On September 11th, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum lamented and condemned the assassination of U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the day previous.
President Sheinbaum made the comments near the beginning of her morning press conference. They were planned comments, and not in response to a question. (Text here, video here).
President Sheinbaum stated that she’d wanted to comment on two topics.
The first was to lament the explosion of a gas tanker explosion which killed 8 and injured at least 90 in the Iztapalapa borough of Mexico City, also the day previous.
Then President Sheinbaum said that “The second [topic], also to lament the occurrence in the United States yesterday with this activist, this activist person, Charlie Kirk. We are also totally against any violence, and particularly political violence. Therefore, also our condemnation to actions of this type.”
For the fourth straight month, remittances sent from Mexicans in the U.S. to Mexico were down.
U.S. in orange, Mexico in green. Source: Wikipedia
Last month I reported that June remittances were down from the previous June.
This month it was reported that July remittances were down from the previous July. That’s the fourth straight month that remittances have fallen.
According to the Banco de México , “In July of 2025, remittance income from the exterior [mostly the U.S.] totalled 5.33 billion dollars, a decrease of 4.7%.”
That’s 4.7% less than July of 2024.
The Banco also reported total remittances of January to July: “The accumulated sum of remittance income in the January to July 2025 period is 34.889 billion dollars, less than the 36.919 billion dollars registered in the same period of 2024 and indicates an annual decrease of 5.5%.”
What explains the decrease?
According to the Latin Times“Experts consulted by the outlet explained that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has prompted both voluntary returns and reduced work participation among Mexicans in the U.S., while fewer new migrants are entering the labor market. Analysts note that remittance flows naturally depend on ongoing migration, and Mexico’s migration levels have fallen over the past 15 years.”
The nine candidates who won took office on September 1st, 2025.
The Chief Justice, or as they say in Spanish, Presidente de la Corte, is Hugo Aguilar Ortiz, who was the biggest vote-getter on the Supreme Court ballot, receiving over 6 million votes (6,195,000). Here is the Chief Justice’s official photo:
Chief Justice Aguilar is a lawyer and Mixtec Indian from the state of Oaxaca. Aguilar served as indigenous rights coordinator of INPI, the Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas (National Institute of Indigenous Peoples). Aguilar had never served as a judge before becoming Mexico’s Chief Justice.
Here is a list, in descending order of their votes, of the 9 justices of the Mexican Supreme Court.
Hugo Aguilar Ortiz
Lenia Batres Guadarrama, who was already on the Supreme Court.
Yasmin Esquivel Mossa, who was already on the Supreme Court.
Loreta Ortiz Ahlf, who was already on the Supreme Court.
Maria Estela Rios Gonzalez
Giovanni Azael Figueroa Mejia
Irving Espinosa Betanzo
Aristides Rodrigo Guerrero Garcia
Sara Irene Herrerias Guerra
It’s important to note that before the election, the MORENA party, which is the party of President Sheinbaum and the party that runs Congress, distributed papers to voters which listed judges on the ballot recommended by MORENA.
All nine winning judges, slated to serve on the new Supreme Court, were MORENA-approved, meaning it’s less likely that they are going to exhibit much judicial independence.
In fact, three of the judges (Batriz, Esquivel, Ortiz) were already on the Supreme Court, having been appointed to the Court by previous MORENA president AMLO. Another judge, Maria Estela Rios Gonzalez, is a former legal advisor to AMLO.
AMLO, moreover, did not like the Supreme Court ruling against him, and it is AMLO who engineered the judicial reform before he left the presidency on October 1st, 2024, to be replaced by Claudia Sheinbaum.
You can see the concern that this judicial election could be a way for MORENA to get control of the judicial branch.
Now that these justices are in office, observers can see how it really turns out.
On September 3rd, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Mexico City, where he conferred with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente. Rubio and De La Fuente spoke at a press conference, in which Rubio spoke both in English and in his Cuban-accented Spanish. (Text here, Video here).
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Source: Government of Mexico
Things seems to have gone well.
