Across Latin America, migrant blaze families left reeling
As images of the devastating blaze at an immigration detention center in Mexico consume news broadcasts and social media, families scattered across the Americas are suffering the consequences, reeling with agony as they await news of their loved ones.
Why Mexico’s Protests Show Anxiety on AMLO and Democracy
The large crowds of Mexicans that took to the streets on Feb. 26 were protesting a new law that, once signed and published, would cut the budget and workforce of the country’s election regulator, known as the INE. In a country where votes were routinely rigged during much of the 20th century, the new law is widely viewed as a threat to a still-young multiparty system. It’s also seen as part of an effort by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, to undermine democratic norms and bo
washingtonpost.comLeaders of US, Canada, Mexico show unity despite friction
President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are seeking to downplay their frustrations with one another on migration and trade as they meet for the North America Leaders Summit.
Big week for US-Mexico ties going into North American summit
WASHINGTON — (AP) — It's been a big week for U.S.-Mexico relations, and that was even before President Joe Biden becomes the first U.S. leader to visit Mexico in nearly a decade. The two presidents, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will gather in Mexico City on Monday and Tuesday for a North American leaders summit. Biden hopes to use the summit "to keep driving North America's economic competitiveness and help promote inclusive growth and prosperity,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. Lopez Obrador is focused on economic integration for North America, supporting the poor in the Americas and regional relationships that put all governments on equal footing. Both Mexico’s proximity to the U.S. and existing trade agreements would be incentives for American factories to relocate south of the border.
wftv.comMexican capo's arrest a gesture to US, not signal of change
Mexico’s capture of a son of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán this week likely is an isolated nod to a drug war strategy that Mexico’s current administration has abandoned rather than a sign that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s thinking has changed.
Violence paralyzes Mexican stronghold of Sinaloa drug cartel
MEXICO CITY — (AP) — Organized crime paralyzed the western Mexico city of Culiacan, a stronghold of the Sinaloa drug cartel, as alleged cartel members carjacked residents and set vehicles ablaze on Thursday in apparent response to the arrest of a cartel leader. Sinaloa state security chief Cristóbal Castañeda warned citizens via Twitter, adding that the state was responding and would inform when they could. One of the most notorious occurred in October 2019, when federal security forces corned Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán. López Obrador said at the time he had made the decision to avoid the loss of life. López Obrador entered office highly critical of the toll of his predecessors’ drug war.
wftv.comBiden heads to Mexico next month for leaders summit
WASHINGTON — (AP) — President Joe Biden will travel to Mexico next month for North American leaders summit, White House officials said Tuesday. Biden will meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Jan. 9-10. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the leaders will discuss economic stability, security and immigration, among other topics. Last year, the three leaders met in Washington. Mexico announced the summit last month but the U.S. had not confirmed.
wftv.comMexico president to bypass congress to keep army in streets
Mexico Army Policing FILE - Members of Mexico's National Guard march in the Independence Day military parade, in the capital's main plaza, the Zocalo, in Mexico City, Sept. 16, 2019. Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has begun exploring plans to side-step congress to hand formal control of the National Guard to the army. Neither the National Guard nor the military have been able to lower the insecurity in the country, however. When López Obrador was running for president, he called for taking the army off the streets. Mexico’s army has been deeply involved in policing since the start of the 2006 drug war.
wftv.comFormer Justice Department prosecutor weighs in on Jan. 6 investigation, Hunter Biden
Former Justice Department prosecutor James Trusty joined Catherine Herridge to discuss the Jan. 6 investigation into former President Donald Trump. Trusty has been retained by Trump in a defamation suit against CNN.
