Seeking to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship.
11/20/19 – AP News
Armed thieves tried to abduct an entire convoy of fuel tanker trucks in northern Mexico, but security forces fought off the gang in a shootout.
Mexico began moving fuel in tanker trucks this year to combat thefts from government pipelines. But now thieves appear to be attacking even fuel convoys.
11/19/19 – Reuters
By Emma Farge
A rare species of porpoise is facing imminent extinction as fishing vessels appear to be flouting an international ban on them entering its last sanctuary, off the coast of Mexico, the head of a U.N. treaty said.
There are thought to be fewer than 30 vaquita porposies left worldwide, mostly due to deaths caused by entanglement in fishing nets, despite calls by conservationists and film star Leonardo DiCaprio for urgent steps to protect them.
11/19/19 – AP News
A couple of hundred demonstrators have protested against a proposed Mexico City law that would allow children and adolescents to change the gender listed on their birth certificates.
They would have to be accompanied by at least one guardian to do so.
11/18/19 – AP News
Mexico’s president on Monday defended a plan to provide pensions to indigenous people starting at age 65, compared with 68 for other Mexicans.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was elected last year after campaigning to help marginalized people, said those who question the idea should visit poor indigenous communities to see how residents live.
11/18/19 – KGNS
This weekend’s violence in Nuevo Laredo hit an all-time high with members of drug cartels fighting with Mexican military. Photos of the aftermath immediately began circulating on social media with the Mexican consulate and the City of Laredo issuing travel advisories to its citizens.
This is not the kind of publicity a U.S. border city wants to see, especially those that rely on its neighbors to the south to help boost their economy.
11/17/19 – The Sacramento Bee
By Bryan Anderson
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said at a Latino forum in Los Angeles on Sunday that he’d be willing to send U.S. troops into Mexico to combat gang and drug violence.
“There is a scenario where we could have security cooperation,” Buttigieg said.
Even so, he added a caveat: “I’d only order American troops into conflict if American lives were on the line and if it was necessary to meet treaty obligations.”
11/13/19 – AP News
Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission says authorities apparently acted with corruption or negligence in allowing the operation of an elementary school that collapsed in Mexico City’s September 2017 earthquake.
The governmental commission said Wednesday that authorities should offer apologies and compensation to those injured and killed in the collapse of the school during the magnitude 7.1 quake.
