A US anti-kidnapping expert was himself kidnapped in northern Mexico Dec. 10, Coahuila state authorities revealed. Felix Batista—a veteran FBI agent now working for ASI Global Kidnap & Ransom Response of Houston who claims to have helped resolve nearly 100… Read moreMexico: anti-kidnapping expert kidnapped
General Motors Mexico will temporarily shut assembly lines at three of its Mexican plants as part of an overall strategy to cut production due to falling demand, the company announced Dec. 15. The plants in San Luis Potosi and Ramos… Read moreGM to idle Mexican plants
Killings linked to Mexico’s narco wars have more than doubled this year compared with 2007 and are likely to escalate before they start to fall, Prosecutor General Eduardo Medina Mora said Dec. 8. The number of narco-killings since the start… Read moreMexico: narco-war death toll doubles ’07; Juárez femicide breaks records
On Dec. 2 Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA), Mexico’s main steelmaker, announced plans for laying off 8,500 contract workers in its Proyecto Fenix modernization project and 3,500 of its own employees. (La Jornada, Dec. 3) In the two days after… Read moreMexico: layoffs up, unionists busted
The Sixth Intergalactic Commission of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) has announced a “First World Festival of Dignified Rage” (Festival Digna Rabia), to be held in January at San CristĂłbal de las Casas, Chiapas. Participants have been confirmed from… Read moreChiapas: Zapatistas to host “Festival of Dignified Rage”
In an escalation of the land conflict at Lomas de Poleo community on the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez, on Dec. 4 demolition equipment was brought in—backed up by trucks full of henchmen with clubs, chains and rifles—to destroy the home… Read moreMexico: home destroyed at contested Juárez barrio
Thirteen men were found Dec. 4 shot to death in northern Mexico’s Sinaloa state. The bodies—lined up, face down, their hands bound, and mostly with execution-style coup de grace shots to the head—were discovered by local police some 600 meters… Read moreMexico: 13 killed in Sinaloa massacre
The US government released the first $197 million of the $400 million “Plan Mexico” aid package Dec. 3. At a signing ceremony in Mexico City, US Ambassador Tony Garza called the package “the most significant effort ever undertaken” by the… Read moreUS releases first tranche of Plan Mexico funds
Tijuana’s Public Security Secretary Alberto Capella was ousted Dec. 1 and replaced by his second-in-command, army Lt. Col. Julian Leyzaola, following three days of violence that left 37 people dead in the border city. Another army officer, Capt. Gustavo Huerta,… Read moreTijuana: army officers take over police force
As protests by teachers continued in several southern and central Mexican states, on Nov. 28 the State Institute of Public Education of Oaxaca (IEEPO) announced plans to work with Section 22 of the National Education Workers Union (SNTE) to produce… Read moreMexico: teachers make gains against “privatization” plans
Mexican President Felipe CalderĂłn, speaking at last week’s APEC summit in Lima, warned US President-elect Barack Obama against following through on his campaign pledge to consider revising the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying it would send more Mexicans across… Read moreMexico: CalderĂłn warns Obama on NAFTA revision
Twenty people were killed in apparent narco-violence Nov. 28—mostly in the border cities of Ciudad Juárez and Tijuana. The single bloodiest incident occurred when a group of hooded gunmen opened raided on a party at Juárez seafood restaurant, singling out… Read moreMexico: Ciudad Juárez violence escalates