news.yahoo.comMexican president calls opponents foreign agents, traitors
Mexico Lopez Obrador Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador listens to a journalist's question during his daily press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Friday, July 8, 2022. Analysts say President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is starting to sound more like right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, calling anyone who opposes him a foreign agent. They are traitors to the country!” López Obrador said of domestic opposition to his plans to favor the state-owned electrical company. “We are not going to retreat one step,” López Obrador said of the electricity dispute, which could lead to U.S. trade sanctions. “Mexico is an independent country, it is not a colony of any foreign country, and the president of Mexico isn't a puppet, isn't the lackey of any foreign government.”Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comLuis Echeverria, Mexico leader blamed for massacres, dies
Mexico Obit Luis Echeverria FILE - Luis Echeverria Alvarez speaks to party members after becoming the official nominee for the 1970-76 presidential race, during the closing session of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party's conventional at the Olympic Sports Palace in Mexico City, Nov. 16, 1969. López Obrador did not provide a cause of death for Echeverria, who governed Mexico from 1970 to 1976. Born on Jan. 17, 1922, in Mexico City, Echeverria received a law degree from Mexico’s Autonomous National University in 1945. In his later years, Echeverria tried to project himself as an elder statesman, and a few times— when his health permitted — held forth unrepentantly before journalists. But he mainly lived in reclusive retirement at his sprawling home in an upscale Mexico City neighborhood.
wftv.comA look at high-profile political assassinations this century
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated Friday, July 8 in Japan by a gunman who opened fire on him as he delivered a campaign speech. Here's a global look at other high-profile political assassinations in the 21st century:— Oct. 15 2021: British lawmaker David Amess is stabbed to death by an Islamic State supporter while meeting with voters. — December 27, 2007: Benazir Bhutto, the first female prime minister in a Muslim-majority country as well as Pakistan’s second nationally elected prime minister, was shot at then attacked by a suicide bomber at a political rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. — Feb. 14, 2005: Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is killed by a suicide truck bomb on a seaside boulevard in Beirut. — March 12, 2003: Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic is shot dead in front of the Serbian government headquarters in Belgrade.
wftv.comPresident's party looks to clean up in state races in Mexico
Mexico Elections FILE - Supporters of presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, of the Morena party, wait for his arrival at Mexico City's Zocalo plaza, July 1, 2018. In 2022, Mexico’s ruling Morena party looks poised to win at least four of the six races for state governorships on June 5th, on the back of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and the absence of a credible opposition, analysts say. Basically, Morena is now a broad tent made of anyone who López Obrador — a political pragmatist who sometimes woos opposition politicians with ambassadorships — allows in. In the two states where Morena is trailing — Aguascalientes and Durango — the candidates are running jointly for the PRI and the conservative National Action Party. Morena is also likely to take the states of Oaxaca and Hidalgo, whose current PRI governors have been oddly close to López Obrador.
wftv.comMigrant back home after 7 years in Mexico jail with no trial
Guatemala Migrant Guatemalan migrant Juana Alonso Santizo arrives at La Aurora international airport in Guatemala City, Sunday, May 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo) (Moises Castillo)GUATEMALA CITY — (AP) — An Indigenous migrant who was accused of kidnapping and jailed in a northern Mexico border city returned to her homeland of Guatemala on Sunday as a free woman after spending more than seven years in prison without a trial. A Mexican court ordered the immediate release of Juana Alonzo Santizo, 35, on Saturday. The court ruled there was no consistent evidence against her, said Netzaí Sandoval, head of Mexico's federal public defenders office. Police then accused her of kidnapping and put her in jail, Sandoval said.
wftv.comMexican president slams US on tour of Central America
(AP Photo/Moises Castillo) (Moises Castillo)GUATEMALA CITY — (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador started a five-day tour to four Central American countries and Cuba on Thursday by lashing out at the U.S. government. López Obrador criticized American officials sharply for being quick to send billions to Ukraine, while dragging their feet on development aid to Central America. The Mexican leader had been angered that the United States rebuffed his calls to help expand his tree-planting program to Central America. López Obrador will be received in Central America, in part, as an emissary of the United States when it comes to migration policy. López Obrador has largely governed as a nationalist and populist, but he has positioned himself politically as a a devoted leftist.
