Mexico

Mexican actor Manuel Masalva is on the road to recovery after contracting an aggressive bacterial infection in March that left him in a medically induced coma for weeks.

In his first social media post since the onset of his illness, the “Narcos: Mexico” actor updated his followers on his current health status via Instagram on Monday evening.

“I am healing. I want to profoundly thank you all for the support you have given me and continue to give me, in every sense, every one of you,” Masalva wrote. “This [process] has barely begun, there is much more left to go, but I feel blessed, strong, reborn and well-accompanied. … God has given me a new life.”

Masalva first felt the onset of an ailment when he arrived in Dubai in March, following a trip to the Philippines, revealing that he ended up spending 105 days in the Dubai hospital that first treated him for his prolonged illness.

The actor first arrived in the Middle East city on March 18, his manager Jaime Jaramillo Espinosa told The Times in April.

“[After] about two days in Dubai, Masalva began to feel internal discomfort and pain which increased by the day,” Jaramillo Espinosa said.

On March 26, Masalva underwent emergency surgery after doctors discovered the bacterial infection, which prevented him from traveling back to his home in Mexico. The following day, the infection reached his lungs and he had to be put into a medically induced coma.

Masalva thanked the Dubai hospital staff for their work and for the distinct culture that “overflowed with love and spirituality.”

“I don’t know if I really understand all of what’s going on or just a part of it, it’s been an eternity and there are still some parts missing, I just want to the strongest thanks that I can give to God, my family, my doctors and all those people that have supported me since the start of this process. I owe you all my life,” he wrote.

Masalva played the role of Ramón Arellano Félix in the Netflix drama series “Narcos: Mexico,” alongside Diego Luna, Bad Bunny and Scoot McNairy. He has also been featured on the telenovela “La Rosa de Guadalupe” and recently in the series “La Guzmán.”

July 8 (UPI) — People from the United States’ two closest neighbors — Canada and Mexico — are more likely to view the country as their greatest threat, not their greatest ally, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.

According to the survey, 59% of Canadians and 68% of Mexicans view the United States as their countries’ greatest threat. Meanwhile, 55% of Canadians and 37% of Mexicans view their neighbor as their most important ally.

The figures come from a survey that asked people from across the globe which countries have the most important relationship and which constitute the greatest threat to their own.

Of the 24 non-U.S. countries included in the survey, 12 said the United States was their country’s most important ally, including Israel (95%), South Korea (89%), Japan (78%), Britain (51%), Poland (43%), Italy (42%), Australia (35%) and India (35%). The United States tied as the top ally with other countries in Kenya (38%), Nigeria (30%) and Hungary (23%).

Several countries that consider the United States their top ally also view the country as their biggest threat. Canada was the most divided with 55% of people seeing the United States as a top ally and 59% seeing it as the biggest threat. Argentina, Brazil, Kenya and Mexico similarly had polarized views of the United States.

Three other countries — South Africa (35%), Indonesia (40%) and Spain (31%) — also viewed the United States as a top threat, but didn’t have such a favorable view of the country to balance that out.

The country with the most favorable view of the United States was Israel, with 95% viewing it as an ally and 1% viewing it as a threat. Mexico, meanwhile, had the least favorable responses, 37% viewing the United States as an ally and 68% a threat.

Six countries — Germany, France, Sweden, Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey — didn’t consider the United States either their top ally or top threat.

People in the United States were most likely to view China and Russia as their country’s top threat, with Republicans more likely to be wary of China and Democrats more likely to name Russia. Concerning allies, 18% of Americans named Britain, 12% named Canada and 9% named Israel.

Pew Research Center polled thousands of people from each of the 25 countries considered in the poll in the first half of 2025.

Next year’s Fifa World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico is set to be “the most climate-damaging” in the tournament’s history, according to new research by environmentalists.

Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) has calculated the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to the tournament, which has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.

“Driven by a high reliance on air travel and significant increase in the quantity of matches” the campaign group claims the expanded 2026 World Cup will generate more than nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

SGR says that is almost double the average for the last four World Cup finals, and significantly more than Qatar 2022, which is estimated to have had a footprint of up to 5.25 million tonnes of CO2e.

It says the predicted 2026 total is “equivalent to nearly 6.5 million average British cars being driven for an entire year” – and will make it the most polluting tournament ever staged.

Next year’s World Cup will be the first to be held across an entire continent and have 40 more matches (104) than before, although all will be played at existing stadia.

In their original bid book, the three prospective host nations for the 2026 tournament revealed a preliminary estimate of 3.6 million tonnes of CO2e, although at that stage it was expected to stage just 80 matches. They also said the bid “hopes the 2026 World Cup will establish new standards for environmental sustainability in sport and deliver measurable environmental benefits”.

Fifa has been approached for comment.

The US imports roughly half of its copper needs each year, which is used in construction, transportation and electronics.

United States President Donald Trump has said he will announce a 50 percent tariff on copper, hoping to boost domestic production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods.

Trump told reporters at a White House cabinet meeting that he planned to make the copper tariff announcement later in the day, but did not say when the tariff would take effect.

“I believe the tariff on copper, we’re going to make 50 percent,” Trump said.

US Comex copper futures jumped more than 12 percent to a record high after Trump announced the planned tariff, which came earlier than the industry had expected, with the rate steeper.

After Trump spoke, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in an interview on CNBC that the tariff would likely be put in place by the end of July or August 1. He said Trump would post details on his Truth Social media account sometime on Tuesday.

In February, the administration announced a so-called Section 232 investigation into US imports of the red metal. Such an investigation allows the US Department of Commerce to analyse the impact of an import on national security. The deadline for the investigation to conclude was November, but Lutnick said the review was already complete.

