
Seven inmates die in Veracruz prison riot; 11 injured
Seven inmates died amid unrest at a prison in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, authorities said on Sunday, with 11 other prisoners suffering injuries.
The fighting first broke out Saturday afternoon at a facility in Tuxpan and continued throughout the night, officials said.
Veracruz state forces, with military support,
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Mexico sends 26 suspected drug traffickers to US amid fentanyl pressure
MEXICO CITY: Mexico sent 26 alleged drug traffickers to the United States on Tuesday, officials said, amid pressure from US President Donald Trump to crack down on fentanyl smuggling. The 26 prisoners, all of whom were imprisoned on drug trafficking charges, "represented a permanent risk to public safety," according to a joint statement from the Attorney General of Mexico and the Secretariat of Security and Civilian Safety. The transfer was made "at the solicitation of the US Department of Justice," which "agreed not to seek the death penalty for the prisoners in its country," the statement continued. The statement did not disclose the identities of any of the 26 transferred prisoners. The prisoners were moved under an abbreviated legal procedure, authorities said, which excludes some measures provided in traditional extradition cases. The transfer is the second such instance since Trump returned to the White House in January. In late February, Mexico transferred 29 accused narcotraffickers to the United States, including prominent cartel kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero, who was accused of kidnapping and killing DEA special agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has pledged to collaborate with Washington on tackling drug trafficking, while rejecting any "invasion" of her country's sovereignty.--AFP


San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
A legal fight is playing out around a Mexican migrant activist accused of human trafficking
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A legal battle is playing out in Mexico over a well-known immigration activist and lawyer who was arrested earlier this month for alleged human trafficking and then ordered released by a judge in a case that underscored the conflicted stands on protecting migrants among Mexican officials. On Tuesday, Mexico's Attorney General's Office announced it will appeal the decision from the previous day to release Luis García Villagrán, who has helped organize migrant caravans that travel north from southern Mexico. When García Villagrán was released from detention on Monday, Judge Jonathan Izquierdo in Tapachula, a city in the state of Chiapas on Mexico's border with Guatemala, said authorities did not have enough evidence to prosecute him for human trafficking. 'I had never seen anything like it,' Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said during the president's news briefing Tuesday. The judge ignored a multitude of presented evidence and claiming that because 'he was dedicated to protecting migrant groups, he was releasing" the suspect. Gertz Manero added that his office would appeal but did not elaborate. After his release, García Villagrán told reporters the 'judge ordered my release because he said that we do not belong to organized crime" but rather to the activist group Centro de Dignificación Humana AC, dedicated to protecting the rights of migrants and recognized by the Ministry of the Interior. The activist-lawyer, who often accompanies migrant caravans, claimed that his arrest amounted to persecution by Mexican federal authorities for his activism. Such caravans have been criticized by authorities, and are regularly blocked by law enforcement, but have been used as a mechanism for migrants to travel safely through an area that has largely been considered the most dangerous stretch of the journey to the United States. President Claudia Sheinbaum and her predecessor President Andrés Manuel López Obrador have both emphasized the need to protect migrants, but under pressure from the United States have deployed immigration agents and the National Guard to try to keep migrants from reaching the U.S. border. There have long been accusations that smugglers take advantage of the caravans to move people north. When he was arrested last week, García Villagrán was helping organize a new caravan of up to 300 people that was to leave Tapachula. The march began its walk toward central Mexico and has so far advanced only a few miles (kilometers). Authorities say García Villagrán had been wanted for years and that his arrest followed a series of investigations that identified a network of human traffickers using various migrant support organizations as a 'front' for 'human trafficking and drug distribution' in Mexico. García Villagrán was identified as the 'person in charge of obtaining false documentation" for the passage of migrants through Mexico, in addition to operating as 'one of the main promoters of migrant caravans' and having an outstanding arrest warrant.

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Mexico, under pressure from Trump, transfers 26 more cartel members to US
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: The seal of the U.S. Justice Department is seen on the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo MEXICO CITY - Mexico sent more than two dozen suspected cartel members to the U.S. on Tuesday, amid rising pressure from President Donald Trump on Mexico to dismantle the country's powerful drug organizations. Authorities shipped 26 prisoners wanted in the U.S. for ties to drug-trafficking groups, Mexico's attorney general's office and security ministry said in a joint statement. Mexico said the U.S. Department of Justice had requested their extradition and that it would not seek the death penalty for the accused cartel members. The transfer is the second of its kind this year. In February, Mexican authorities sent 29 alleged cartel leaders to the U.S., sparking a debate about the political and legal grounds for such a move. That Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum permitted yet another large-scale extradition of Mexican nationals underscores the balancing act she faces as she seeks to appease Trump while also avoiding unilateral U.S. military action in Mexico. In a statement, the U.S. Embassy said among those extradited were key figures in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, which are Mexico's two dominant organized crime groups. 'This transfer is yet another example of what is possible when two governments unite against violence and impunity," U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said in a statement. "These fugitives will now face justice in American courts, and the citizens of both our nations will be safer.' Trump has tied tariffs on Mexico to the deadly fentanyl trade, claiming the country hasn't tackled drug cartels aggressively enough. Last week, he directed the Pentagon to prepare operations against Mexican drug gangs that have been designated global terrorist organizations. Sheinbaum has said the U.S. and Mexico are nearing a security agreement to expand cooperation in the fight against cartels. But she has flatly rejected suggestions by the Trump administration that it could carry out unilateral military operations in Mexico. REUTERS