Here’s a statement from State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott: “Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. They reaffirmed our strong U.S.-Mexico partnership and joint commitment to dismantle cartels, tackle the scourge of fentanyl and the violence perpetuated by transnational criminal organizations, end illegal immigration, and promote economic prosperity and security.”
“Secretary Rubio thanked President Sheinbaum for Mexico’s partnership to secure our shared border, helping the Trump Administration reach a historic low in border encounters with illegal immigrants. The President and the Secretary agreed to continue our strong security cooperation and intensify future collaboration. The Secretary also thanked the President for collaborating to manage our shared water resources more effectively and expressed optimism for further progress. During the meeting the Secretary emphasized the importance of resolving trade and non-trade barriers to further the prosperity of both of our nations.”
“The United States and Mexico remain committed to creating a hemisphere that is safe and prosperous for our citizens.”
Here’s a tweet from President Sheinbaum’s Twitter X account: “During the cordial meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, we agreed on a program of cooperation for border security and law enforcement, after several months of work. It is based on four axes: reciprocity, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, shared and differentiated responsibility, as well as mutual trust.”
Here’s a tweet from the Mexican Foreign Ministry (SRE): “Today at Foreign Relations a message was sent to national and international media by Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which the cooperation with respect to sovereignty and territorial integrity of our peoples was reinforced.”
The Mexico Daily Post has an interesting article describing the way Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has handled relations with U.S. President Donald Trump.
From the Mexico Daily Post article: “Claudia Sheinbaum has achieved what no experienced head of state or world leader has achieved: public praise from US President Donald Trump. The Mexican president has also managed to reach an understanding with the Republican, with whom she has held nine telephone conversations during this six-year term.”
Sheinbaum is not the only leader of another country that Trump has publicly praised. But it is true that Trump has spoken well of her and that Sheinbaum has appeared to have gained Trump’s respect.
“Trump—chief executive of the most powerful country in the world due to its economic dominance, as well as its military and technological capabilities—has described Sheinbaum as a wonderful, fantastic, and even tough woman. He has also shown his respect on more than one occasion for Mexico’s first female president.”
And this despite the fact that they have not met in person.
“Claudia Sheinbaum’s successful negotiations with Donald Trump have earned her headlines in US media outlets, such as the Financial Times. Also in Europe, Sheinbaum’s composure with Trump has been surprising, as they have never seen a head of state who has remained equable in the face of the Republican’s attitudes.”
Actually the Financial Times is British, but close enough.
“Furthermore, the Mexican president was selected by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2025, whose annual list was published on April 16.”
Congratulations on that, Madame President.
And the tariffs?
“This September 1st, Claudia Sheinbaum completes 11 months in office, and containing the United States’ tariff policy is one of the main achievements of the first part of her administration, thanks to her ‘cool head’ strategy.”
“The Mexican president has managed to avoid the tariffs announced by Washington on three occasions—on February 3, March 6, and July 31—after negotiating directly with Trump, the antagonist of several nations who has aggressively confronted the leaders of major powers.”
“On that last date (July 31), they agreed to suspend the implementation of the 30 percent tariffs on Mexican products—except automobiles, steel, and aluminum—after a 40-minute phone call. They agreed to a 90-day period to work on a long-term agreement between the two nations.”
According to the Mexico Daily Post, Tump and Sheinbaum have spoken nine times.
“After the ninth conversation between the two leaders, the Republican emphasized the understanding with Sheinbaum.”
“ ‘I just concluded a telephone conversation with the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, which was very successful in the sense that we are getting to know and understand each other more and more. The complexities of an agreement with Mexico are somewhat different from those of other nations due to both the problems and assets on the border,’ the US president explained on his Truth Social account.”
There’s more in the article, if you want to read it all, click here.
The World Cup is the international soccer championship in which national teams compete. It’s held every 4 years.
The 2026 World Cup, next year’s, is scheduled to be held June 11th to July 19th, 2026.
For the first time ever, the World Cup is to be hosted by three countries: the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Mexico has hosted the World Cup twice before (1970 and 1986) and the U.S. once before, in 1994.