“The idea is to bring copper home, bring copper production home, bring the ability to make copper, which is key to the industrial sector, back home to America,” Lutnick said.

The National Mining Association declined to comment, saying it preferred to wait until details were released. The American Critical Minerals Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Copper is used in construction, transportation, electronics and many other industries. The US imports roughly half of its copper needs each year.

Copper supplies

Major copper mining projects across the US have faced strong opposition in recent years due to a variety of reasons, including Rio Tinto and BHP’s Resolution Copper project in Arizona and Northern Dynasty Minerals’s Pebble Mine project in Alaska.

Shares of the world’s largest copper producer, Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan, shot up nearly 5 percent in Tuesday afternoon trading. The company, which produced 1.26 billion pounds of copper in the US last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Freeport, which would benefit from US copper tariffs but worries that the duties would hurt the global economy, has advised Trump to focus on boosting US copper production.

Countries set to be most affected by any new US copper tariff would be Chile, Canada and Mexico, which were the top suppliers to the US of refined copper, copper alloys and copper products in 2024, according to US Census Bureau data.

Chile, Canada and Peru, three of the largest copper suppliers to the US, have told the Trump administration that imports from their countries do not threaten US interests and should not face tariffs. All three have free trade deals with the US.

Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy, Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Canada’s Department of Finance did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chile’s Mining Ministry and Codelco, the country’s leading copper miner, declined to comment.

A 50 percent tariff on copper imports would affect US companies that use the metal because the country is years away from meeting its needs, said Ole Hansen, the head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

“The US has imported a whole year of demand over the past six months, so the local storage levels are ample,” Hansen said. “I see a correction in copper prices following the initial jump.”

Tensions boiled over this past Friday as throngs of mostly peaceful protesters, brandishing placards with messages like “Gringo: Stop stealing our home” and demanding immediate housing regulation, took to tourist hotspots throughout the city

A fierce backlash against gentrification and a surge in mass tourism has unfolded on the streets of Mexico City.

Tensions boiled over this past Friday as throngs of mostly peaceful protesters, brandishing placards with messages like “Gringo: Stop stealing our home” and demanding immediate housing regulation, took to tourist hotspots throughout the city.

The protest took a darker turn as the day went on, with a handful violently lashing out, shattering shop windows and plundering several establishments. At one point, one person was seen aggressively jabbing a butter knife at a restaurant window where punters were sheltering, while another emblazoned “kill a gringo” on a wall in the vicinity.

Years of mass tourism and skyrocketing rent prices have left residents of a bustling city frustrated. The tide of foreigners began to swell in 2020, as Americans sought refuge in Mexico City to work remotely, escape coronavirus restrictions, and enjoy lower living costs.

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READ MORE: Brit warns others as he’s slapped with £150 fine after returning from holiday

Desirable areas like Roma and Condesa, known for their lush central locales brimming with cafes and markets, have seen an uptick in foreign tourists and ‘digital nomads’ since then. The number of Airbnbs in the city has rocketed.

Residents are feeling the squeeze, claiming they’ve been ousted from their own communities. This sentiment is partly attributed to a controversial call made by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum back in 2022 when she signed a deal with Airbnb and UNESCO to promote tourism and court remote workers, fully aware of the potential repercussions on local housing.

“The xenophobic displays seen at that protest have to be condemned. No one should be able to say ‘any nationality get out of our country’ even over a legitimate problem like gentrification,” the President said following the protests.

The influx of holidaymakers has driven up rents and living costs, making English an increasingly heard language on the streets of these neighbourhoods. Some critics have labelled this trend as a form of “neo-colonialism.”

The Mexico City Anti-Gentrification Front, one of the groups organising protests, has said it is “completely against” any acts of physical violence and refuted claims that their protests are xenophobic. Instead, they argue that the demonstrations stem from the local government’s longstanding failure to tackle the underlying issues.

“Gentrification isn’t just foreigners’ fault, it’s the fault of the government and these companies that prioritize the money foreigners bring,” the group declared. They highlighted the struggle of “young people and the working class can’t afford to live here.”

The organisation has issued a list of demands, calling for increased rent controls, insisting that locals should have a say in larger development projects in their area, stricter laws making it more difficult for landlords to evict tenants and prioritising Mexican renters over foreigners.

Mexico’s protest follows a series of similar demonstrations across Europe against mass tourism.

At the moment over 26,000 properties in Mexico City are listed on Airbnb, as reported by Inside Airbnb, an advocacy group monitoring the company’s impact on residential communities through data. This compares to 36,000 properties in New York City and 19,000 in Barcelona, where protests have also erupted.

Airbnb claimed to have contributed over a billion dollars to Mexico City’s “economic impact” last year, supporting 46,000 jobs in the city. “What’s needed is regulation based not on prohibitions, but on respect for rights and transparency of obligations,” the company said in a statement.

The U.S. was thoroughly outplayed by Mexico in Sunday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final. It was outshot, outpassed, outpossessed and arguably out of its league.

Which, surprisingly, was partly the way coach Mauricio Pochettino wanted it. Because the monthlong tournament was never really about results for the U.S. It was about finding heart, grit, determination and dedication. It was about taking the pulse of his player pool a year before soccer’s biggest event returns to North America.

And those are things not easily measured by results alone.

So while Mexico deservedly won Sunday’s battle 2-1, the larger war, Pochettino believes, rages on.

U.S. defender Chris Richards celebrates with Alex Freeman, Patrick Agyemang, Malik Tillman and Diego Luna after Richards scored against Mexico in the Gold Cup final Sunday.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

“That,” he said after Sunday’s final, “is the way we want to build our journey into the World Cup.”

