Mexico City already has plenty of video surveillance cameras, more in fact than any other city in the Western Hemisphere. Mexico City has about 83,000 such cameras, in contrast to 71,000 in New York.
But the new proposal is the use of body cameras for the police.
According to Proceso, on May 5th Mayor Brugada announced that “Very soon…we are going to present a program so that our police of Mexico City wear a camera attached to their uniform, with which we will begin this strategy or this program, with the traffic officers.”
That was on May 5th. Mayor Brugada did not say when this would begin or any other details, but she did say that the objective was that officers would be “transparent”, that it would “increase citizen confidence” and strengthen “the culture of legality. “
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada. (Photo from a different date than her statement in this article) Source: MVS Noticias
Traffic officers in Mexico are notorious for taking small bribes to allow people to get out of traffic fines. A bribe is called a “mordida”, literally a “bite”.
Wouldn’t body cameras, if utilized correctly, cramp the style of both the bribe-giver and the bribe-taker? Or will they find ways to get around it?
The Valley of Mexico is the home of a unique and fascinating creature known as the axolotl. Paradoxically, this animal is critically endangered in its natural habitat but widely common throughout the world.
The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a type of salamander native to lakes and wetlands in the Mexico City area.
The name “axolotl” derives from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs and kindred tribes. It means “water monster”.
The size of a mature axolotl ranges from 6 to 18 inches. A length of 9 inches is the most common. Average weight is about 10 and a half ounces. Its life expectancy is 10-15 years.
The axolotl is a carnivore, consuming worms, water bugs and insect larvae, small fish, other salamanders, arthropods such as crayfish, and mollusks. They smell their prey, snap it then suck it into their stomachs.
The axolotl genome is about 10 times the size of the human genome, although the amount of proteins is not that much greater (23,251 vs. about 20,000).
Unlike most other amphibians, the axolotl does not undergo a metamorphosis, as for example when a tadpole changes into a frog. The axolotl lives in the water its whole life, it can breathe outside of water for only a short time. There are rare exceptions but most axolotls do not undergo metamorphosis.
Mexico City was built on a complex of lakes. Over the centuries the lakes have mostly been filled up by urbanization. Therefore, there aren’t many axolotls left in their native habitat.
Valley of Mexico in 1519. Most of it’s filled in by now. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Besides the loss of their habitat, the axolotl population is also threatened by the presence of invasive fish species (tilapia and carp) which eat young axolotls and compete for the same food. Plus, pollution of the water is a problem.
It’s been estimated that there are somewhere between only 50 and 1000 axolotls left in much-reduced lakes Xochimilco and Chalco in southern Mexico City, also in an artificial lake at Chapultepec Park.
Outside of its native area, however, there are my axolotls all over the world: in aquariums, zoos, laboratories and belonging to private collectors, as it is an exotic pet. The first axolotls exported from Mexico were in 1863, when 34 live specimens were sent to Paris. Since then, genetic differences have developed between the wild and captive axolotls. It’s estimated that there are up to a million captive axolotls.
Axolotls in Vancouver Aquarium. Source: ZeWrestler
One fascinating thing about the axolotl is it can regenerate body parts and tissues. Here’s a photo of an axolotl regrowing a front limb:
Here’s a current Mexican 50-peso bill. The front (left side below) portrays the foundation of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) in 1325. The back (right side) portrays an axolotl in Xochimilco. That bill received the “Bank Note of the Year Award” for 2021 from the International Bank Note Society.
And, the axolotl has been chosen as the mascot for Mexico City during the upcoming World Cup. Here is Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada holding up a stuffed axolotl.
In Mexico City, there is a one-acre American cemetery, the Mexico City National Cemetery, managed by the American Battle Monuments Commission. It is open to the public and is the oldest known cemetery for fallen American soldiers outside the United States.
Here is what it says about it on the ABMC website:
“The Mexico City National Cemetery was established in 1851 by Congress to gather the American dead of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) that lay in the nearby fields and to provide burial space for Americans that died in the vicinity.”