wftv.comEl Salvador president wants to extend state of emergency
El Salvador Gangs FILE - El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele speaks to the press at Mexico's National Palace after meeting with the President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico City, March 12, 2019. El Salvador’s president has threatened Tuesday, April 6, 2022, that he will cut off food for imprisoned members of street gangs if they “unleash a wave of crimes.” (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File) (Marco Ugarte)SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — (AP) — President Nayib Bukele asked El Salvador’s congress Sunday to extend an anti-gang emergency decree for another 30 days. The original 30-day state of emergency approved in late March restricts the right to gather, to be informed of rights and have access to a lawyer. Rights groups have expressed concerns that innocent people are being caught up in sweeps targeting the notorious violent street gangs. Their power is strongest in El Salvador’s poorest neighborhoods where the state has long been absent.
wftv.comMexican leader fails to pass limits on foreign energy firms
Mexico US Electricity FILE - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during a ceremony to commemorate in Mexico City's main square the Zocalo, Aug. 13, 2021. Lopez Obrador failed to find enough votes late Sunday, April 17, 2022, to pass a constitutional reform limiting private and foreign firms in the electrical power industry. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File) (Eduardo Verdugo)MEXICO CITY — (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador failed to find enough votes late Sunday to pass a constitutional reform limiting private and foreign firms in the electrical power industry. Private and foreign companies, which have built wind and gas-fired generating plants, would have been allowed to keep up to 46% of the market. The ruling party and its allies need a two-thirds majority to pass the constitutional reform.
wftv.comWhy AMLO Is Asking Mexico’s Voters If He Should Quit
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico’s white-haired, folksy president, is telling voters to go to the polls April 10 and decide whether he should resign instead of serving until 2024, when his single six-year term will end. The populist leader has a history of using referendums as a tool to energize his working class base, but this will be the first time he’s turned the question on himself.
washingtonpost.comMexicans vote on whether president stays or goes
A presidential recall referendum will be held on April 10, where Mexicans will be asked if they want the president to continue in office until 2024 or resign. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) (Fernando Llano)MEXICO CITY — (AP) — Mexicans vote Sunday on whether their popular president should end his six-year term barely midway through or continue to the end. Strangely, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was the one who pushed for the first-ever referendum of its kind in Mexico. The referendum is only binding if at least 40% of the country’s electorate votes — something experts believe unlikely — and López Obrador has maintained approval ratings around 60%. The referendum fueled a feud between López Obrador and Mexico’s respected elections authority.
wftv.comWhy AMLO Is Asking Mexico’s Voters If He Should Quit
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico’s white-haired, folksy president, is telling voters to go to the polls April 10 and decide whether he should resign instead of serving until 2024, when his single six-year term will end. The populist leader has a history of using referendums as a tool to energize his working class base, but this will be the first time he’s turned the question on himself.
washingtonpost.comMexicans vote on recall of president, an effort he asked for
On April 10, a presidential recall referendum will be held to revalidate his administration after three years in office. Mexicans will be asked if they want the president to continue in office until 2024 or resign. For one thing, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador himself demanded it. And third, there’s little chance López Obrador could lose, with current approval ratings of around 60%. While some opposition groups have called on people to boycott the vote, some opponents want to actually try to win, and say people should turn out and vote to recall the president.
wftv.comMexican president once again lashes out at environmentalists
Mexico Felipe Angeles Airport Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during his daily morning press conference before officially inaugurating the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) north of Mexico City, Monday, March 21, 2022. López Obrador angrily rejected the calls Wednesday and called them “fake environmentalists.”“They convince or they hire performers, fake environmentalists who supposedly are defending the environment, and they start a campaign against the train,” López Obrador said. López Obrador views the so-called “Maya train” project as a priority of his administration. López Obrador originally planned to build an elevated train over an existing highway. The president has routinely placed his building plans above environmental concerns.