When Pochettino gathered his team for the tournament in early June, it was missing as many as six first-choice starters for a variety of reasons. Some had club duties, some were injured. Others preferred rest over the honor of playing for their country.

So Pochettino called up a roster that averaged just 25 years of age and 14 players with fewer than five international caps and challenged them to prove they belonged. That was the team that rolled into Sunday’s final unbeaten (barely) in five Gold Cup games. That was the team that entered the final 15 minutes against a veteran Mexico squad even on the scoreboard.

If this was Pochettino’s “C” team, nobody bothered to tell the players.

“It’s an honor,” midfielder Diego Luna, who had played for the U.S. just four times before the Gold Cup, told reporters about wearing the crest. “I think every single one of these players thinks about it the same way I do. It’s the No. 1 dream that we’ve had as kids and we’re going to fight for this to have as many chances to wear it was we can.”

Credit Pochettino for taking the lemons he was handed and turning them into lemonade. After the USMNT’s listless and uninspired performance in last March’s Nations League final four, where it scored just once in back-to-back losses to Panama and Canada, the coach learned the majority of his first-choice lineup planned to pass up the Gold Cup, the team’s final competition matches before the World Cup.

If the U.S. had lost its identity, had lost its way, by the end of the Nations League, the absences of veterans Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna, Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie this summer gave Pochettino an unexpected opportunity to redefine what it meant to be a national team player. He pushed his young, inexperienced roster of fringe national team players to show how much they cared, to show they really wanted to be part of the program.

And it worked.

United States players pose for a team photo before the team’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final soccer match against Mexico in Houston on Sunday.

(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

Luna thrust himself into contention for a World Cup roster spot through grit and hunger alone. Others such as goalkeeper Matt Freese, midfielders Sebastian Berhalter and Malik Tillman and forward Patrick Agyemang also shone brightly enough that the coach said his roster for his team’s September friendlies with South Korea and Japan, much less the World Cup, is wide open.

“All the American players have the possibility for September to be on the roster,” he said Sunday. “It’s still one year from the World Cup. But now we need to build a roster for September. We need to analyze every single player, see the circumstances, the situations, performance, fitness level.

“Don’t worry. We are people that are very open, and not closed. And who deserves to be [there] will be [there.]”

Pochettino’s message is that desire and national pride are as much a requirement to play for the national team as talent. It’s partly a bluff, of course. He won’t go far in the World Cup with Luna and Berhalter playing in place of Pulisic and McKennie because all the star-spangled celebrations in the world can’t hide the fact the team Pochettino fielded this summer was deeply flawed.

It prepared for the Gold Cup by getting outscored 6-1 in losses to Turkey and Switzerland, running the team’s losing streak to four games, its longest since 2007. The U.S. rebounded with narrow wins over Saudi Arabia and Haiti to advance out of the tournament’s group stage and in the knockout stage it beat Costa Rica on penalty kicks, then had to hold off Guatemala for a one-goal win to reach the final.

Of those six opponents, only Switzerland ranks in the world’s top 20, according to FIFA. Guatemala isn’t even in the top 100. And the loss to Mexico was the fifth in as many games against top 30 teams since Pochettino took over nine months ago.

That won’t get it done in the World Cup.

If heart, effort and belief really do matter, so does talent. That makes Pochettino’s task during the next year a simple one: he must find a way mesh the intangibles developed this summer with the talent he’ll need to win next summer.

As the players shuffled out of Houston’s NRG Stadium after Sunday’s loss, that fusion was already taking place.

“There’s a few non-negotiables now,” defender Chris Richards told reporters. “This was kind of a game-changer. … When the guys come back, these are some things that we have to hold each other accountable for. And hopefully moving forward we can add a little bit more quality to it, as well, and we’re going to be a really tough team to beat.”

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It proved one game too far for Mauricio Pochettino’s United States as defeat to Mexico in the Gold Cup final ended their hopes of lifting the trophy in their own country.

Pochettino’s start to life as head coach has been unconvincing but a promising run in this summer’s Gold Cup had started to provide new hope.

A win against Mexico in Sunday’s final would not only have delivered a trophy but also started the process of instilling some much-needed belief. It was not to be as Mexico came from behind to win 2-1.

The defeat though will leave supporters questioning again whether things are moving in the right direction before a World Cup on home soil next summer.

Pochettino, who was furious after Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar Toca turned down a penalty appeal for handball, believed the majority of the 70,000 crowd at the NGR Stadium in Houston being Mexican went against his side.

He said: “Mexico is a great team, they have great players and a good coaching staff, but I want to emphasize how important the fans are in a soccer match.

“When you have their support, you regenerate the player’s energy on the field, and when you don’t, you drain their energy and it’s hard.

“If we had the majority supporting us today, it would have been different, but that’s what we’re dealing with. The truth was that if that happened in the opposite box, for sure, it’s [given as a] penalty.

“This Gold Cup though allowed us to have the players together for 40 days to establish the principles of what we want, and that has been very helpful. It was important to see players crying after losing; it makes me happy because that’s how this sport should feel.”

Mixed results across the Argentine’s first 16 matches have shown a worrying inconsistency and during this time, they have lost all five matches against a team in the top 30 of Fifa’s rankings.

By now, the US should have some clarity in their preparations for the 2026 tournament, but there remains an unfinished, rocky feel to the foundations they have been laying since Pochettino took over in September 2024.

Questions were being asked of the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris St-Germain boss following consecutive defeats by Panama and Canada in the Nations League finals, and Turkey and Switzerland in Gold Cup warm-up games.

There has been a lack of consistency in both personnel and results. The squad appears unresolved, with the group of players called up differing for each camp, something that has mostly been beyond Pochettino’s control.

Fifty-five players have made appearances for the USA under the Argentine since he was appointed 10 months ago, making it difficult to build momentum and togetherness.

