International
Mexico town hall massacre leaves at least 20 dead
AFP | Yussel Gonzalez
Gunmen attacked a town hall and murdered at least 20 people, including a mayor, in a southern Mexican state riven by turf wars between rival drug cartels, authorities said Thursday.
Soldiers guarded the bullet-riddled building in San Miguel Totolapan following Wednesday’s massacre, in which Mayor Conrado Mendoza and his father, who held the job before him, were killed in broad daylight.
The mayor was in a work meeting when he was shot dead, municipal official Freddy Vazquez told reporters.
“At first we couldn’t believe it. Our municipality is peaceful. We thought they were fireworks… but little by little we listened more closely and realized that they were gunshots,” he said.
Police officers and city council workers were reported to be among the victims.
The attack came amid disputes between criminal groups operating in Guerrero state, including one known as Los Tequileros and another called La Familia Michoacana, Deputy Security Minister Ricardo Mejia said.
Located in the violence-wracked Tierra Caliente region, San Miguel Totolapan sits along a drug trafficking route disputed by different cartels.
“It’s possible that the murders were due to a dispute between Los Tequileros and La Familia Michoacana for control of the municipality,” security analyst David Saucedo told AFP.
Los Tequileros were previously active in San Miguel Totolapan for several years, mainly staging kidnappings for ransom.
But the group’s influence dwindled after the death of one of its leaders in 2018 in a gunfight with police.
Just days before Wednesday’s attack, alleged members of Los Tequileros had made threats to return to the town, local press reported.
‘Cowardly murder’
Guerrero, one of Mexico’s poorest states, has endured years of violence linked to turf wars between drug cartels fighting for control of marijuana and opium production and drug trafficking.
“These are organizations that have been around for a long time. They did not emerge during this government, and we are trying to address the causes,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters.
Guerrero state attorney general Sandra Luz Valdovinos said that nobody had yet been arrested for the attack.
“There isn’t yet enough evidence to determine who’s likely responsible,” she told local television.
Criminal gangs have cultivated close links to regional politicians, complicating efforts to pacify Guerrero despite the deployment of federal forces.
“Drug traffickers control various areas of the state and, instead of fighting them, the political parties have relied on them to win elections,” Saucedo said.
More than 340,000 people have been killed across Mexico in a spiral of bloodshed since the government deployed the army to fight drug cartels in 2006.
Local-level politicians frequently fall victim to violence connected to corruption and the multibillion-dollar narcotics trade.
Mendoza is one of 94 mayors who have been murdered in Mexico since 2000, according to data from consulting firm Etellekt.
His party, the left-wing opposition PRD, condemned the “cowardly murder.”
“We demand justice, enough of impunity,” it wrote on Twitter.
Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado, of the ruling Morena party, said she had ordered a swift investigation into the massacre.
“There will be no impunity for the vicious aggression,” she tweeted.
-
A member of the Mexican Army stands guard in front of the bullet-ridden building of the Municipality of San Miguel Totolapan, state of Guerrero, Mexico, on October 6, 2022. - Mexican authorities said Thursday that at least 20 people had been killed, including the mayor, when gunmen stormed a town hall in the southern part of the country Wednesday in a broad daylight attack. (Photo by FRANCISCO ROBLES / AFP)
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International4 days agoMexico City prepares for 13 million pilgrims at Basilica of Guadalupe
-
International3 days agoWashington declares State of Emergency as atmospheric river brings severe flooding
-
International3 days agoU.S. to require five-year social media history from tourists under Visa Waiver Program
-
Central America4 days agoHonduras’ electoral chief reports ongoing technical issues but says results remain intact
-
Central America4 days agoU.S. accuses Ortega regime of systematic human rights abuses in Nicaragua
-
Central America4 days agoU.S. finds no evidence of fraud in Honduras election despite delays
-
International2 days agoCuba battles out-of-control dengue and chikungunya epidemic as death toll rises to 44
-
Central America3 days ago
OAS and EU urge honduran political actors to respect vote results and avoid unrest
-
Central America2 days ago
Honduras election crisis deepens as CNE president denounces intimidation attempts
-
International2 days agoColombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
-
International18 hours agoSeveral people shot in attack on Brown University campus
-
International2 days agoEcuador on track for record violence as homicides hit highest level in Latin America again
-
International3 days agoSix ecuadorian soldiers jailed pending trial for alleged extrajudicial execution
-
International16 hours agoU.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty