Mexico probes contamination from SpaceX rocket explosion that landed in its territory
The announcement follows the June 18 explosion of a Starship rocket while on a stand during a test, which sent a massive fireball into the night sky.
Pieces of metal, plastic and rocket pieces were reportedly found in the northern state of Tamaulipas, which borders the SpaceX's Starbase following the explosion.
On Wednesday, Sheinbaum responded to a reporter's question during her daily news briefing, saying 'there's a general review underway, (to find out) what international laws they are violating.' She added that her administration would then see what steps to take with the company, because 'there is contamination.'
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal demanded a study of whether SpaceX was complying with requirements for where such facilities could be located in relation to population centers.
Mexican officials had also confirmed debris on a Tamaulipas beach from a failed May 27 Starship launch.
____
Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mexico, Guatemala and Belize to create tri-national nature reserve to protect Mayan jungle
Mexico Maya Train GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The leaders of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize announced on Friday that they were creating a tri-national nature reserve to protect the Mayan rain forest following a meeting during which they also discussed expanding a Mexican train line criticized for slicing through jungle habitat. The nature reserve would stretch across jungled areas of southern Mexico and northern parts of the two Central American nations, encompassing more than 14 million acres (5.7 million hectares). Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called the move 'historic' and said it would create the second biggest nature reserve in Latin America, behind the Amazon rain forest. 'This is one of Earth's lungs, a living space for thousands of species with an invaluable cultural legacy that we should preserve with our eyes on the future,' Sheinbaum said, standing side-by-side with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and Belize Prime Minister Johnny Briceño. The announcement was met with cautious celebration by environmental groups like Mexico-based Selvame, who have sharply criticized the Mexican government and Sheinbaum's allies in recent years for environmental destruction wrought by megaprojects like a controversial train line, known as the Maya Train. The group said in statement that the reserve was a 'monumental step for conservation" but that it hoped that the reserve was more than just 'symbolic.' 'We're in a race against the clock. Real estate and construction companies are invading the jungle, polluting our ecosystems, and endangering both the water we consume, and the communities that depend on it,' the group wrote. It called on Sheinbaum's government to put an effective monitoring system in place to 'stop any destructive activities.' At the same time, the leaders also discussed a proposal by Mexico to expand the very train line those environmental groups have long fought from southern Mexico to Guatemala and Belize. The thousand-mile train currently runs in a rough loop around Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, and was created with the purpose of connecting Mexico's popular Caribbean resorts with remote jungle and Mayan archaeological sites in rural areas. However, it has fueled controversy and legal battles as it sliced through swathes of jungle and damaged a delicate cave system in Mexico that serves as the area's main source of water. In a span of four years, authorities cut down approximately 7 million trees, according to government figures. Sheinbaum's mentor and predecessor former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador fast-tracked the train project without detailed environmental studies. The populist repeatedly ignored orders from judges to stop construction due to environmental concerns and publicly attacked environmentalists warning about damage done to fragile ecosystems. López Obrador first proposed the idea of expanding the train to Guatemala, and Sheinbaum has continued to push for the project. On Friday, she said the extension would usher in development in rural areas with few economic opportunities. But Arévalo was already on record saying Guatemala's laws would not allow it to be built through protected jungle in the north of the country. The Guatemalan leader said on Friday he sees the economic potential of the project to the jungle region but remained adamant that the construction should not come with the kind of environmental damage that it inflicted in Mexico. 'Connecting the Maya Train with Guatemala and eventually with Belize is a vision we share,' Arévalo said. But 'I've made it very clear at all times that the Maya Train will not pass through any protected area.' He said there would also have to be careful environmental studies and the two presidents looked at an alternative proposal that would have the train loop instead of directly cut through the jungles of Guatemala and Belize. It remained unclear how the train's potential route would be affected by the new protected area. —— Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Solve the daily Crossword


New York Times
2 days ago
- New York Times
New Texas Laws Open a Wild West for Corporate Governance
Elon Musk scored a major victory this month when Tesla awarded him $29 billion, a 'first step' in a long-promised payday. It was also a win for Texas, where Tesla is now incorporated. A new law in the state helped pave the way for Musk's pay package after it was initially blocked by a Delaware judge. Texas' low corporate tax rate and employer-friendly labor laws have long made it an attractive place for businesses, but most big companies — two-thirds of the Fortune 500 — still incorporate in Delaware. Corporate America's backlash to a string of decisions by Delaware courts, including the one voiding Musk's pay package, has heightened the opportunity for Texas to compete for corporate domicile. Some major companies, including SpaceX, Dropbox and TripAdvisor, have decided to leave (or rather, as the exodus from Delaware has been named, 'Dexit'). Over the past few months, the Texas Legislature has passed several bills that could help attract Delaware's defectors by shifting more power from shareholders to executives. Under the new laws: Businesses incorporated in Texas can ban lawsuits from all but their biggest owners. Companies have the power to pass a bylaw that mandates that shareholders own at least a 3 percent stake in order to sue. That effectively shields companies from shareholder lawsuits, since so few of them meet that criteria. Tesla was quick to take advantage of the new law, passing a bylaw in May that helped clear Musk's blockbuster payday. Corporations incorporated or headquartered in Texas can restrict shareholder proposals to only their largest shareholders. That covers those owning at least $1 million in stock or 3 percent of the company. That helps companies like Exxon Mobil, which is headquartered in Texas but incorporated in New Jersey, avoid activist shareholder proposals on issues like climate change. Last year, Exxon sued the investor groups Arjuna Capital and Follow This over shareholder proposals that pushed the company to limit its greenhouse gas emissions. Proxy advisers face hurdles to disagreeing with management. These firms, which make recommendations for how shareholders vote on company issues, must publicly disclose that they incorporated 'nonfinancial factors' and 'subordinated the financial interest of shareholders' if they take into account environmental, social or governance issues when advising clients to vote against a company. Because nearly all shareholder proposals touch on E.S.G. issues, the measure effectively blocks proxy advisers from siding against management on any shareholder proposal. The aim is to tell boards and executives in Delaware that 'Texas is open for business,' said Nathan Jensen, a government professor at the University of Texas-Austin. States have been competing for corporate charters since the late 1800s. The incentives are high: About 30 percent of Delaware's revenue in 2024 came from franchise taxes. Politicians often claim new charters as a political victory, framing Delaware's court decisions as examples of unnecessary interference. When Tesla reincorporated in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott wrote on X: 'Congrats Elon on getting the pay you were promised and on your new incorporation in Texas.' Texas has succeeded in wooing Musk's Tesla and SpaceX, but it faces competition from Nevada, which offers similarly lax governance laws. In addition to Dropbox and TripAdvisor, the venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz recently departed for Nevada, announcing its move in a blog post titled, 'We're Leaving Delaware, and We Think You Should Consider Leaving Too.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Epoch Times
2 days ago
- Epoch Times
Flow of Fentanyl Down After ‘Titanic Effort' by Mexico, Say Experts
The flow of fentanyl from Mexico to the United States has reduced since U.S. President Donald Trump took office earlier this year and threatened Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum with tariffs unless she squeezed the cartels, according to analysts. On July 31, after a 'very successful' call with Sheinbaum, Trump said he was giving Mexico a 90-day extension before imposing a 30 percent tariff on imports.