Edson Álvarez scored a tiebreaking goal in the 77th minute after a video review reversed an offside call, and Mexico beat the United States 2-1 on Sunday night for its record 10th CONCACAF Gold Cup title.

Chris Richards put the U.S. ahead in the fourth minute, heading in a Sebastian Berhalter free kick for the second time in the tournament, but Raúl Jiménez tied the score in the 27th with his third goal of this Gold Cup.

Mexico was awarded the free kick when Diego Luna fouled Alexis Vega on a flank. Johan Vásquez flicked the restart across the goal mouth and Álvarez burst past the defense, redirecting the ball from three yards just inside Matt Freese’s far post. While the play was initially called offside, the goal was awarded by the VAR, and Mexico defended its title from 2023 while improving to 6-2 in Gold Cup finals against the U.S.

Patrick Agyemang had a chance two minutes into stoppage time but he didn’t make good contact on his short-range shot that was blocked by goalkeeper Luis Malagón.

“We’re disappointed obviously to not come away with a win,” U.S. captain Tim Ream said.

A sellout crowd of 70,925 at NRG Stadium was about 70% pro-Mexico and booed U.S. players when they walked out for pregame warmups. Mexico dominated with 60% possession and had 12 corner kicks to none for the Americans.

This was the last competitive match for the U.S. and Mexico before co-hosting next year’s World Cup with Canada.

The U.S., which has seven Gold Cup titles but none since 2021, used a starting lineup with only a handful of players currently projected as World Cup starters, missing regulars because of vacation, injuries and the Club World Cup.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino used their absence to evaluate players who could push for starting jobs during the friendlies this fall and next spring, and Luna, Agyemang and Freese emerged as contenders for World Cup roster spots.

Richards put the U.S. in front when he headed Berhalter’s free kick from about 40 yards off the crossbar. The ball bounced straight down and just crossed the goal line.

Jiménez scored his 42nd international goal, third-most in Mexican history. He burst past the defense and one-timed the pass from Marcel Ruiz, beating Freese from about 10 yards on a shot that might have nicked Ream.

Jiménez celebrated by grabbing a Mexico No. 20 jersey with “DIOGO J” in honor of Diogo Jota, his former Wolverhampton teammate who died in a car crash Thursday in Spain. Jiménez ran to a corner, sat down with the jersey and mimicked playing a video game.

US immigration agents arrested Chavez earlier this week, with authorities alleging ties to Mexican cartel.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced she expects boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr to soon be deported from the United States to serve a sentence for arms trafficking and organised crime.

Sheinbaum explained on Friday that Mexico has had an arrest warrant for the boxer since 2023, stemming from an investigation initiated in 2019. But Chavez had not previously been arrested because he spends most of his time in the US.

““The hope is that he will be deported and serve the sentence in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said, adding: “That’s the process the attorney general’s office is working on.”

Her statement comes two days after Chavez was detained in Los Angeles by US immigration authorities, after they determined he made fraudulent statements in a 2024 application for permanent residency.

The son of a boxing legend, Chavez appeared last weekend in a sold-out match in Anaheim, California. But he lost to 28-year-old influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a unanimous decision after 10 rounds.

Alleged ties to cartel

Following his arrest, the US Department of Homeland Security said that Chavez is suspected of having ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.

The US has designated the group and several other Latin American cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations” as part of a wider effort to staunch cross-border crime.

The administration has also sought to surge deportations in recent years, to make good on US President Donald Trump’s campaign promises.

Michael Goldstein, a lawyer for Chavez, said more than two dozen immigration agents arrested the boxer at his home in the Studio City area of Los Angeles on Wednesday.

“The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorise the community,” Goldstein said.

Chavez’s family in Mexico said in a statement that they “fully trust his innocence”.

His wife, Frida Munoz Chavez, was previously married to the son of the former Sinaloa Cartel leader, who is serving a life sentence in a US prison, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. That son, Edgar, was assassinated in Culiacan, Mexico, in 2008.

Speaking on Friday, Sheinbaum said she did not know if the boxer had any ties to the cartel.

The son of Mexican world champion fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, Chavez had won the WBC middleweight championship in 2011. He lost the title the following year.

However, his career has been largely overshadowed by controversies, including a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance in 2009 and a fine and suspension after testing positive for marijuana in 2013.

Our appetite for data is growing fast. And so is the number of data centres filled with computer servers.

They store and process the data generated by our online activity, from social media to shopping to cloud storage.

And they consume massive amounts of water and electricity.

Big Tech companies are building data centres in places like drought-stricken Queretaro, in Mexico.

We met some of the locals who are struggling to get by on rationed water as more of these thirsty facilities are built nearby.

June 30 (UPI) — Imports of livestock from Mexico will resume in phases starting next week after a ban in May at ports of entry because of fear of the spread of New World screwworm, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday.

Ports of entry will allow certain cattle, horses and bison to go into Arizona, New Mexico and Texas after they were banned on May 11, the agency said in a news release.

The screwworm has been eradicated from the United States for decades. But it has been detected in Mexico as far north as Oaxaca and Veracruz, about 700 miles away from the U.S. border.

When NWS maggots burrow into the flesh of a living animal, they cause serious and often deadly damage to the animal, USDA said. Mature screwworm larvae can grow up to two-thirds of an inch.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service experts and their counterparts in Mexico worked to increase New World Screwworm surveillance, detection and eradication.

A phased reopening of the southern ports will start Monday in Douglas, Ariz., based on the lowest risk because of the geography of Sonora and an effective collaboration between APHIS and Sonora.

The other openings are set for July 14 in Columbus, N.M.; July 21 in Santa Teresa, N.M.; Aug. 18 in Del Rio, Texas; and Sept. 15 in Laredo, Texas.

