Mexico: Supreme Court upholds same-sex marriage

Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) upheld a law enacted in the Federal District (DF, or Mexico City) last December recognizing same-sex marriages.

Oaxaca: land conflicts turn bloody

The long-ruling PRI lost its hold on power in Oaxaca last month, but violence is escalating in the state’s Mixtec region, where PRI-linked paramilitary groups terrorize peasant communities.

Mexico: army kills Sinaloa Cartel kingpin —but not El Chapo

Mexican army Special Forces troops killed Ignacio Coronel Villarreal AKA “Nacho”—a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. But the cartel’s top kingpin, Joaquín Guzmán AKA “El Chapo,” remains at large.

Mexico: biggest “narco-grave” yet yields 51 bodies near Monterrey

Nuevo León state police uncovered a total of 51 bodies from a clandestine narcofosa (“narco-grave”) in a garbage dump outside Monterrey—the biggest such find among numerous in recent months.

Mexico: electrical workers end hunger strike

After 90 days, a mass hunger strike by laid-off electrical workers in the center of Mexico City came to an end on July 23 following a preliminary agreement between the government and the union.

Merida Initiative funds mired in red tape: GAO report

A new report from the General Accounting Office finds that only 9% of the $1.6 billion pledged by Washington to Mexico and Central America for drug enforcement has been delivered.

Mexico: courts rule for miners, against electrical workers

Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled against a suit by the Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME) challenging President Calderón’s liquidation of the Central Light and Power Company.

Mexico thwarts Hezbollah bid to set up South American network?

Mexican police foiled an attempt by Hezbollah to establish a network in Latin America, arresting a cell operative in Tijuana, the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Seyassah reported.

Mexico: violence-marred elections do not upset balance of power

Mexico’s once-hegemonic political machine, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), reaped gains in gubernatorial races, with voters disillusioned by escalating narco-violence.

Mexico: court frees Atenco prisoners

A five-member panel of Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) announced that it had decided by a four-to-one vote to release campesino activist Ignacio del Valle Medina and 11 others.

Mexico: Pride event remembers Carlos Monsivais

The 32nd annual Pride march in the Mexican capital began with a moment of silence for journalist and activist Carlos Monsivais, who died on June 19 at the age of 72.

Mexico: activist seeks asylum at Venezuelan embassy

Mexican campesino rights activist América del Valle, leader of the land defense committee at the village of San Salvador Atenco, applied for political asylum at the Venezuelan embassy in Mexico City.