Claudia Sheinbaum has once again criticized the glorification of narco culture in Mexico, a dynamic that manifests itself through songs—in so-called *narco-corridos—or the positive assessment of the social impact of cartel leaders—which sometimes provide critical financial support to solve family or community problems. This Monday, the Mexican president lashed out at the apparent sponsorship by the head of the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel of Christmas festivities in a municipality in the state of Michoacán. In general, laundering the face of organized crime is already a very serious social affront, but what is more serious in the case under investigation is the alleged blessing—at least tacit—of public officials of that practice. The mayor of Coalcomán reportedly authorized the placement in a public square of a poster thanking alias “El Mencho,” leader of the aforementioned criminal organization, for gifts given to children. The security crisis continues to be very tense in Mexico, and we have reported on it throughout this year in our reports.
Last Saturday, the grim discovery of 15 bodies—buried in clandestine graves—was reported in a town in the southern state of Chiapas, which has been plunged into a security crisis that has driven many citizens to Guatemala and other Aztec regions. That reason, coupled with the lack of profitable job opportunities, pressures migrants arriving in Mexico by stealth to make their way somehow to the country´s north-central region, mainly to the capital. Incidentally, the debate on the management of irregular migration is set to overheat there following the death at the alleged hands of two Venezuelan migrants of a migration agent. Sheinbaum has tried to show control of this issue in the face of the very concerning threats from Donald Trump. That tension was also reflected yesterday, Monday, by her quick response to a New York Times article on fentanyl production in Mexico, based on the apparent infiltration of a lab by journalists from the U.S. newspaper.
‘This Is What Makes Us Rich’: Inside a Sinaloa Cartel #Fentanyl Lab. @nytimes reporters witnessed the dangerous fentanyl production process inside a secret lab in Culiacán run by Mexico’s most powerful criminal syndicate. https://t.co/tSDuSb2Il5 via @nytimes #ToxicDrugCrisis
— André Picard (@picardonhealth) December 29, 2024
A look at the migration phenomenon from the front line
A close relative arrived last week in Mexico City after an interesting journey that had its first stop in Bogota, en route to Nicaragua. The availability of direct flights to Managua from Havana has been greatly reduced due to U.S. sanctions on charter airlines, as it is understood that they have found a profitable market in the migratory movement. That is why the variant my relative found was to book an air route—with Avanca Airlines—to Nicaragua with stopovers in Colombia and El Salvador. In Managua, began the hectic management of a group—in immigration jargon it is called a line—that would “guide” them on their way to Mexico City for $660, which included the cost of lodging, transportation, and food along the way. From Nicaragua, they were transported to near a furtive border crossing with Honduras, where a bus was waiting to take them to a guesthouse in lands governed by the Castro-Celaya clan. The service contracted by my relative also includes the payment of commissions to authorities and cartels—by the coyotes—, who have taken over this lucrative business and want everything to go smoothly, so that the positive references about the operation and guarantee they offer will flow.
From Honduras they crossed to Guatemala, and then to Mexico, in the latter case precisely through a sea crossing that opens the doors of Tapachula, recently reviewed in an excellent report by Reuters. Already in Chiapas, that is, the violent state of Chiapas as we have said above, they had to wait for “the right moment” to move—with one stopover—to Mexico City. One can choose between continuing to Mexico City by land or by air in Chiapas. The former, which sometimes includes transportation in sometimes overcrowded vehicles, when the road is “clear,” costs $1,800 per head, while the latter, obviously safer, costs about $2,500—including the flight permit, obtained, I assume, through corruption. Right now my relative is applying via CBP One to arrive at an official point of entry before Trump´s takeover. It's a long shot right now. The Republican leader has planned to detonate many legal bridges to arrive decently in the United States, as the one powered by CBP One.
Mexico detains suspects in death of migration agent near U.S. border
— AOL.com (@AOL) December 31, 2024
Source: Reuters
To read more, click the image below. https://t.co/53ePICy35J
And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.