In the past eight weeks, there hasn’t been a notable increase in reported NWS cases in Mexico or any northward movement, the agency said.

USDA has been conducting sterile NWS fly dispersal seven days each week, including the dispersal of more than 100 million flies each week.

Five teams of APHIS staff were sent to observe and gain a deeper understanding of Mexico’s NWS response.

“At USDA we are focused on fighting the New World Screwworm’s advancement in Mexico,” USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins said. “We have made good progress with our counterparts in Mexico to increase vital pest surveillance efforts and have boosted sterile fly dispersal efforts. These quick actions by the Trump Administration have improved the conditions to allow the phased reopening of select ports on the Southern Border to livestock trade.

“We are continuing our posture of increased vigilance and will not rest until we are sure this devastating pest will not harm American ranchers.”

On June 18, she met with cattle fever tick riders along the Rio Grande River. If the NWS advances northward into the United States, these tick riders “will play a crucial role in spotting and combating this pest,” an agency news release said.

USDSA is building a fly-production center at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas, that could boost domestic sterile fly production by up to 300 million flies per week. Another one is planned at Moore Air Base, which alo could boost domestic sterile fly production by up to 300 million flies per week.

This week, Mexico will begin renovation of its sterile fruit fly facility in Metapa with completion by July 2026. The changes will allow for production of between 60 and 100 million sterile NWS flies each week.

The goal is produce an estimated 400 to 500 million flies each week to re-establish the NWS barrier at the Darien Gap, which is the border between Panama and Colombia.

Only cattle and bison, born and raised in Sonora or Chihuahua, in Mexico, or are treated according to cattle and bison NWS protocol when entering the U.S. will be eligible for import.

Equines may import from anywhere in Mexico though there is a seven-day quarantine at the port of entry.

USDA plans to remove any federal regulatory hurdles for sufficient treatments and work with state officials on emergency management plans in states.

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association back the agency’s efforts.

A proposal to tax remittances sent by individuals without Social Security numbers has passed the House and is now before the Senate. At 3.5%, the levy was initially expected to raise $26 billion over the next decade.

Changes made by the Senate on Saturday greatly narrowed the scope, so the tax would be 1%, and the yield only $10 billion over the next decade. However, the goals have remained the same: deter undocumented migration and recoup funds from those working outside legal status who send money to their families back home.

It might seem like easy money to tax migrants, but that doesn’t make it smart policy. The proposed tax risks undermining both financial transparency and national security. The policy would push billions of dollars into unregulated channels such as cryptocurrency exchanges, make law enforcement’s job harder and ultimately hurt the very communities the United States seeks to stabilize abroad for geopolitical reasons.

The U.S. is the world’s largest source of remittances, and Mexico has the highest dependency on them; 97% of the money Mexican expats send back home comes from the States ($64.75 billion in 2024). A 1% tax on remittances to Mexico alone could take much-needed funds away from migrants and their families and divert it to the state. While this might sound like a straightforward revenue win, the real-world impacts are more complicated and the slippery slope of allowing for remittance tax can have unintended negative consequences for everyone.

First, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has already condemned the measure and said the government will “mobilize” against it. Other countries across Latin America and Southeast Asia, where remittances account for as much as 25% of GDP, are sounding alarms. The U.S. has long relied on economic diplomacy to build goodwill, and taxing remittances could erode that, making it harder to partner on border security, anti-trafficking efforts and the war on drugs.

Next, taxing formal transfers doesn’t stop people from sending money home, it just changes how they send it. And often, the next-best option is far worse. In states like Oklahoma, even modest fees led to a surge in informal money transfers. Similarly, the proposed federal tax, which some lawmakers have said should be up to 15%, is going to push migrants to remit through alternative systems including Chinese- or Russian-owned fintech companies, crypto platforms and cash-based means that operate outside the formal financial system. These underground methods are notoriously difficult to monitor and are exploited for money laundering, organized crime and terrorism financing. While most migrants are simply trying to support their families, moving funds through black market systems exposes them to the risk of being unknowingly entangled in illicit activity.

Federal agencies and academic experts have long cautioned that informal remittance systems complicate efforts to track illicit financial flows. When remittances are pushed out of the formal system, it becomes significantly harder to enforce safeguards designed to prevent money from being diverted to criminal or extremist actors. A federal remittance tax risks accelerating this shift underground, weakening oversight and inadvertently expanding a shadow market where the lines between legitimate and illegitimate transfers are increasingly blurred.

Meanwhile, enforcing such a policy brings its own set of problems. To begin, it outsources immigration enforcement to banks and wire services. A clerk at Western Union could soon be legislated to ask whether a sender has a Social Security number, flag suspicious transfers and carry out new compliance systems. These are all new responsibilities that might lead to an increase of transfer fees, which in the U.S. are already around 6%, increasing the burden on senders. Thus, the tax is a costly and complex undertaking — one that will affect legal residents and U.S. citizens, who even though not subject to the federal tax would still be paying the higher fees to subsidize companies’ compliance.

None of this excuses illegal migration. The U.S. has a right and responsibility to enforce its laws and protect its borders. But not every enforcement tool is effective, and they all deserve scrutiny.

Take the hypothetical example of a grandmother living in Arroyo Seco, Mexico, where one in four households receives U.S. remittances and remittance flows supersede the annual municipal budget. Her son, an undocumented migrant in the U.S., sends $400 a month to help with rent, medication and her grandchildren’s basic needs. An almost 10% levy (combining the proposed tax and transfer fees) would claw back $40 monthly, enough to force her to skip medication for herself or meals for the children. Multiply this story by millions, and you begin to see that this kind of economic destabilization doesn’t just erode household resilience but also weakens entire communities, fuels migration pressures and creates openings for criminal networks and authoritarian states to exploit financial desperation.

