Latest news with #CentralMexico
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Mexico busts cartel-linked extortion ring in historic crackdown; exotic animals and cars seized
Mexico's government said Wednesday it had dismantled a criminal group behind a massive extortion scheme in the biggest such operation to date. The gang, with ties to a major drug cartel, had operated out of the central State of Mexico, extorting companies and individuals in 14 municipalities and controlling labor unions in the construction, mining, agriculture and parcel delivery industries. "Combating this criminal group was an urgent need to protect the local economy and the peace of thousands of families," said Mexico's Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch. The crackdown — dubbed Operation "Liberacion" — saw nearly 3,000 security personnel carry out 52 raids, resulting in eight arrests of people believed to be the gang's leaders, Garcia Harfuch said on social media. Police also seized stolen farm and exotic animals, meat, tons of construction materials, and vehicles. Garcia Harfuch said it was "the largest" operation ever carried out against extortion gangs, which are notorious and widespread in Mexico. "This case is a clear example of what we can achieve when there is willingness, collaboration and a shared commitment to justice," Garcia Harfach said in a statement. A video released by authorities showed officers carrying out multiple raids across Mexico on July 21. Cartels in many parts of Mexico have expanded into kidnapping and extortion to increase their income, demanding money from residents and business owners and threatening to kidnap or kill them if they refuse. Last July, a Mexican fisheries industry leader who complained of drug cartel extortion and illegal fishing was shot to death in the northern border state of Baja California. The killing in the port city of Ensenada came just hours after Pérez complained of widespread competition from illegal fishing. Ordinary citizens are also targeted with extortion. Last January, a cartel in the embattled central Mexico state of Michoacan set up its own makeshift internet antennas and told locals they had to pay to use its Wi-Fi service or they would be killed, prosecutors said. Dubbed "narco-antennas" by local media, the cartel's system involved internet antennas set up in various towns built with stolen equipment. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Backlash against Mexico City gentrification echoes global anger at overtourism and rising rents
The protesters tore through the city chanting angry slogans and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake: shattered glass, broken doors and furious graffiti – 'get out of Mexico.' Some, dressed in black, smashed windows of local businesses. Others marched peacefully but carried signs with angry messages: 'You're a colonizer not a fucking 'expat''; 'Gringo go home.' The march, which took place in central Mexico City earlier this month, was an angry local response against a growing global phenomenon: Gentrification, which locals blame on foreigners who have flocked to the capital since the coronavirus pandemic. Residents of the capital say these so-called 'digital nomads' are taking advantage of Mexico's relatively cheap living standards but pricing out locals in the process. Making matters worse: a flood of Airbnbs have overtaken the metropolis' most desirable, central neighborhoods (more than 26,000 listings according to the Inside Airbnb advocacy group), replacing longtime residents with tourists and short-term renters. It is a trend that's been echoed around the world, in cites like Barcelona, Genoa and Lisbon, where tourist apartments have proliferated, turning long-term residents into a rarity and causing anger among locals who have seen their communities eroded. The protest prompted a sharp rebuke from the country's president, Claudia Sheinbaum. 'The xenophobic displays at this demonstration must be condemned,' she said during a daily news conference on Monday. 'No matter how legitimate the demand, in this case gentrification, we can't just say 'Out!' to any nationality in our country.' But many Mexicans were sympathetic to the marchers' anger. Watching the protest play out on social media from his mother's home in the nearby city of Puebla, where he was forced to move after being priced out of Mexico City, Daniel Benavides says all he could think was: 'Hell yeah!' A 35-year-old film editor, Benavides moved to the Roma Sur neighborhood in central Mexico City in 2016. Unlike the already trendy Roma Norte and Condesa, Roma Sur still felt like a quiet neighborhood, without the hip bars, restaurants and Airbnbs that had flooded other areas. It was also affordable. But slowly, things started to change. There was already one Starbucks – then another one appeared, followed by the American fast food restaurant Popeyes. Then came the quaint cafes and bars that all looked the same. 'They all had little incandescent lightbulbs held up by rope,' he said. Benavides also started to notice an influx of foreigners, mostly Americans. Soon, the rent for his apartment started to go up. First the landlord increased the apartment's monthly rent by 3000 pesos (£118) from one year to the next. Then he started increasing it by about 8% annually. Before long it had gone from 15,500 to 20,500 pesos per month (£613 to £810). Such an increase is relatively modest, particularly by Mexico City standards. Yahir Zavaleta, 40, was living in Roma Norte in 2012, when it was still filled with locally owned businesses and cafes. When his contract came up for renewal in 2014, the rental company wanted to nearly double the rent. Zavaleta and his roommate decided to leave. Cecilia Portillo, a 30-year-old designer, has lived in Condesa for three years. Recently, she told her landlady that she was moving out, but that a friend was ready to take her place. 'The rent is going to go up by 50%,' said the landlady, according to Portillo, who has also watched a flood of foreigners arrive in her building. 