“The remains were gathered in 1851 and buried in a common grave at this cemetery. They were not identified so they are classified as unknown soldiers. A small monument marks the common grave of 750 unidentified American dead of the War of 1847. Inscribed on the monument are the words:”
“To the honored memory of 750 Americans known but to God whose bones collected by their country’s order are here buried.”
“In this one-acre area are also placed the remains of 813 Americans and others in wall crypts on either side of the cemetery. The cemetery was closed to further burials in 1923.”
“Buried at the Mexico City National Cemetery are American servicemen who served during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Civil War and Spanish American War.”
The MORENA party is the most powerful party in Mexico. The president is of that party, the Congress is run by that party, the judiciary is dominated by MORENA.
It’s even more amazing when you realize that MORENA has only existed as a political party since 2014. Its founder is none other than Andres Manuel Lopez Obrado, AMLO, the previous president. (See The Astonishing Growth and Power of Mexico’s MORENA Party).
“We are Millions. Join. MORENA – the Hope of Mexico.” Source: MORENA Facebook
And, according to Dr. Simon Levy, MORENA is also flexing its political muscles in the United States of America.
Simon Levy is a former MORENA party man himself, serving from 2018 t0 2019 as Mexico’s Undersecretary of Planning and Tourism Policy, in AMLO’s presidential administration.
Dr. Levy is currently a postdoctoral researcher in data science at the University of California, Berkeley, and a critic of MORENA.
As reported by the Mexico Daily Post, “Simon Levy and his team claim to have infiltrated every cell, committee, and group of Morena in the United States with their own informants. They recorded them. They followed them. And they uncovered Morena’s entire financial operation within the U.S…Two findings that Washington can no longer ignore: US$162 million. This is what Morena is investing to defeat Donald Trump in the 2026 midterms.”
The U.S. midterms are scheduled for November 3rd, 2026. All 435 members of Congress are up for election, as are 35 of the 100 senators. The configuration of Congress has a lot to do with what President Donald Trump’s presidency from 2027 to 2029 would look like.
In addition there are elections for governors and other state and local offices on November 3rd.
What Dr. Levy is saying is that Mexico’s MORENA party is involved in the U.S. midterm elections as well, working against Trump’s Republican party. Now some may be pro-Republican, others anti-Republican. But shouldn’t it be American voters who make the decisions for the midterms?
Back to the Mexico Daily Post article: ‘Two findings that Washington can no longer ignore: US$162 million. This is what Morena is investing to defeat Donald Trump in the 2026 midterms. This is equivalent to 54% of MAGA Inc.’s total budget (US$300 million)… The research uncovered operations in 35 counties across 12 states. Eight main committees, five subcommittees in Los Angeles alone, and approximately 45 operational cells.”
This is interesting, and should be looked into. To learn more about Dr. Levy and his research, click here, here , and here.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin arrived for a visit to Mexico on May 21st.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on her Twitter X account that “We received at the National Palace the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security of the United States, Markwayne Mullin. We agreed to continue collaborating jointly within the framework of respect between our countries.”
May 18th-28th is Africa Week in Mexico. According to a press release from the SRE (Mexican Foreign Ministry) on the first day of Africa Week, Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco “highlighted Mexico’s commitment to strengthening its political, economic, academic, and cultural ties with Africa”.
Robert Djerou Ly (Ambassador of Ivory Coast to Mexico), Mexican Foreign Minister Velasco, Mexican Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs María Teresa Mercado Pérez Source: Government of Mexico
Don’t worry, Chancellor Velasco. There is already a strong Mexican economic link with Africa, managed by the major Mexican drug cartels, which already have their claws in the continent of Africa.
According to Dagvin Anderson, Supreme Commanding General of US Africa Command (USAFRICOM), “Terrorist groups based in Africa are increasingly funded by Mexican cartels. In South Africa, we dismantled the largest laboratory, and it had members of the Sinaloa Cartel. The Jalisco New Generation is also involved with methamphetamine!”
