Basque terrorists arrested in Puerto Vallarta

*Updated Feb. 18*
Guadalajara -
Two members of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), the armed wing of the Basque National Liberation Movement whose members seek political independence from Spain and France and have waged a campaign of European terror for decades, have been arrested in Puerto Vallarta.

Juan Jesús Narváez Goñi and Itziar Alberdi Uranga were taken into custody by Mexican federal security forces early this morning on international warrants, according to a statement released today by authorities in Madrid.

Federal troops kill eight gunmen in Guerrero violence

Guadalajara -
Mexican army and marine units killed eight armed civilians today in separate incidents in southwestern Guerrero state, where community militiamen have an increasingly strong presence.

The first gun battle erupted in Zumpango del Rio, north of the state capital of Chilpancingo, and left four civilians dead and several others injured. The secretary of defense reported soldiers on routine patrol were fired upon when they entered the town. The surrounding area has been unstable since early 2013.

Mexico able to deliver security "only in certain zones"

From an op-ed in the New York Times of Feb. 13, 2014, addressing Michoacán violence and the rise of the autodefensas:

"Mexico, like several Latin American countries, is able to guarantee security and the rule of law only in certain zones. The lifeblood of law and order manages to flow near the heart of power, around the big cities, but the farther away we get, the weaker the pulse, and in some places there is none at all. Police officers are few and corrupt, judges live under threat from local despots and strongmen, and the legitimate authorities have been paid off by illegal ones. It’s like the American Wild West." Read the full article here.

Feb. 17 - Michoacán belongs to organized crime: 55% of Mexicans
Feb. 17 - Mexicans have greater confidence in their military forces than any other public institution

Mexico opens investigation into U.S. citizen missing in Michoacán, as long silence grows increasingly ominous

On Valentine's Day, where in the world is Harry Devert?

Guadalajara -
Foreigner visitors sometimes do strange things when they enter Mexico. Especially American ones.

Enrique Peña Nieto, now an American cover boy

TIME's article will hit the newsstands Feb. 24

Canadian press reports arrest in Ajijic murder case

Jalisco attorney general confirms developments for Mexican news agencies 18 hours later

*Updated Feb. 13*
Guadalajara -
The Toronto Star reported late today that an arrest has been made in the case of two Canadians who were murdered early Sunday morning at their residence in Ajijic, on Lake Chapala.

The Star reported that Julio Cesar Castello Casellas, 31, is in custody, and authorities are searching for his brother, Angel Dejesus, 22. The story, quoting Jalisco state prosecutor Luis Carlos Nájera as the primary source, is here.

Jalisco prosecutor "strongly opposed" to legal cannabis

Guadalajara -
Jalisco state attorney general Luis Carlos Nájera says his office will resist any proposal to decriminalize marijuana under state law, whether for recreational or alleged therapeutic purposes.

Yesterday legislative floor managers for the left wing Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) announced they would begin hearings on such a proposal next week. A similar PRD effort is already underway in the Federal District, where the measure has a far better chance of approval because of PRD's dominance in the local assembly. PRD will push for legal pot in Mexico's Federal District.

Justice, Jalisco style

MGR's view -
Prosecutor's promise not consistent with state's recent track record

Oct. 15, 2012 - Puerto Vallarta police chief Roberto Rodríguez Preciado and his escorts are attacked by a machine gun and grenade squad in Old Town, blocks from the boardwalk. After 16 months, there have been no arrests, no prosecutions and no convictions. Case closed. Puerto Vallarta: tensions linger after brazen narco attack.

Mar. 31, 2013 - Relaxing on Easter Sunday evening, Jeff Lydell Comer, 45, is killed in one of two Guadalajara bar attacks which left eight persons dead and many injured. No one has been held legally accountable for Comer's murder. Case closed, for all practical purposes.

Canadian couple murdered at their Lake Chapala home

Idyllic Ajijic - or is it still?

*Updated Feb. 12*
Guadalajara -
Two elderly Canadian nationals were found dead yesterday in their home in Ajijic, Mexico, about 45 minutes southeast of the Jaliscan capital, local police have reported. Ajijic is a town on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest fresh water body, and is home to a large community of American and Canadian expatriates.

Mexico second in medical tourism, government reports

Huge savings attract patients

Guadalajara -
Mexico earned almost three billion dollars in 2013 from so-called medical tourism, a federal agency has reported.

The National Institute of Statistics said the $2.85 billion which poured into the economy last year as a result of foreign nationals traveling to Mexico for surgery, hospitalizations and dental care made the country the second largest in the world for health tourism. Many of the consumers are from the United States and Canada, lured by prices which often are a fraction of the cost of the same services at home.

PRI reforms earn Mexico yet another credit rating boost

Guadalajara -
For the second time in just over six weeks, a major international bond rater and investment house has upgraded Mexico's sovereign credit rating as a result of the recent enactment of constitutional reforms governing the structure and operations of national oil giant Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX).

Moody's Investor Services today upgraded Mexican sovereign debt from Baa1 - described as "medium grade, with some speculative elements and moderate credit risk" - to A3, which the company calls "upper-medium grade with low credit risk."

On Constitution Day, far Left pol files criminal complaint against Enrique Peña Nieto for treason

"The Procuraduría is in the service of the power mafia"

Guadalajara -
Today is the 97th anniversary of the adoption of Mexico's Constitution of 1917. But while president Enrique Peña Nieto and other government dignitaries celebrated the occasion in Querétaro, ultra leftist politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador filed a formal criminal denunciation with Mexico's attorney general, accusing the chief executive of committing high treason against the nation with his recent energy reforms opening oil company PEMEX, once a state monopoly, to private capital investment and foreign participation.

In Michoacán, all the president's men arrive with cash and promises

Over $3 billion dollars for the "Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo"

Guadalajara -
President Enrique Peña Nieto and most of his Institutional Revolutionary Party cabinet arrived in Morelia, Michoacán at mid-day, amid heavy security provided by federal police, troops and the Estado Mayor Presidencial, Mexico's Secret Service. It was the PRI administration's second visit to the state since Jan. 13, when the government announced it would assume responsibility for local policing in an area known as the Tierra Caliente, or hot lands, where powerful drug cartels and community militias of questionable reliability present a threat to the president's fast track political and economic reform agenda and an embarrassment to the chief executive himself.

Mexican tourism up in 2013, government reports

*Content updated Feb. 16*
Guadalajara -
Mexico's Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR) has reported that the industry grew by 9% in 2013, when 23.7 million foreign visitors arrived in the country. Those travelers spent an estimated $13.8 billion dollars in the domestic economy.

Yucatán prosecutor: remains of Ukrainian woman may have been found

DNA tests pending

Updated Mar. 21, 2014 - Yucatán prosecutor confirms: remains found in remote peninsular region are those of missing Ukrainian tourist

Mérida, Yucatán -
Almost 13 months after the brutalized body of her husband was found in remote Dzitás county southeast of this state capital, the Yucatán prosecutor announced Friday the remains of a woman recently located in the same area could be those of Ukrainian national Maryna Burakova.

In late 2012 Oleksandr Batychko, 25, and wife Maryna arrived on the peninsula for vacation, renting a car in Playa del Carmen. The couple drove west towards Valladolid and Mérida, apparently intending to visit the Mayan ruins at Chichén Itzá.