Ildefonso Ortiz

Activists in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, called on two drug cartels that control the region to help restore peace and end senseless kidnappings after government officials and authorities have been unable to do so. The call for help

Mexican authorities are escorting more than 3,000 migrants who began trekking their way north as part of a new migrant caravan, with each of the participants having the ultimate goal of reaching the U.S. border and requesting asylum or some other form of protected status.

Mexico’s President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum and her political allies reacted to a series of comments made by Presidential Candidate Donald Trump that were not directed at them but at U.S. President Joe Biden. The premature reaction by Mexico’s political elite appears to have been fueled by Mexican journalists who mistranslated and widely shared the comments from a poorly edited video on social media.

A series of raids in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas shook up one of the leading factions of the Gulf Cartel and led to several high-profile arrests. For more than a year, one particular faction of the Gulf Cartel had been untouched by Mexican federal and state authorities due to the country’s widespread corruption. However, in recent weeks, both sides appear to have had a breakdown in their relationship, leading to a series of raids by authorities and targeted attacks by cartel gunmen.

Three members of Mexico’s National Guard are facing state charges in connection with the sexual assault of an underage female in the popular beach destination of Isla Mujeres. Despite the arrest, state authorities are trying to cover up the issue that the three suspects are members of Mexico’s National Guard and were on duty during the sexual assault.

The U.S. Department of State issued a new travel alert about cartel gunmen kidnapping American passengers from buses traveling through the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The advisory comes even after Mexican border state officials dismissed a prior alert claiming the region has minimal crime statistics.

Activists are sounding the alarm about a large group of gunmen who kidnapped more than 200 migrants as they made their way north toward the Sonora-Arizona border. Some of the migrant’s relatives wired thousands of dollars to the alleged kidnappers, but the migrants remain missing.

Suspected cartel gunmen threw three explosives at a state police building in the Mexican beach hotpot of Acapulco. The terror-style attack comes soon after gunmen left 9 dismembered bodies in that same city.

Cartel gunmen dumped nine dismembered bodies in several locations over the weekend, highlighting an ongoing turf war near the popular beach hotspot of Acapulco.

A choir teacher in Texas will spend eight years in prison following his conviction on federal child pornography charges. The teacher is a Mexican national who was living legally in the country and will face deportation after his sentence.

Mexican immigration agents allowed a Hungarian woman who had previously been flagged by U.S. authorities to enter the country in exchange for a cash bribe. The incident comes when Mexican immigration officials have been unable to shake a long list of corruption allegations.

Agentes mexicanos de inmigración permitieron que una mujer húngara que tenía una alerta migratoria por parte de las autoridades de los Estados Unidos entrara al país a cambio de un soborno en efectivo.  Este caso ocurre en momentos en que los oficiales de inmigración mexicanos no han podido deshacerse de una larga lista de acusaciones de corrupción.

Authorities in Mexico are investigating the murder of a journalist whose body was found with his hands tied and with tape over his eyes in the southern state of Chiapas. The killing comes as international press freedom organizations continue to label Mexico as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for news workers.

An elderly couple sustained moderate injuries after a group of cartel gunmen dropped an IED on top of their home using a drone. The incident comes as cartels continue to operate with almost complete impunity in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, where various organizations are fighting a fierce turf war for control of drug production areas and trafficking routes.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking for help in locating an Arizona teenage female and her mother who are believed to have been kidnapped while traveling in northern Mexico. The kidnapping is believed to have occurred along a stretch of highway where the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas has abducted dozens of innocent victims who have never been heard from again.

A group of Cartel gunmen kidnapped and tortured two men who had recorded themselves sexually assaulting an elderly woman in a local market.

Mexican authorities arrested a former U.S. soldier who had allegedly been building explosives for the Gulf Cartel just south of the Texas border. The arrest had been kept largely under wraps as federal authorities built up the case against him,

Las autoridades mexicanas arrestaron a un exsoldado estadounidense que había estado fabricando explosivos para el Cartel del Golfo justo al sur de la frontera con Texas. El arresto se había mantenido en gran medida en secreto mientras las autoridades federales desarrollaban el caso en su contra y lo vinculaban a proceso; ya que se le acusa de fabricar minas y otros artefactos explosivos.

Federal authorities revealed that members of the Sinaloa Cartel used a network of Chinese underground bankers to launder more than $50 million in drug proceeds.

Authorities in South Texas arrested a previously convicted horse rapist who returned to a local ranch to sexually assault a white mare. The suspect has a history of arrests for breaking into local ranches and having intercourse with specific horses.

Federal authorities arrested a juvenile probation officer from South Texas after discovering a migrant from Honduras hiding in the rear of his vehicle.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture halted the importation of avocados and mangoes from Mexico following the abduction of two of its workers in a state known for cartel violence.

A federal judge sentenced a San Antonio woman to 14 years in prison for her role in a migrant smuggling scheme where she claimed to be a federal agent. She also claimed to be an immigration attorney. The woman collected more than $275,000 from 95 migrants and their families.

Mexican government officials publicly rejected a recent travel warning issued by the U.S. Department of State in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. The warning advised U.S. citizens not to travel by bus, citing targeted kidnappings of American citizens and residents in the neighboring border city of Reynosa. Mexican officials continue to claim the border region is safe, even though the region is under the control of the Gulf Cartel and continues to go through a hyperviolent turf war.

The United States Consulate in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, is sounding the alarm about the targeting of U.S. citizens, residents, and people with connections in the U.S. for ransom kidnappings while traveling on passenger buses.

Two gunmen riding on a motorcycle fired several shots at the entrance of a news building in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The region is known for the impunity with which drug cartels operate.

Authorities in Mexico rescued 13 Central American migrants who had been kidnapped and were being tortured by their captors to force families to pay ransom for their release.

Search parties found numerous clandestine graveyards in the rural area of the Mexican border state of Sonora near the international border with Arizona. The discoveries come at a time when cartel violence has been plaguing the border state despite empty assurances made by Mexico’s government.

Los equipos de búsqueda han encontrado numerosos cementerios clandestinos en el estado fronterizo mexicano de Sonora, en una zona rural cerca de la frontera con Arizona. Los descubrimientos se producen en un momento en que la violencia de los cárteles ha estado plagando el estado fronterizo a pesar de las vacías garantías hechas por el gobierno de México.

Mexican authorities announced the rescue of 29 women who were being sex-trafficked at a bar near the beach hotspot of Cancun.

A former Mexican congressional candidate will spend 12 years in prison for drugging and sexually abusing his 11-year-old daughter. Authorities believe the abuse may have gone on for years before the assaults were discovered.

A Mexican pastor is currently jailed and awaiting sentencing following her conviction this week on forced labor charges. The conviction is tied to a migrant shelter she ran in Ciudad Juarez.

A group of suspected cartel gunmen shot and killed the first woman mayor in the town of Cotija, Michoacan, a state suffering from widespread cartel violence. The killing comes just one day after Mexico held its national elections. The victim had survived a separate cartel kidnapping in 2023.

The son of a Gulf Cartel operator who helped run a large-scale operation in Texas will spend two and a half years in federal prison for trying to intimidate federal agents. The agents were hunting for his father and potential witnesses against him.

The murder of a top operator within a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel is sending shockwaves throughout Mexico. While the masterminds behind the murder remain unknown, the killing is expected to lead to violent consequences.

A mayoral candidate in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, canceled her final campaign event after a recording artist headlining her event received a series of threats believed to come from the Gulf Cartel.