Taxing remittances won’t reduce undocumented migration but could fuel more. And it will drive flows underground, forcing families to rely on riskier and less accountable financial channels — such as unlicensed money transmitters operating through apps like WeChat Pay, which lack consumer protections and operate under opaque governance frameworks tied to foreign state interests. It will also burden and disincentivize the very institutions that make lawful transactions possible.

While the remittance tax might score political points, the long-term risk as well as geopolitical and institutional damages might not be worth the $10 billion.

Yvonne Su is the director of the Centre for Refugee Studies and an assistant professor of equity studies at York University in Toronto.

Incident is latest in months of intense violence between rival drug cartel members.

Twenty bodies, several of them decapitated, have been found on a highway bridge in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, Mexican authorities say, as rival drug cartel factions fight one another in the area.

The Sinaloa state prosecutor’s office reported a grisly scene on Monday: Four headless corpses were found on a roadside, 16 bodies were discovered inside an abandoned vehicle near the state capital, Culiacan, and five human heads were found inside a bag.

Authorities said the bodies were left with a note, apparently from one of the cartel factions – though the note’s contents were not immediately disclosed.

Feliciano Castro, the Sinaloa government spokesperson, condemned the killings and said authorities needed to examine their strategy for tackling organised crime with the “magnitude” of the violence seen.

“Military and police forces are working together to reestablish total peace in Sinaloa,” Castro said. Most in the state, however, say authorities have lost control.

Sinaloa has been gripped by months of violence fuelled by rival drug traffickers vying for control of routes used to produce and transport narcotics, including fentanyl, that are often destined for the United States.

The groups are split between members loyal to Sinaloa Cartel co-founders Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.

The violence peaked after the arrest in July 2024 of Zambada, who is on trial in the US. The US announced it had arrested 76-year-old Zambada and 38-year-old Joaquin Guzman Lopez, “El Chapo” Guzman’s son, at an airport near El Paso, Texas.

Zambada accused Guzman Lopez of kidnapping him in Mexico and flying him to the US in a private plane against his will.

“El Chapo” has been serving a life sentence in the US for drug trafficking since 2019.

Guzman Lopez pleaded not guilty last July to drug trafficking and other charges in federal court in Chicago.

In September, Zambada pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, murder and other charges in a New York court.

The violence in Sinaloa has killed more than 1,200 people, according to official figures.

Criminal violence, most of it linked to drug trafficking, has claimed about 480,000 lives in Mexico since 2006 and left more than 120,000 people missing.

June 29 (UPI) — Barry made landfall as a tropical depression off the eastern Gulf Coast of Mexico on Sunday night, and was expected to bring heavy rains and flash flooding to the North American nation over the next few days.

Barry was located about 15 miles south-southeast of Tampico, on Mexico’s eastern coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 10 p.m. CDT update.

It was moving northwest at 9 mph.

A tropical storm warning had been in effect for the Gulf Coast of Mexico from Boca de Catan southward to Tecolutla has been canceled.

“The primary impact with Barry remains heavy rainfall and flash flooding for the upslope areas of eastern Mexico,” the NHC said in a discussion on the storm.

Between 3 and 6 inches of rainfall are expected with isolated maximum totals of 10 inches across the Mexican states of Veracruz, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas through Monday, forecasters said.

“This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” it said.

Tropical Depression Barry is the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting between 13 and 19 named storms for this year.

June 29 (UPI) — Tropical Storm Barry was nearing the eastern Gulf Coast of Mexico on Sunday evening, and was expected to bring heavy rains and flash flooding to the North American nation over the next few days.

Barry was located about 60 miles southeast of Tampico, on Mexico’s eastern coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 7 p.m. CDT update.

It was moving northwest at 8 mph and was on track to make landfall in the next few hours, before moving inland over eastern Mexico Sunday night.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Gulf Coast of Mexico from Boca de Catan southward to Tecolutla.

It is not expected to intensify much more before making landfall, and weakening is forecast to begin shortly after it moves inland, according to a NHC discussion on the storm.

“The primary impact with Barry remains heavy rainfall and flash flooding for the upslope areas of eastern Mexico,” the NHC said.

Between 3 and 6 inches of rainfall are expected with isolated maximum totals of 10 inches across the Mexican states of Veracruz, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas through Monday, the forecasters said.

“This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” it said.

Tropical Storm Barry is the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting between 13 and 19 total named storms for this year.

June 27 (UPI) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the nation is launching an investigation into the impacts of debris from debris that landed in the country after SpaceX rocket exploded in Texas.

Sheinbaum said in a press conference Wednesday that there “is indeed contamination” and Mexico is launching a general review of the impact of the debris.

SpaceX is denying that debris from the explosion of one of its rockets has damaged the environment in Mexico.

“We are reviewing everything related to the launching of rockets that are very close to our border,” Sheinbaum said, adding that Mexico would “file any necessary claims” if it found SpaceX violated international laws.

The SpaceX Starship exploded on June 19 during a preflight procedure for its 10th test flight from Starbase, Texas, with previous flights also exploding in the air after launch and scattering material in the surrounding areas.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at the time called the incident “just a scratch,” as no one was injured, although Mexico alleges the explosion sent debris along the shoreline of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

The company, however, denied the claims in a post on X on Thursday.

“As previously stated, there are no hazards to the surrounding area,” SpaceX said. “Previous independent tests conducted on materials inside Starship, including toxicity analyses, confirm they pose no chemical, biological, or toxicological risks.”

