Jalisco Tourism Secretary assassinated in Guadalajara

Murder could have devastating impact on Jalisco's reputation for visitor safety

*Updated May 14*
Guadalajara -
The State of Jalisco Secretary of Tourism, José de Jesús Gallegos Álvarez, was assassinated about 3:15 p.m. today in the suburban community of Zapopan.

Gallegos was shot at the intersection of Acueducto and Avenida Patria. The area is northwest of central Guadalajara and Colonia Americana.

Initial reports from the scene indicate that Gallegos, who was in his car, was chased by multiple assailants traveling in "luxury SUVs," a type of vehicle commonly used by drug cartel and organized crime operatives.

They fired several times at Gallegos' car, according to police and witnesses, and blocked his path. A reporter said 25 or 30 ejected shells were on the ground close to where Gallegos' car came to a halt.

Hugo Chávez' cancer was caused by "imperialist poisoning," alleges Bolivian president Evo Morales

MGR's Opinion -
They're chewing way too much cooca leaf in La Paz


*Updated Mar. 16*
Guadalajara -
Funeral services for late Venezuelan president Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías concluded yesterday, and most world leaders who attended have left Caracas or are winging their way home today.

Chávez died Tuesday afternoon after a two year bout with an officially undisclosed form of cancer. Sources have reported that an aggressive prostate cancer eventually spread to his lymphatic system, colon and bones. Hugo Chávez is dead, Venezuela reports.

Not true, says Bolivian president Evo Morales, one of Chávez' closest personal friends and among his staunchest allies. The leader of the "Bolivarian revolution" was, in net effect, murdered, he claims.

Another bridge hanging in Mexico, this time in Saltillo

On Peña Nieto's 99th day in office, acts of terror and intimidation continue unabated across Mexico

Guadalajara -
Three men "wrapped like mummies," according to local press accounts, were found hanging from a bridge early this morning in Saltillo, in the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila.

U.S. security consultant Stratfor urges tourist caution in Acapulco, Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and others

Drug traffickers, cartels and local gangs pose risk for travelers to Mexico's most famous destinations

"This worsening security situation already has caused problems for expatriates in Mexico in 2013" - Stratfor Global Intelligence, March 7, 2013

Guadalajara -
In language which mirrors dozens of recent MGR reports, the U.S. security consulting firm Stratfor today included four of Mexico's once most prestigious tourist resorts as locations suffering from highly compromised security. It warned travelers to be on special guard when visiting them, due to the spillover effect of regional narco violence as well as ordinary street crime carried out by local gangs.

Peña Nieto's drug war czar says no to Mexican militias

MGR News Analysis -
Rise of citizen "self-defense" units presents headache for new PRI administration


*Jan. 31, 2014 - Mexican prosecutor: Jalisco drug cartel armed Michoacán autodefensas*
*Jan. 24, 2014 - Enrique Peña Nieto's top domestic security adviser resigns*

Guadalajara -
Although president Enrique Peña Nieto has been in office for almost 100 days, we've heard surprisingly little from one of his key advisers who was much in the news in the days following the Institutional Revolutionary Party's July 1 victory.

That man is former Colombian general Óscar Naranjo, whose official title is national security adviser to the president.

In reality Naranjo is, or was supposed to be, Peña Nieto's primary drug war strategist. MGR first wrote about him a week after EPN was elected, pointing out that his plan of action offered little distinction from former president Felipe Calderón's. Security consultant elaborates on "new" Mexican drug war strategy - but is it?

Mexican Supreme Court: anti-gay comments are hate speech, not free speech, and are not legally protected

Mexico agrees with Canada, disagrees with the United States on critical constitutional issues


Guadalajara -
In an important case of first impression, Mexico's Supreme Judicial Court today declared that anti-gay comments and "homophobic" speech are not protected by the nation's federal charter, the country's core law.

The landmark ruling made it clear that there are limits on free speech. Article 6 of the Mexican constitution provides, "The free expression of ideas shall not be the subject of judicial or administrative inquiry or trial" - language which is quite similar to guarantees found in the U.S. constitution's First Amendment. But in today's ruling, Div. 1 of the nation's highest tribunal said crude comments suggesting homosexuality is an inferior lifestyle are inherently discriminatory, and find no legitimate defense in that constitutional provision.

All the President's Men

MGR Opinion -
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke, 1729-1797

*Updated Mar. 7*
It's not MGR's practice merely to link stories written or posted by other websites or news services. Nor does MGR usually comment on non-Latin affairs.

But for every rule there is an exception, and this is most assuredly one of them.

Hugo Chávez is dead, Venezuela reports

A long goodbye in Caracas

Guadalajara -
Venezuelan president Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías has died in Caracas after a two year bout with cancer, the government reported this afternoon.

The fiery leftist leader and impassioned critic of U.S. foreign policy had led his country since 1999, and was handily reelected last October.