In 2002, the World Cup was jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea. Every other previous World Cup was hosted by only one country.
But in 2026 the plan is for three countries to host it.
The games are to be held in 16 cities.
Here is list of the 16 cities:
U.S.: New York metroplex (East Rutherford, New Jersey); Dallas metro (Arlington); Kansas City, Missouri; Houston; Atlanta; Los Angeles metro (Inglewood); Seattle; San Franciso Bay Area (Santa Clara); Philadelphia; Miami metro (Miami Gardens); Boston metro (Foxborough).
Canada: Vancouver; Toronto.
Mexico: Mexico City; Monterrey metro (Guadalupe); Guadalajara metro (Zapopan).
There are to be 48 national teams competing, an increase from 32 in the last World Cup in 2022; with 104 games scheduled.
It ought to be really big deal. Here’s a map of the 16 venues:
Venues for 2026 World Cup Games. Source: Axios Visuals
A recent U.S. government report uncovers a financial link between the Mexican drug cartels and China.
Discovering how drug cartels are financed and how the money is laundered is important if progress is to be made in fighting these criminal organizations.
From RegTech Times: “The United States has raised alarm over a massive money laundering network connecting China and Mexican drug cartels. Officials revealed that more than $300 billion in suspicious transactions passed through American banks over the last five years. These transactions are believed to be tied to criminal groups that work hand-in-hand with cartels in Mexico.”
“The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said that about $312 billion worth of suspicious money transfers were reported between January 2020 and December 2024. These networks are accused of helping cartels hide their drug money by moving it through a complex web of international transactions.”
This report ends about nine months ago, but who can doubt that this is still going on?
“Investigators explained that these groups often rely on ordinary-looking people, sometimes listed as students, homemakers, or retirees. These individuals act as ‘money mules,’ holding large sums of unexplained cash in their accounts to disguise the real source. The system makes the money appear legal, while in reality, it comes from drug trafficking.”
So how does this operation work?
“The laundering method has been described as a sophisticated exchange of currencies across three countries. Drug cartels in the United States usually make their profits in dollars. Instead of directly depositing these dollars into Mexican banks, which are tightly monitored, brokers step in. They collect the dollars, hand over pesos to the cartels in Mexico, and then use Chinese underground banking systems to balance the transactions.”
“Chinese citizens, eager to move money out of their country due to strict capital rules, play a key role. They provide the renmimbi in China, while brokers pay out dollars in the U.S. and pesos in Mexico. This triangular exchange allows everyone involved to benefit while hiding the true origin of the funds.”
U.S., Mexico and China in red. Source: mapchart.net
“The system has also been fueled by the growing demand for fentanyl, a synthetic opiod that has become one of the deadliest drugs in the U.S. Many of the chemicals needed to make fentanyl are shipped from China to Mexico. From there the cartels process the drug and send it north, reaping billions in profits. The two most powerful Mexican cartels, Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation, are believed to dominate this trade.”
On August 27th, a brawl broke in the Mexican Senate, following a discussion on the possibility of U.S. military intervention in Mexico against drug cartels.
Altercation in the Mexican Senate: Moreno (left) and Fernandez Norona (right). Source: AFP
From CNN: “A meeting of the Mexican Senate descended into violence Wednesday [August 27th], after one of its members apparently became enraged at not getting a chance to speak. The scuffle broke out between two high-ranking senators toward the end of a session that had included a heated debate on the possibility of US military intervention in the country.”
Such an intervention hasn’t occurred yet, but just talking about it has provoked this.
“As the national anthem was playing, the aggrieved senator, Alejandro Moreno – president of the opposition party PRI – stepped up to the podium and grabbed the arm of Senate President Gerardo Fernández Noroña, of the ruling Morena party, and a shoving match ensued. Others nearby then stepped in. A live broadcast of the exchange shows one man in a suit appearing to take a swing at Noroña, while Moreno pushes a different man in a green shirt to the ground.”
Watch the video if you haven’t already.
“Noroña later identified the man in the green shirt as a member of his team. The man appeared alongside Noroña at a press conference, wearing a neck brace and bandages around his arm.”
