Monthly Archives: June 2024

How Joe Biden’s migrant surge is making the cartels rich In recent months, the two most powerful Mexican crime groups have brought the extreme violence that has long plagued the north to the south

How Joe Biden’s migrant surge is making the cartels rich In recent months, the two most powerful Mexican crime groups have brought the extreme violence that has long plagued the north to the south
  • June 5, 2024
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“Minneapolis, no problem,” says “Diego”, as he downs pre-lunch beers a short drive from Mexico’s lawless border with Guatemala. “I’ll take you to wherever in the United States you pay for.” A coyote, or smuggler of illegal migrants, for the best part of a decade, Diego – not his real name – has a menu of different pricing options to offer his clients, mainly Central Americans, Ecuadorians and Colombians, although he has smuggled numerous nationalities from Chinese citizens to Haitians. The biggest variable is whether they go for the entrega or handover, or the brinco or jump. The…Read more …

All aboard the train to nowhere cutting through pristine Mexican jungle for votes Maya Train project, led by Mexico’s outgoing president, sparks outrage due to deforestation and displacement of indigenous communities

All aboard the train to nowhere cutting through pristine Mexican jungle for votes Maya Train project, led by Mexico’s outgoing president, sparks outrage due to deforestation and displacement of indigenous communities
  • June 1, 2024
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The crashing blows from the giant piledriver reverberate above the jungle canopy, scaring away jaguars, spider monkeys, and other wildlife. Beneath the forest floor, in a partially submerged cavern – part of the extensive but fragile system of aquifers on which the arid Yucatan peninsula relies for water – the noise is muffled but now comes from directly overhead. Rust from the huge concrete and iron pillars forced into the ground leaches into the water, turning it from a pure crystalline to dark brown, hiding the once-white sand beneath. “The damage this train…Read more …