General Dagvin Anderson, U.S. Air Force. Supreme Commanding General of US Africa Command Source: United States Africa Command
From Nigeria: “Nigeria’s anti-drugs agency said on Wednesday [May 20] it had uncovered what it described as the country’s largest-ever industrial-scale meth lab in a southwestern remote forest and arrested nine suspects, including three Mexican nationals.
“The raid on a remote farm revealed an ‘industrial-scale clandestine laboratory, the biggest ever discovered in Nigeria hidden in a remote forest in Ogun state [SW Nigeria],’ the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said in a statement.
“The operation, which also included raids on two residential properties in an upscale Lagos neighbourhood, recovered chemicals worth $362,922,000, including crystal meth, it added.”
On the other side of Africa, “Mozambique has long been a key transit point for the trafficking of drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and opioids, but recent arrests and government data show that the drug business is expanding alongside rising concerns of domestic addiction problems.“
“After months of investigating evidence and rumors of international cartel activity and at least two hidden drug labs in the nation’s capital, police arrested three men — a Mozambican and two Mexican nationals — during an April 11 anti-drug-trafficking operation at Maputo International Airport.”
“ ‘There is strong evidence linking the three detainees to international drug trafficking, document forgery and criminal association,’ the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) said in an April 16 statement. ‘The two Mexicans were identified as members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico and intended to establish themselves in the national territory, specifically in Matutuine district, Maputo province.’ ”
The aforementioned General Anderson told lawmakers of the United States House Armed Services Committee that “The convergence of terrorism and narco-trafficking further exacerbates these threats. African-based terror groups are financed to an increasing degree by drug cartels, expanding those terror group’s reach and lethality. This convergence not only destabilises the region but also poses a direct threat to US national security interests.”
“Since 2024, we have seen an increased flow of drugs emanating from the Americas through Africa into Europe, with a nearly sixfold increase of cocaine flowing across the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, Mexican, Venezuelan, and Caribbean cartels seek to franchise industrial-scale drug production on the continent by exporting lab expertise to Africa and using Africa as a transshipment point to generate revenue.”
“Both the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel have established methamphetamine production labs in Africa to exploit an expanding market in permissive regions. Mexican cartel members were arrested during raids in several African countries at some of the largest labs ever discovered.”
The Sinaloa Ten are ten officials or former officials of the state of Sinaloa under indictment by a U.S. federal court for collusion with the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel. (Click here for the list).
As of my latest previous article on the topic, there were two of the ten (Gerardo Merida Sanchez and Enrique Diaz Vega) in U.S. custody.
Another member of the Sinaloa Ten, Enrique Inzunza Cazarez, a sitting senator in the Mexican Federal Congress and former Secretary General for Sinaloa, is now in U.S. custody. That brings the total in U.S. custody to 3 out of 10.
From the New York Daily Post: “Sinaloa Senator Enrique Inzunza Cazárez, who is facing drug trafficking and weapon charges, was taken into custody in San Diego by the Drug Enforcement Administration, multiple Mexican news outlets reported on Saturday [May 16].”
Think about it. Of the Sinaloa Ten, 3 are now in U.S. custody.
What inside information do you think they are sharing with U.S. interrogators?
What do you think the 7 indictees still not in U.S. custody are thinking?
The Mexican consular network in the U.S.A. is the biggest in the world, consisting of 53 consulates on U.S. soil.
Mexican Consulates in the U.S. Oklahoma City Consulate not included. Source: Indyencyclopedia
In a recent Mexico News Report article (Are There Too Many Mexican Consulates in the U.S.A. ?) I reported that the U.S. State Department is reviewing all 53 Mexican consulates, with the view of possibly shuttering some.
A recent article on the Mexico Daily Post reports that the U.S. is especially looking at 20 Mexican consulates: “The State Department’s review of the operations of 53 Mexican consulates located in the United States has begun, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is particularly focused on 20 consulates in Mexico where consuls or vice-consuls have been identified as active members of the Morena party who have used diplomatic spaces to organize and conduct political and partisan activities in the United States.”