Environmental activists have alleged that debris from the incident has caused a die-off of marine life, such as dolphins, sea turtles and fish, while residents of the city of Matamoros have ostensibly found canisters and metal pieces on the beaches there as well.

The nonprofit environmental organization Conibio Global A.C. posted to its social media platform Monday that Sheinbaum responded to their complaint in regard to SpaceX debris and sent a crew of technicians, scientists and biologists among other specialists to investigate hunks of metal, rubber and plastic, as well as combustion tanks that purportedly fell from the Starship explosion into an area that includes the Río Bravo River.

“Within the inspections they took samples of water from the river and the beach, soil, sand, burnt plants, among others,” the post said, and also showed photos that allegedly show pieces of Starship wreckage and damage to trees.

Another post from last week purportedly shows a large piece of Starship that fell into an area of communal farmland known as La Burrita.

The group also posted video from Bagdad Beach in Matamoros that allegedly shows Starship pieces, one of which is clearly labeled “SpaceX.”

In the Thursday X post from SpaceX, the company says it has made attempts to recover debris from the explosion, and that it has “requested local and federal assistance from the government of Mexico in the recovery of anomaly related debris, offered resources and assistance in the clean-up, and have sought validation of SpaceX’s right to conduct recovery operations.”

“SpaceX looks forward to working with the Mexican government and local authorities for the return of the debris as soon as possible,” the post concluded.

Mexican Finance Ministry says it has not received evidence to support claims against CIBanco, Intercam and Vector banks.

The United States has imposed sanctions on three Mexican banks, alleging they had been used to launder money for drug cartels.

On Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury tied the banks – CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa – to the cross-border trafficking of the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl.

It accused them of playing “a longstanding and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl”.

The sanctions are part of a wider pressure campaign by the administration of US President Donald Trump against Latin American gangs, criminal networks and drug traffickers.

That campaign has included designating several groups as “foreign terrorist organisations” and using tariffs to pressure Mexico’s government to increase enforcement of irregular traffic across the border.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said the banks were the first to be targeted under new pieces of legislation – the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act – passed to expand its ability to target money laundering related to opioid trafficking.

The sanctions would block transfers between the targeted Mexican banks and US banks, although it was not immediately clear how far-reaching the limits would be.

In a statement, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent accused the banks of “enabling the poisoning of countless Americans by moving money on behalf of cartels, making them vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain”.

But Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit responded to the sanctions by saying it had yet to receive conclusive evidence justifying them.

“We want to be clear: If we have conclusive information proving illicit activities by these three financial institutions, we will act to the fullest extent of the law,” the Finance Ministry said.

“However, to date, we have no information in this regard.”

CIBanco did not immediately respond to the allegations. The US Treasury Department accused it of being connected to money laundering by the Beltran-Leyva Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Gulf Cartel.

Intercam, which is also accused of having connections to the CJNG cartel, also did not respond.

Meanwhile, the brokerage firm Vector, which was linked to money laundering by the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, said the US claims tying its operations to drug traffickers were false.

“Vector categorically rejects any accusation that compromises its institutional integrity,” the company said in a statement, adding that it would cooperate to clarify the situation.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum decries shooting at Irapuato festival as ‘deplorable’ and promises investigation.

A gun attack during a religious celebration in central Mexico has left 11 people dead and at least 20 others injured in violence-plagued Guanajuato state, local officials have confirmed.

The shooting erupted Tuesday night in the city of Irapuato, authorities said on Wednesday, during festivities marking the Nativity of John the Baptist. Witnesses described terrible scenes of panic and chaos as partygoers fled the gunfire.

“It was chaos. People put the wounded into their cars and rushed to hospital to try to save them,” one witness told the news agency AFP, speaking anonymously due to safety concerns.

Footage shared online shows the moment gunfire rang out as people danced and celebrated. Screams can be heard as the crowd scattered in panic.

Bloodstains and bullet holes were still visible at the scene on Wednesday morning. Among the dead were a 17-year-old, eight men, and two women, according to the Guanajuato state prosecutor’s office.

In a statement, Irapuato’s local government called the attack a “cowardly act” and said security forces are hunting those responsible. Psychological support is being offered to affected families.

President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the attack as “deplorable” and said an investigation had been launched. At her daily news conference, Sheinbaum referred to the shooting as a “confrontation”, without elaborating on details.

Guanajuato Governor Libia Dennise also denounced the attack, offering condolences to the victims’ families and pledging justice.

While Guanajuato is known for its industrial growth and colonial-era tourism hubs, it has notoriously become renowned as Mexico’s most violent state in recent years.

Authorities blame much of the bloodshed on an ongoing turf war between the Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the powerful Jalisco New Generation cartel.

Government figures show Guanajuato recorded more than 3,000 homicides last year — the highest in the country.

Since Mexico launched its so-called war on drugs in 2006, more than 480,000 people have been killed in criminal violence, with more than 120,000 listed as missing.

This little-known Mexican island completely blew me away with its dream-like beaches, affordable prices and wealth of fauna including tropical birds, flamingos and monkeys

When booking a trip to Mexico, a lot of people flock to the touristy hotel zone in Cancun – but I wanted to veer off the beaten track and stay somewhere more affordable.

So I hopped on a two-and-half bus ride from Cancun’s centre to the port town of Chiquila, on the east tip of the peninsula. From there, I took the ferry to to the lesser-known island of Holbox. I’d heard it was a ‘hidden gem’ and it was recommended on comment threads and backpacker blogs. They promised white-sand beaches, electric Caribbean waters, and mouth-watering Mexican cuisine. It completely blew me away.

Isla Holbox was once a small fishing village, with little more than 100 families and a dozen hotels nestled on its sandy soil. It’s now been expanded to fit even more rooms, hostels and restaurants – but doesn’t feel in any way crowded.