'We've seen that people are willing to pay that much.' Such dramatic price rises, particularly in desirable, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, are common in Mexico City. A study published by the National Academy of Sciences in 2024 found that, over a 20 year period, average housing prices in the Mexican capital had quadrupled, without considering inflation. In the swanky neighborhood of Polanco, prices increased eightfold between 2000 and 2018. Yet the study's authors cautioned that 'the influx of digital nomads, which significantly increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, does not appear to significantly impact the dynamics of housing access' noting that it 'may be too early to observe the full impact of these newcomers'. Instead, the study suggested that 'displacement and gentrification predominantly originate from government policies and politics.' According to Mexico's national statistics agency, Mexico City had the lowest rate of new housing built between 2010 and 2020 of any state in the country. 'Housing construction has practically stopped completely in the last seven years,' said Adrián Acevedo, an urban planner and housing specialist. 'If there is no housing, then the purchasing power of those few people [who can afford to live in desirable areas], whether it be a foreigner or an upper-class Mexican, will obviously push up the price of the few homes that are available.' The lack of new housing, and the resulting surge in prices, leaves many lower-income residents with nowhere to go: According to state figures, 23,000 families leave Mexico per year. In 2022, Benavides' landlord announced that he had sold the apartment to a French woman: Benavides and his roommates would have to move out. He managed to find a shabby place nearby for 14,500 (£574) a month where he lived for a year. But then the landlord said they were increasing the monthly rent by 500 pesos, and Benavides also found himself without a job. Benavides decided to move out but suddenly found that rental prices in his neighborhood had skyrocketed up to 25, 35, 40 even 100,000 pesos a month. His old place now seemed like a bargain. With no job prospects and rents unaffordable, Benavides decided to leave Mexico City and move back in with his mother. 'I pushed the emergency eject button,' he said woefully, adding that, particularly as a gay man, he still misses the capital. 'It's a beacon of hope – a place you can be free.'
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Backlash against Mexico City gentrification echoes global anger at overtourism and rising rents
The protesters tore through the city chanting angry slogans and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake: shattered glass, broken doors and furious graffiti – 'get out of Mexico.' Some, dressed in black, smashed windows of local businesses. Others marched peacefully but carried signs with angry messages: 'You're a colonizer not a fucking 'expat''; 'Gringo go home.' The march, which took place in central Mexico City earlier this month, was an angry local response against a growing global phenomenon: Gentrification, which locals blame on foreigners who have flocked to the capital since the coronavirus pandemic. Residents of the capital say these so-called 'digital nomads' are taking advantage of Mexico's relatively cheap living standards but pricing out locals in the process. Making matters worse: a flood of Airbnbs have overtaken the metropolis' most desirable, central neighborhoods (more than 26,000 listings according to the Inside Airbnb advocacy group), replacing longtime residents with tourists and short-term renters. It is a trend that's been echoed around the world, in cites like Barcelona, Genoa and Lisbon, where tourist apartments have proliferated, turning long-term residents into a rarity and causing anger among locals who have seen their communities eroded. The protest prompted a sharp rebuke from the country's president, Claudia Sheinbaum. 'The xenophobic displays at this demonstration must be condemned,' she said during a daily news conference on Monday. 'No matter how legitimate the demand, in this case gentrification, we can't just say 'Out!' to any nationality in our country.' But many Mexicans were sympathetic to the marchers' anger. Watching the protest play out on social media from his mother's home in the nearby city of Puebla, where he was forced to move after being priced out of Mexico City, Daniel Benavides says all he could think was: 'Hell yeah!' A 35-year-old film editor, Benavides moved to the Roma Sur neighborhood in central Mexico City in 2016. Unlike the already trendy Roma Norte and Condesa, Roma Sur still felt like a quiet neighborhood, without the hip bars, restaurants and Airbnbs that had flooded other areas. It was also affordable. But slowly, things started to change. There was already one Starbucks – then another one appeared, followed by the American fast food restaurant Popeyes. Then came the quaint cafes and bars that all looked the same. 'They all had little incandescent lightbulbs held up by rope,' he said. Benavides also started to notice an influx of foreigners, mostly Americans. Soon, the rent for his apartment started to go up. First the landlord increased the apartment's monthly rent by 3000 pesos (£118) from one year to the next. Then he started increasing it by about 8% annually. Before long it had gone from 15,500 to 20,500 pesos per month (£613 to £810). Such an increase is relatively modest, particularly by Mexico City standards. Yahir Zavaleta, 40, was living in Roma Norte in 2012, when it was still filled with locally owned businesses and cafes. When his contract came up for renewal in 2014, the rental company wanted to nearly double the rent. Zavaleta and his roommate decided to leave. Cecilia Portillo, a 30-year-old designer, has lived in Condesa for three years. Recently, she told her landlady that she was moving out, but that a friend was ready to take her place. 'The rent is going to go up by 50%,' said the landlady, according to Portillo, who has also watched a flood of foreigners arrive in her building. 