“According to U.S. sources, violations of diplomatic treaties allegedly committed by several Mexican Foreign Service officials since the previous presidential term are being documented, and a report will be presented soon that could lead the Trump administration to order the closure of several Mexican consulates for engaging in political campaigning within U.S. territory. Most of the violations involve partisan acts and meetings of Morena Exterior, which, despite being a political organization, had access to the consular network to conduct political work with Mexican migrant communities.”
Mexico’s indictment crisis continues and now there are actually two of the indicted in U.S. custody.
A U.S. federal court indicted ten Mexican officials and former officials, all from the state of Sinaloa, for involvement with the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. The ten are all government officials or former government officials from the state of Sinaloa, home of the Sinaloa Cartel. (See here, here, here , here and here and here).
The biggest fish being indicted is Ruben Rocha Moya, Governor of the state of Sinaloa, and a member of President Sheinbaum’s MORENA party. Rocha took a temporary leave of absence from the governorship to fight the charges.
A sitting Mexican Senator from Sinaloa, Enrique Inzunza Cazarez, also the former Secretary General for Sinaloa. Inzunza is a member of President Sheinbaum’s MORENA party.
Enrique Diaz Vega, Former Secretary of Administration and Finance for Sinaloa
Damaso Castro Saavedra, Deputy Attorney General for the Sinaloa State Attorney General’s Office
Marco Antonio Almanza Aviles, Former head of the Investigative Police for the Sinaloa State Attorney General’s Office
Alberto Jorge Contreras Nunez, a/k/a “Cholo”, former head of the Investigative Police for the Sinaloa State Attorney General’s Office
Gerardo Merida Sanchez, Former Secretary of Public Security for Sinaloa
Jose Antonio Dionisio Hipolito, a/k/a “Tornado”, Former Deputy Director of the Sinaloa State Police
Juan de Dios Gamez Mendivil, Mayor of Culiacan (Sinaloa’s capital and largest city). Gamez has taken temporary leave also.
Juan Valenzuela Millan, a/k/a “Juanito”, Former high-level commander in the Culiacan Municipal Police
Gerardo Merida Sanchez (#7 on the list above). On May 11th, Merida crossed the border from the state of Sonora into the U.S., where U.S. Marshalls took him into custody at the Nogales border crossing. Merida was taken to New York City where he appeared in court on May 15th and is scheduled to appear again on June 1st.
So now two of the ten indicted Sinaloans are in U.S. custody. What is going to happen to the other eight ?
And here’s another consideration. If you were one of ten officials/former officials indicted, would it be better to be one of the first to be indicted or one of the last to be indicted? What are Merida and Diaz revealing about the others in current interrogations?
South Korean pop culture has in recent years become more noted on the world stage. See, for example, the success of Squid Game (Ojingeo geim).
South Korean pop music, known as K-Pop, has won many international adherents, including in Mexico. In fact, Mexico is the fifth-largest market for South Korean popular music.
BTS, a popular South Korean seven-man boy group, recently did some concerts in Mexico, and was a big hit. BTS has appeared in Mexico before, in 2014 , 2015, and 2017.
BTS at the White House in 2022. Source: White House
This time, the boys of BTS were hosted on May 6th at Mexico’s Palacio Nacional by President Claudia Sheinbaum herself.
Also during their visit, 4 members of BTS attended a lucha libre wrestling match in the Arena México.
The pop group’s three concerts were held at Mexico City’s GNP Seguros Stadium on May 7th, 9th and 10th, with thousands of fans gatherered outside for whom there was no more room inside.
The BTS spectacle was going on at the same time as the indictment crisis, in which 10 Mexican officials or former officials, chief among them Ruben Rocha who was governor of Sinaloa, have been indicted in the United States. (See here, here, here and here and here).
A Mexican cartoon portrays Claudia Sheinbaum with the members of BTS and all the fans, as she yells to Ruben Roche “Run, I’m Distracting Them!” Rocha exits through a door.
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