terrorism conviction. But we refuse to be cowed into silence by your order.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action on June 23, stating that the vandalism of the two planes was 'disgraceful' and that the group had a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage'. MPs in the Commons voted 385 to 26, majority 359, in favour of proscribing the group on Wednesday, before the House of Lords backed the move without a vote on Thursday. Four people - Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Jony Cink, 24, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, and Lewis Chiaramello, 22 - have all been charged in connection with the incident at Brize Norton. They appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday after being charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage, under the Criminal Law Act 1977.
Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
Punk provocateurs Kneecap and Fontaines DC play it safe as crowd still attempts death chant
Fontaines DC have become the Irish face of punk in Britain, and the 45,000 people who cheered, jumped and even cried at their biggest headline gig to date last night in Finsbury Park proved that they are here to stay. Yet they were nearly outshone by Kneecap, their supporting act, who drew an enormous balaclava-clad crowd themselves. This was the first major opportunity for these two politically outspoken bands to respond to the furore over Glastonbury last weekend, where fellow stars of the genre Bob Vylan led chants of 'death, death to the IDF'. Bob Vylan and Kneecap alike are currently under investigation by police for their Glastonbury sets. Perhaps that's why there was only a muted, veiled retort offered in north London. For young people angry with their government, this was the hot ticket. People came draped in keffiyehs and Palestine flags. Not for the first time, Kneecap led a 'F--- Keir Starmer, you're just a s--- Jeremy Corbyn' chant which their fans revelled in. 'It's great to be back in London and not up in court,' said Kneecap's rapper Mo Chara, to the crowd's cheers. But while last weekend he called for 'riots' outside of court in Westminster, where he'll appear in August on terrorism charges for holding up a Hezbollah flag at a gig, this time the rapper asked for 'support'. At two points, groups in the crowd started up Bob Vylan's 'death to the IDF' chant. Kneecap's past sets have clearly created an expectation that such sentiments are welcome at their gigs. But if the call was heard on stage, it went ignored. By the time Fontaines DC frontman Grian Chatten came out to chant 'free, free Palestine' along with the trio, the crowd's drive for a fight had passed like a post-Glastonbury hangover. Bob Vylan didn't get a mention until another support act, Australian punk band Amyl and the Sniffers. 'Some dogs can't be muzzled,' said singer Amy Taylor, who dedicated one of the band's screaming, angsty anthems to the duo. By contrast, Fontaines DC had their muzzles firmly on from the start of their set. Bob Vylan got nothing more than a restrained nod: their song I Heard You Want Your Country Back was played on the speakers minutes before the headliners took to the stage. Chatten was understated, breaking off to chant 'free Palestine' only once. The stage was lit up in red and green during I Love You, a song with lyrics about genocide and corruption. A flash on the screen read that 'Israel is committing genocide, use your voice'. It was the same slide that the group used on stage at Primavera Festival in early June, long before last weekend's controversy gave it a new significance. Maybe it was conscious: Chatten came out in a long tartan skirt and shirt printed with a picture of Sinead O'Connor, a hand covering her mouth. Regardless, the band carefully swerved real controversy and proved that their music alone is good enough to unite the crowd which, post-Kneecap, was filled by as many families and older couples as young people covered in tattoos and piercings. They are an act you have to see live to 'get', and this was them at their best. From the soft piano rendition of Starburster that opened the set, to the crashing drums that carried their angriest track Liberty Belle ('you know I love that violence'), to the gnawing, Nirvana-style guitar that luxuriated through the moody Roman Holiday while Chatten waltzed around the microphone, the group proved that they can hold up mass appeal. Boys in the Better Land sounded as good shouted in a field as any other rock or pop hit. The police at the back of the park must have expected to handle a clash. They were treated to a dazzling set instead.