In June 2011 Chávez acknowledged that he was ill with an undisclosed condition. Reports quickly surfaced that he suffered from aggressive prostate cancer which eventually spread to other organs, including his lymphatic system, colon and bones.

Chávez received virtually all of his medical care, which included multiple surgeries and repeated chemotherapy treatments, in Havana. Many predicted he wouldn't live long enough to participate in last fall's presidential election.

Mexican deputies strip office holders and public servants of immunity from criminal prosecution

Politics make strange bedfellows, but two parties agree: no more indefinite delays for dirty politicians



*Updated Mar. 6*
Guadalajara -
Mexico's Cámara de Diputados, the nation's lower legislative chamber, is today debating a measure to strip federal representatives of temporary immunity from criminal prosecution while they hold office.

The fuero, as it's called, is an historic and highly controversial protection enjoyed by legislators and government functionaries for generations. Under the fuero, which has its foundation in the country's constitution, senators, deputies, governors and other officials in Mexico have been immunized from prosecution during their tenure in office. By the time they resigned, retired or lost a reelection bid the evidence against them might be so stale that successful prosecution was no longer possible, or key witnesses might have died or disappeared. The fuero has protected many a Mexican politician who wanted to delay a courtroom appearance indefinitely, or avoid it altogether.

Canadian tourists, 60 and 65, injured in Acapulco assault

Crimes against foreigners continue


*Updated Mar. 6*
Guadalajara -
A Canadian couple on vacation in Acapulco was robbed and assaulted last night in the famous resort city's Zona Dorado.

They had just left a restaurant called El Zorrito when three young men approached them. The motive was robbery.

The 60 year old female victim sustained a stab wound to the left leg, according to a press account. Her husband, said to be about 65, suffered a similar injury to his head. Both were transported to a hospital by emergency personnel.

Cancún prepares for influx of spring breakers with strong display of military muscle - and "zero tolerance for crime"

"Special forces on Cancún streets"

*Updated Mar. 22*
Cancún, Quintana Roo -
This world famous gateway to Mexico's Riviera Maya says it's ready to protect tens of thousands of spring breakers who will be flooding into town later this month. Or so city and state authorities hope. Cancún, no longer an oasis for most.

Four police officers kidnapped, executed in Sinaloa state on Mexico's Pacific coast

Local law enforcement personnel remain prime targets of Mexican sicarios nationwide

Guadalajara -
Seven persons were kidnapped early this morning in the municipality of El Rosario, 50 kilometers southeast of the Pacific coast resort city of Mazatlán.

All were later found shot to death near the town of Ojo de Agua. Four of the victims were municipal police officers in Rosario. Mayor Edgar González Satarain confirmed their deaths.

Enrique Peña Nieto to PRI: "There are no untouchable interests; the sole interest is protecting all Mexicans"

EPN charts new political course while fat cat labor leader, a former PRI boss, awaits her legal fate


*Updated Mar. 5 - no bail for Elba Esther Gordillo*
Guadalajara -
Less than a week after Mexican federal prosecutors charged a powerful and once well connected labor leader with embezzlement, tax evasion and organized crime activity, president Enrique Peña Nieto today told the 21st national assembly of the Institutional Revolutionary Party that PRI's "only interest is the national interest."

Peña Nieto's comments had special significance coming just days after the arrest of teachers' union boss Elba Esther Gordillo, who today sits in jail awaiting preliminary legal proceedings in a case which could land the 68 year old woman in prison for life. Gordillo was once a popular PRI insider.

100 police officers and soldiers killed in PRI's first 90 days

"Enrique Peña Nieto will have no option other than to leave the army on the streets for the indefinite future; he has very little flexibility" - U.S. security consultant firm Stratfor, in a December 2012 report


*Updated Mar. 10*
Guadalajara -
In the first three months of president Enrique Peña Nieto's new Institutional Revolutionary Party government, 100 police officers and soldiers lost their lives across the country.

Seventy percent of the cases were in just five of Mexico's 32 separate jurisdictions. The states and the number of officials (federal, state or local) who were killed are: Michoacán (17), Jalisco (16), Chihuahua (13), Durango (12) and Edomex (11). Edomex is the State of Mexico, just beyond Mexico City.

Mexican drug traffickers murder two Guatemalan National Police agents near Chiapas border

Guadalajara -
Two agents of Guatemala's National Civil Police force (PNC) were ambushed and killed Wednesday by gunmen who authorities say were Mexican drug traffickers. A third officer was gravely wounded.

The PNC unit was on routine patrol in Huehuetenango department, near the border with the Mexican state of Chiapas, when it encountered a convoy of vehicles traveling down the Inter-American highway. Guatemala is divided into 22 regional departments, which are smaller than U.S. states but larger than most of its counties. The area is directly south of the Yucatán peninsula (map below).

Police say the number and type of vehicles driven by the heavily armed men, together with the caliber of weapons they used in the assault, leaves no doubt as to the nature of their business. Cartel operatives are thick in the region.