American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture
Duncan Wood, Mexico Institute director at the Wilson Center, posits that
To lock in the benefits of Mexico’s new energy model, investor protections must be enshrined into the agreement, and access to regional energy markets must be guaranteed.
Read his analysis at Real Clear World.
31 resorts, restaurants and bars shut down as Authorities confiscated 10,000 gallons of illegal alcohol from tourist hot spots in Mexico.
Rafael Márquez among individuals linked by Treasury Department to drug kingpin Raúl Flores Hernández of the two main Mexican drug cartels, the Sinaloa Cartel and the New Generation Jalisco Cartel.
The sanctions are a blow to the image of Mexican soccer. It is also a sign of how deeply drug-trafficking has permeated Mexico’s civil society, from politics to culture and sports, analysts say. Mexican singer Julio César Alvarez, known as Julión, was also sanctioned Wednesday for acting as a frontman of Mr. Flores.
. . .
The sanctions freeze all U.S. assets of the people and entities named and forbid U.S. citizens from doing business with them. It also strips Mr. Marquez, 38, of his U.S. visa, meaning he can no longer travel to the U.S. to play games with the Mexican national soccer team. The sanctions don’t necessarily imply criminal prosecution.
In the largest Kingpin Act action so far, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a total of nine firms and 21 people for ties to alleged trafficker Raúl Flores Hernández and his organization.
I have not posted for a while since I’ve been moving to a different area, and had not had time for much else. Today the movers finally delivered my furniture five hours after the scheduled time – little did I know it was Godot’s Van Lines.
Blogging shall resume between bursts of unpacking, and I thank you for your patience and support.
The only LatAm article I’ve read today was that Vicente Fox wants to become the RJ Reynolds of marijuana:
“This product cannabis has to be integrated into NAFTA.”
Fox – Foul-mouthed, corrupt and looking for NAFTA: What a guy!
Three: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
Here’s the class of 2017 picture,
Argentina’s Mauricio Macri (#6), Mexico’s Enrique Peña Nieto (#4) and Brazil’s Michel Temer (#11) are in attendance.
Via Diario Judío (Jewish Daily),
Netflix is playing a miniseries about the drug lord of the world’s biggest drug crime organization, and he will be suing because they
“defame” his character by adding salacious details to his life story.
I kid you not:
“El Chapo” Guzman Sues Netflix, Univision over Use of His Image.
I’m under the impression that he cannot sue for royalties, but would like to know if the actor gets to wear the Barabas shirt.
In other Chapo news,
Chapo’s alleged girlfriend, Mexican congresswoman Lucero Guadalupe López, was arrested on conspiracy charges at San Diego airport as she was entering the U.S. in search of asylum.
- Mexico’s May has seen the highest increase in homicides in over 20 years
- The first five months of 2017 have seen an increase of about 30 per cent in homicides over the same period last year
- The violence is in part due to the weakening of El Chapo’s cartel, Sinaloa since his extradition to the US last year, meanwhile the Jalisco cartel is on the rise
The report says that the software, known as Pegasus, was sold to Mexican federal agencies by Israeli company NSO Group on the condition that it only be used to investigate criminals and terrorists.
The software can infiltrate smartphones and monitor calls, texts and other communications, the New York Times said. It can also activate a phone’s microphone or camera, effectively turning the device into a personal bug.
But instead of being used to track suspected criminals, the targets allegedly included investigative journalists, anti-corruption activists and even lawyers.
. . .
Nine people have now filed a criminal complaint
The BBC lists,
Interestingly, the NYT, which started the investigation, is partially owned by Carlos Slim.