So what did Moreno say about it?
“Moreno said on social media that he had confronted Noroña because the ruling party had changed the agenda of the session to prevent the opposition from speaking out. “That cowardice provoked what followed. Let it be clear: the first physical aggression came from Noroña,” he said, claiming the Senate president started the altercation by shoving him.”
Fernandez Norona’s explanation: For his part, Noroña insisted the opposition senators were to blame. ‘They ganged up on me. They will say that this is freedom of expression,’ he said. He said that during the session they had debated topics including US military intervention, which he had accused opposition parties of supporting.”
In a speech delivered on the 29th, Fernandez Norona continued to assert this, claiming that the PRI and PAN parties have requested U.S. intervention and thus they are traitors.
Of course, no Mexican political faction publicly supports unilateral U.S. intervention.
Such an intervention in Mexico hasn’t occurred, and may not occur, but it’s already a live topic in the Mexican Congress.
But if Trump really decides to intervene, they wouldn’t be able to stop him.
This is not the first brawl in the Mexican Congress.
One example was in 2006, when a big brawl accompanied the inauguration of Felipe Calderon as President. Arnold Schwarzenegger, then governor of California, attended the inauguration and called it “good action”. Click here for an article I wrote about that incident way back in 2006. (Was it really that long ago?)
From Reuters: “Mexico’s government is set to raise tariffs on Chinese imports, including cars, textiles and plastics, as part of its 2026 budget proposal next month, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday [August 27th], citing three people briefed on the matter. The tariff increases may also target other Asian countries, the report said, citing one of the sources.”
What’s the Chinese response?
“When asked about the report, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said on Thursday [August 28th] that China opposed imposing restrictions on China ‘under the coercion of others.’ “
Hmm, does that “others” refer to the Americans?
” ‘We believe that the relevant countries will remain independent and properly handle relevant issues,’ Guo told a regular press briefing.”
“Reuters was unable to independently verify the report.”
Mexico’s two biggest drug cartels, the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG, have expanded into various countries. On example of a country they’ve really wrecked is Ecuador, on the Pacific coast of South America.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal: “Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels have spread to more than 40 countries as they work to meet surging demand for cocaine in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Their turf war expanded into Ecuador, which became a top prize due to its strategic location nestled between the two biggest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru.“
Of course the cartels have local allies.
“The cartels work through local gangs that have grown stronger and more dangerous as they adopt the gruesome tactics of Mexico’s drug wars.”
The security situation in Ecuador has gone downhill.
“Ecuador has devolved in a few years from one of the region’s safest nations to among the world’s most deadly. Five of the world’s 12 most murderous cities are in Ecuador, with the city of Durán ranked No. 1, according to the Igarapé Institute, a Brazilian think tank that focuses on violence.”
“ ‘These two cartels are spreading like cancer around the world,’ said Mike Vigil, a former Drug Enforcement Administration director of international operations. ‘The ultimate goal is for one cartel or the other to take dominance over Ecuador.’ ”
“The influence of powerful Mexican cartels and other international crime syndicates makes stanching the carnage much more difficult for President Daniel Noboa, an ally of the Trump administration who was re-elected in April on pledges to curb violence.”
“Killings are up by half in the first six months of this year, government figures show, and May was the bloodiest month on record. Ecuador’s homicide rate is approaching a high of about 50 per 100,000 people in 2025, roughly twice Mexico’s. In 2018, Ecuador’s murder rate was below six per 100,000, similar to the U.S.’s.”
“To reduce violence, Noboa’s looking for support from the U.S., where President Trump has directed the Pentagon to prepare options to use military force against Mexican cartels he’s designated as terrorist groups.”
“Noboa wants to reopen a U.S. military base in Ecuador. His government is also partnering with Erik Prince, the American mercenary who founded Blackwater, to train Ecuadorean police and soldiers.“
The WSJ article has a history of the Mexican cartels in Ecuador, you can check that out here.
#/media/File:Morena_logo_(Mexico)_(positive).svg){kind=link}
_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}