'We've seen that people are willing to pay that much.' Such dramatic price rises, particularly in desirable, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, are common in Mexico City. A study published by the National Academy of Sciences in 2024 found that, over a 20 year period, average housing prices in the Mexican capital had quadrupled, without considering inflation. In the swanky neighborhood of Polanco, prices increased eightfold between 2000 and 2018. Yet the study's authors cautioned that 'the influx of digital nomads, which significantly increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, does not appear to significantly impact the dynamics of housing access' noting that it 'may be too early to observe the full impact of these newcomers'. Instead, the study suggested that 'displacement and gentrification predominantly originate from government policies and politics.' According to Mexico's national statistics agency, Mexico City had the lowest rate of new housing built between 2010 and 2020 of any state in the country. 'Housing construction has practically stopped completely in the last seven years,' said Adrián Acevedo, an urban planner and housing specialist. 'If there is no housing, then the purchasing power of those few people [who can afford to live in desirable areas], whether it be a foreigner or an upper-class Mexican, will obviously push up the price of the few homes that are available.' The lack of new housing, and the resulting surge in prices, leaves many lower-income residents with nowhere to go: According to state figures, 23,000 families leave Mexico per year. In 2022, Benavides' landlord announced that he had sold the apartment to a French woman: Benavides and his roommates would have to move out. He managed to find a shabby place nearby for 14,500 (£574) a month where he lived for a year. But then the landlord said they were increasing the monthly rent by 500 pesos, and Benavides also found himself without a job. Benavides decided to move out but suddenly found that rental prices in his neighborhood had skyrocketed up to 25, 35, 40 even 100,000 pesos a month. His old place now seemed like a bargain. With no job prospects and rents unaffordable, Benavides decided to leave Mexico City and move back in with his mother. 'I pushed the emergency eject button,' he said woefully, adding that, particularly as a gay man, he still misses the capital. 'It's a beacon of hope – a place you can be free.'
Reuters
18-06-2025
- Reuters
At least 13 killed in central Mexico during shoot-out with organized crime, authorities says
MEXICO CITY, June 18 (Reuters) - At least 13 people were killed during a shoot-out involving organized crime in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas, the state government's secretary general said on Wednesday. "The situation is currently under control," Rodrigo Reyes Muguerza said on social media, adding that the operation was ongoing. There were no reports of injuries among Mexican security forces, he added.
The Sun
07-05-2025
- The Sun
Watch moment idiot tourists climb into fiery mouth of active volcano Popocatépetl in death defying stunt
THIS is the shocking moment that three tourists risked their lives by clambering into a live, lava-filled volcano. The thrill-seeking football fans, believed to support Club América, ignored Civil Protection warnings that getting too close to Popocatépetl in central Mexico could be deadly. 5 5 5 Shocking footage captured by the trio shows one man climbing up to the edge of the Popocatépetl volcano's crater. The video, filmed at 7.23am on March 30, reveals glowing lava deep within the volcano. The tourists also posed for a selfie at the summit - despite strict restrictions in place under a Phase 2 yellow alert, issued by the National Coordination of Civil Protection. Both the Civil Protection authorities and CENAPRED (National Centre for Disaster Prevention) have repeatedly warned that this alert level carries the risk of explosions and the ejection of incandescent rock fragments. The stunt has sparked fierce debate online, with some calling it daring, while others condemned it as reckless and irresponsible. Officials have strongly criticised the act, labelling it extremely dangerous, especially given Popocatépetl's frequent volcanic activity and unpredictable eruptions. What is Popocatépetl? Popocatépetl is an active volcano in Mexico. It is located about 43 miles southeast of Mexico City. The name Popocatépetl comes from the indigenous Nahuatl language and means "Smoking Mountain". It is the second-highest volcano in Mexico, standing at about 17,802 feet tall. Popocatépetl is part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, a chain of volcanoes across central Mexico. The volcano has been active for centuries, with frequent eruptions, including ash plumes and lava. It is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Mexico due to its activity and proximity to large populations. Popocatépetl is often referred to by locals as "El Popo" for short. It comes as a massive Alaskan volcano is on the brink of erupting - and experts warn it could happen within weeks. Mount Spurr, the 11,000-foot behemoth sitting just 80 miles west of Anchorage, has been rumbling with frequent small earthquakes as scientists fear it's moving closer to an explosive eruption. The potential blast, experts say, could unleash global travel chaos and choke a critical cargo route between North America and Asia. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) said in a chilling update: 'Unrest continues at Mount Spurr.' 'Most of the earthquakes that are occurring under the volcano are too small to be located.' If it blows, the fallout could disrupt air travel worldwide as the ash is taken by the winds and makes flying impossible. Meanwhile, scientists recently revealed that a volcano erupted in the South Pacific with such force that it sent shock-waves into space. The enormous underwater eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in January 2022 was one of the biggest in modern history. It sent a plume of ash and gas over 31 miles into the air, far above the usual cruising altitude of commercial airliners. Ripples from the blast didn't just rattle land and sea, but made it all the way into space - shaking the area where satellites orbit our planet. Research published in AGU examined how the volcano was able to send shock-waves into the cosmos. 5 5