wftv.comMexican president revels in new airport; questions remain
Mexico Felipe Angeles Airport Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stands during his daily, morning press conference at the inauguration event for the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA), north of Mexico City, Monday, March 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) (Marco Ugarte)MEXICO CITY — (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated a new Mexico City airport on Monday, one of his four hallmark building projects. Only one “international” flight will use the airport, a flight to Caracas, Venezuela, operated by a Venezuelan carrier that is under U.S. sanctions. The Felipe Angeles Mexico City airport reflects the contrasts and contradictions of López Obrador's administration. At the Felipe Angeles terminal, they will only be required to show up one or two hours before those flights.
wftv.comMcConnell plots GOP midterm strategy as Trump's influence stokes divisions
Republican infighting is threatening to topple the party's strategy to regain control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections. CBS News political reporter Caitlin Huey-burns joined Vladimir Duthiers and Lana Zak with more.
news.yahoo.comU.S. prepares for possible Russian attack on Ukraine "with little or no warning"
Department of Defense press secretary John Kirby says Russian president Vladimir Putin could order an attack on Ukraine "with little or no warning." As the U.S. prepares for potential conflict, the White House says diplomacy is still on the table. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin joined CBS News' "Red and Blue" with the latest.
news.yahoo.comMexico's energy reform strains ties with US
Mexico’s plan to favor its own state-owned electrical power plants and limit energy sales by private, foreign-built projects could affect U.S. investment in Mexico, officials said during bilateral talks this week. “In each meeting, we expressly conveyed the Biden-Harris Administration’s real concerns with the potential negative impact of Mexico’s proposed energy reforms on U.S. private investment in Mexico,” according to a statement by U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. The bill that López Obrador submitted in October would cancel contracts under which 34 private plants sell power into the national grid. The plan would also declare “illegal” an additional 239 private plants that sell energy directly to corporate clients in Mexico. The measure also would cancel many long-term energy supply contracts and clean-energy preferential buying programs, often affecting foreign companies.
wftv.comMexico president returns after 2nd COVID-19 infection
Virus Outbreak Mexico FILE - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris in her office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, in Washington. President Lopez Obrador announced on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, that he has come down with COVID-19 a second time, as coronavirus infections spike in Mexico and virus tests become scarce. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) (Alex Brandon)MEXICO CITY — (AP) — Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador returned to his morning news conference Monday following a week of isolation for his second coronavirus infection. “It is demonstrable that this variant does not have the same seriousness as the earlier, the delta,” López Obrador said. “In symptoms and also in recuperation time.”López Obrador was infected the first time in January of last year.
wftv.comMexico's president wants Mexicans to buy Citigroup unit
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) (Alex Brandon)MEXICO CITY — (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday he hopes Mexican investors buy the local subsidiary of Citigroup. One, retail and banking magnate Ricardo Salinas Pliego, wrote in his Twitter account he was weighing a bid for the bank. Salinas Pliego already runs the smaller Banco Azteca. “I have always believed in and invested in Mexico and Mexicans,” Salinas Pliego wrote. But many doubt Salinas Pliego could raise the $12 billion to $15 billion that analysts think Citibanamex might cost.
wftv.comFootage purportedly shows Mexican cartel dropping bombs on rivals with a drone
New footage purportedly shows a major Mexican cartel dropping bombs on rival camps with a drone — marking the latest instance of instability and violence in the region from a cartel that officials say has been growing rapidly.
news.yahoo.comMexican president says his COVID-19 case is 'like a cold'
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) (Alex Brandon)MEXICO CITY — (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday he was hoarse and had a sore throat after testing positive for COVID-19 for the second time. Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer said López Obrador could return to the briefings as early as next week. In 2021, López Obrador returned to his daily news briefings in February after a two-week absence when he caught coronavirus in January. At the time, López Obrador revealed he received experimental treatments, which he described only as an “antiviral” medication and an anti-inflammatory drug. In the U.S., where the omicron wave hit before it did in Mexico, COVID-19 deaths have again started to rise.
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