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- The Guardian
DoJ to give audio tapes of killing and torture of DEA agent Kiki Camarena to defense team
The US justice department has begun to hand over audio recordings of the 1985 torture and killing of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena to a Mexican kingpin's legal defense team, according to a court document filed on Friday. Rafael Caro Quintero, one of the founders of the Mexican Guadalajara cartel, is facing federal prosecution in the eastern district of New York for alleged drug trafficking. Caro Quintero is accused of having participated in Camarena's torture and murder in 1985 in Mexico. Camarena was a 37-year-old DEA agent based in Mexico in the 1980s, who, along with his pilot, was kidnapped, tortured, interrogated and killed by organized crime figures. His torture and murder marked a significant shift in the US government's war on drugs, leading to an aggressive push by the US to wipe out the Guadalajara cartel. After top leaders of the organization were caught and arrested, like Caro Quintero, remnants of the group created the Sinaloa cartel, which remains active to this day. The tapes have never been made public before but transcripts of some of the interrogation audio were revealed in a 1988 federal court case. There has long been controversy over the tapes and their content. News organizations and the former DEA agent who investigated Camarena's murder speculate some of the tapes may include audio of a former CIA officer allegedly participating in Camarena's interrogation. Camarena was kidnapped on 7 Feb 1985, as he left the US consulate in Guadalajara to meet for lunch with his wife. He was abducted and taken to a home, where he was tortured and interrogated by corrupt officials and drug traffickers. His body and that of his pilot, Alfredo Zavala-Avelar, were found weeks later. Officials speculated that Camarena was killed by the Guadalajara cartel in retaliation for the discovery and destruction of a massive marijuana ranch owned by Caro Quintero. In the years that followed his assassination, the DEA's sweeping operation to track down Camarena's killers, named 'Operation Leyenda', indicted at least 22 people. Caro Quintero and the other two leaders of the cartel, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, were caught by Mexican officials and imprisoned. Earlier this year, Fonseca Carrillo, was freed after completing his sentence. He and Felix Gallardo remain in Mexico. In 2013, Caro Quintero was freed from prison by the Mexican government, infuriating the Obama administration and leading to a renewed manhunt after the US requested his re-arrest. Caro Quintero was captured again in 2022 and taken to a maximum security prison in Mexico. In February, after the Trump administration took office, the Mexican government expelled a number of high-profile cartel leaders to the US, including Caro Quintero. During his first arraignment hearing in February, over 100 DEA agents were present at the courthouse in Brooklyn. At the end of the arraignment hearing, in a symbolic moment, Camarena's handcuffs were placed on Caro Quintero. 'This moment is extremely personal for the men and women of DEA who believe Caro Quintero is responsible for the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena,' DEA acting administrator Derek Maltz said at the time. 'It is also a victory for the Camarena family. Today sends a message to every cartel leader, every trafficker, every criminal poisoning our communities: You will be held accountable. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far you run, justice will find you.' The US-Mexico extradition treaty prohibits the US from seeking the death penalty. But since Caro Quintero was expelled and not extradited, the US may still pursue the federal death penalty against him. During a court hearing last week, prosecutors said the death penalty question had not yet been resolved and that negotiations and discussions with Caro Quintero's defense team were ongoing. During that hearing, prosecutors first announced their intention to hand over the Camarena tapes, adding that they were highly sensitive. It is unclear how many tapes are in the justice department's hands and what exactly they contain. Longtime drug war reporter Bill Conroy pointed out in a post on X after last week's hearing that Berrellez once told him: 'We got tapes [of Camarena's torture] from the CIA. How did they get those tapes? And my sources indicated there were five tapes, but we [DEA] only got three from the CIA.' During the course of 'Operation Leyenda,' the DEA's operation to track down Camarena's killers, the lead agent in the case, Hector Berrellez, flipped a number of former corrupt Mexican officials working for the cartel, who became informants and cooperating witnesses. Throughout the course of the investigation, Berrellez discovered that a CIA officer may have participated in Camarena's interrogation. In 2013, explosive reporting from the Mexican news magazine Proceso, based on testimony from three US agents, including Berrellez, and some of the former Mexican officers, alleged that a CIA officer was involved in Camarena's killing. The reports claimed that Camarena was beginning to discover that the CIA was collaborating with the Guadalajara cartel to train Nicaraguan Contras during the Iran-Contra scandal. Those allegations were repeated in an Amazon Prime documentary series titled The Last Narc, which featured Berrellez, other US officials and three former Mexican federal cops and cartel members. The CIA and the former officer in question, Felix Rodriguez, have vehemently denied their involvement in the Camarena case. Along with the Camarena interrogation tapes, the US Justice Department is also handing over discovery regarding the documents and photos related to a 1981 murder and photographs of seized firearms related to the case. Additionally, they handed over documents and photographs related to 'multiple 1985 murders'. It is unclear what murders the justice department is referring to, but in 1985, before Camarena's murder, two Americans were brutally killed by Caro Quintero and his men after being reportedly mistaken for undercover US agents at a restaurant in Guadalajara.
