International
Biden in Mexico for talks on migrants, drugs
January 9th | By AFP | Daniel Rook |
A regional migration and drug smuggling crisis is expected to dominate talks between US President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday.
Biden arrived in Mexico City late Sunday after a politically charged stop at the southern US border — his first since taking office.
He will meet Monday and Tuesday with Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau one-on-one and also together in what is dubbed the “Three Amigos” summit.
While trade and environmental issues are also on the table, Biden has put a surge in irregular migration and dangerous drug trafficking front and center of his trip, his first to Mexico as president.
“Our problems at the border didn’t arise overnight,” Biden tweeted after his arrival.
“And they won’t be solved overnight. But, we can come together to fix this broken system. We can secure the border and fix the immigration process to be orderly, fair, safe, and humane.”
Lopez Obrador, who joined Biden in his armored limousine for the journey from the airport, called for increased investment in the region so that people are less likely to flee their countries.
“Opportunities must be guaranteed to citizens, to workers of all countries in their places of origin,” he told reporters.
‘Where are our rights?’
On his way to Mexico, Biden stopped for several hours in El Paso, Texas, a city at the heart of the troubled border.
He met with US officials at the Bridge of the Americas crossing, watching a demonstration of the latest border enforcement technology, as well as a customs sniffer dog.
He later got out of his motorcade to inspect a section of the tall fencing that snakes between El Paso and its twin city Juarez on the Mexican side.
“They need a lot of resources. We’re going to get it for them,” Biden told reporters after his visit to the customs post.
Just ahead of Biden’s arrival in Mexico, a line of migrants, some with children in their arms, were deported from El Paso to Ciudad Juarez, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
Venezuelan Jose David Melendez told AFP that he had been apprehended by border guards at a church where he was taking refuge.
“The police officers from the border patrol came and hit us, made us run, pointed guns at us, pointed at children with firearms. Where are our human rights?” the 25-year-old said.
Biden is under political pressure in the face of spiraling illegal border crossings and applications for asylum.
Adding to the crisis has been a surge in cross-border smuggling of the highly addictive and often deadly narcotic fentanyl.
Biden’s visit sought to respond to Republican accusations that he has been ignoring the situation.
On Thursday Biden announced an expansion of powers to expel people showing up at the border without clearance.
At the same time, a legal, strictly enforced pathway will be created for up to 30,000 migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
The quota will be restricted to those who already have a US sponsor, while anyone attempting to cross the border illegally will be expelled in coordination with Mexico.
Human rights groups harshly criticized this as closing the door on desperate people, but the Biden administration says its actions will essentially kill the market for human smuggling networks, while encouraging legitimate arrivals.
Cartel violence
In 2021, the United States and Mexico announced a revamp of their fight against drug trafficking to address the root causes of migration, encourage economic development and bolster curbs against cross-border arms smuggling.
Mexico is plagued by cartel-related bloodshed that has seen more than 340,000 people murdered since the government deployed the military in the war on drugs in 2006.
Days before Biden’s visit, Mexican security forces captured a son of notorious drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence at a US prison.
The United States had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Ovidio Guzman’s arrest, accusing him of being a key player in the Sinaloa cartel founded by his father.
Climate change and cooperation in clean energy technologies will also be on the summit agenda, with Mexico hoping to benefit from Washington’s efforts to reduce its reliance on Asia-based manufacturers.
International
Sexual assault attempt on Mexico’s president sparks outrage in historic center
A man harassed and groped Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum without her consent on Tuesday while she walked through Mexico City’s historic center, just meters from the National Palace, greeting members of the public.
The man, who appeared to be intoxicated, attempted to kiss the president from behind before grabbing her. Security personnel immediately intervened and detained him, with video footage showing Sheinbaum visibly tense following the incident.
Sheinbaum was on her way to the first National Meeting of Universities and Higher Education Institutions at the Education Secretariat headquarters, located just a few blocks from the palace. She chose to walk to the event due to the short distance.
During the stroll, in one of the busiest parts of the capital, the man took advantage of the crowd surrounding the president, approaching her from behind, trying to kiss her neck and placing his arms around her.
Hours later, federal authorities confirmed that the suspect — identified as Uriel Rivera Martínez — had been arrested and taken to the Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office for Sexual Crimes, according to the National Detention Registry.
Legal sources stated that Sheinbaum was the victim of a flagrant sexual abuse offense under Mexico City’s Penal Code, noting that no close assistant intervened at the very moment the assault occurred.
According to a 2024 survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 15.5% of women in Mexico have experienced sexual harassment, groping, exhibitionism or attempted rape — five times the percentage of men, at 3.2%.
International
Longest government shutdown in U.S. history deepens airport and aid crisis
The U.S. government shutdown reached a historic milestone on Wednesday, becoming the longest in the nation’s history as Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump continue to clash with Democratic opposition over the federal budget.
The shutdown entered its 36th day, surpassing the previous record set in 2019 during Trump’s first term in office.
Over the past six weeks, the budget impasse has left roughly 1.4 million federal workers without pay. Employees deemed “essential,” including air traffic controllers and law enforcement officers, have been required to continue working despite not receiving their salaries.
Conditions at airports are growing increasingly strained. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the federal government may be forced to partially shut down U.S. airspace due to staffing shortages.
“So if we go another week from now, Democrats, you will see massive chaos… you will see massive flight delays,” Duffy cautioned.
Social assistance programs have also been disrupted. On Tuesday, Trump stated that food aid relied upon by millions of Americans would not be distributed until the government reopens — contradicting earlier administration comments indicating that partial benefits could still be provided.
International
Deadly fire in bosnian nursing home leaves 11 dead and dozens injured
At least 11 people were killed and more than 30 others were injured after a fire broke out overnight at a nursing home in Bosnia, authorities reported on Wednesday.
The cause of the blaze, which started late Tuesday on the seventh floor of a residential building in the city of Tuzla, remains unclear. Local media reported that the upper floors of the facility housed elderly residents with limited mobility or medical conditions.
Tuzla Mayor Zijad Lugavić said that firefighters and rescue workers were among the injured. Municipal authorities convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday to assess the situation and coordinate response efforts.
Ruža Kajic, a resident living on the third floor, said she had just gone to bed when she heard “bursting sounds” and saw flames descending from the upper levels.
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