READ MORE: Millions of Brits are forgoing travel insurance but my holiday nightmare shows you need it

My boyfriend and I opted to stay in a private room in Che Holbox, a modern-feeling hostel just 10 minutes’ walk from the island’s main beach. It cost just £28 per night, with a pool, bar and (crucially) air-conditioning.

As an island on the Caribbean Sea, Holbox is hot: but its proximity to the azure waters completely negates the heat. Shade can be found under gently wafting palms and ducked under market tents. Wandering down its sandy streets, there are hardly any cars – though tourists and locals may trundle past in golf buggies.

As you stroll into the main town there are endless options for food: taquerias, brunch bars, seafood restaurants. On our first morning, we enjoyed a mouthwatering breakfast by the beach with strong American coffee and huevos motulenos: eggs with beans, salsa and fried banana. In the morning, there were hardly any other beachgoers, meaning we could listen to the tropical caws of the great-tailed grackles and the soft lap of the waves as the heat began to stir.

While many parts of Mexico’s Mayan Riviera (which includes Cancun) can become bombarded by saragassum during the summer months – a sulfuric smelling thick brown seaweed – its presence was scarce on Holbox’s shores, allowing you to enjoy an idyllic view.

During the day, we went on a cycling trip through the island to Punta Mosquito: a beach further north where you could spot flamingos. Wading through the warm water, there were several sand banks, meaning you could walk out for a while without needing to swim (although I did spot a sting rays I was careful not to step on).

While traversing the beach, we also passed by the island’s large protected wildlife zone, the Yum Balam Reserve. Home to glistening lagoons, mangroves, jaguars, crocodiles, monkeys and turtles, it costs around just £8 for visitors to enter.

After cycling to Playa Punta Cocos, we refreshed ourselves with coconut milk by the beach, followed by margaritas rimmed with lip-licking salt and spice. We also ordered a fresh bowl of guacamole with nachos, while an iguana rested on the tree branch next to us. For the most part, cocktails in bars and restaurants cost around £5, while beers were between £2-3.

While we took it easy, there are countless other activities that holidaymakers can get up to. Holbox is one of the few places in the world where you can swim with whale sharks. Despite their name, these giant sea creatures are known for being very gentle.

There is also a bioluminescent beach, which shows up best during summer months, and which visitors can come to admire once the sun sinks behind the horizon and the sea is lit up by thousands of tiny plankton.

The ongoing ICE sweeps taking place across Los Angeles and the country have underscored the many challenges faced by immigrant communities. For decades, migrants across Latin America have traversed rugged terrain and seas in search of a better life in the United States, often risking their lives in the process. Various films have captured the complexities of the Latino immigrant experience. Here are five of them.

“El Norte” (1983) directed by Gregory Nava

Siblings Rosa and Enrique Xuncax (played by Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and David Villalpando, respectively) decide to flee to the U.S. after their family is killed in the Guatemalan Civil War, a government-issued massacre that decimated the country’s Maya population. After a dangerous trek through Mexico, Rosa and Enrique find themselves in Los Angeles, the land of hopes and dreams — or so they think. The 1983 narrative is the first independent film to be nominated for an Academy Award for original screenplay; it was later added to the National Film Registry in 1995.

Decades later, “El Norte” still feels prescient.

“[Everything] that the film is about is once again here with us,” Nava told The Times in January. “All of the issues that you see in the film haven’t gone away. The story of Rosa and Enrique is still the story of all these refugees that are still coming here, seeking a better life in the United States.”

“Under the Same Moon” (2007) directed by Patricia Riggen

Separated by borders, 9-year-old Carlitos (Adrián Alonso) yearns to reunite with his mother, Rosario (Kate del Castillo), who left him behind in Mexico with his ailing grandmother. After his grandmother passes, Carlitos unexpectedly flees alone to find his mother in Los Angeles, encountering harrowing scenarios as he pieces together details of her exact location. Directed by Patricia Riggen as her first full-length feature, it made its debut at Sundance Film Festival in 2007, where it received a standing ovation.

“All these people risked their lives crossing the border, leaving everything behind, for love,” says Riggen. “For love of their families who they’re going to go reach, for love of their families who they leave behind and send money to. But it always has to do with love and family.”

“Una Noche” (2012) directed by Lucy Mulloy

There is no other option but the sea for the three Cuban youths in “Una Noche” who attempt to flee their impoverished island on a raft after one of them, Raúl, is falsely accused of assaulting a tourist. Lila follows her twin brother Elio, who is best friends with Raúl, but all is tested in the 90 miles it takes to get to Miami. The 2012 drama-thriller premiered in the U.S. at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won three top awards; its real-life actors Anailín de la Rúa de la Torre (Lila) and Javier Nuñez Florián (Elio) disappeared during the screening while in a stopover in Miami, later indicating that they were defecting.

By this time, it was not uncommon to hear of Cuban actors and sports stars defecting to the U.S.

“[Anailín and Javier] are quite whimsical and I can see how they’d decide to do something like this,” said director Lucy Mulloy when the news broke in 2012. “But this is also an important life decision, and no one in Cuba takes it lightly.”

“I’m No Longer Here” (2019) directed by Fernando Frías de la Parra

Ulises (Juan Daniel García Treviño) shines as the leader of Los Terkos, a Cholombiano subculture group in Monterrey known for their eclectic fashion and affinity for dancing and listening to slowed down cumbias. But after a misunderstanding makes him and his family the target of gang violence, he flees to New York City, where he must learn to navigate the unknown world as an individual at its fringes. The 2019 film swept Mexico’s Ariel awards upon its release and was shortlisted in the international feature film category to represent Mexico at the 93rd Academy Awards.

The contemporary film provided a nuanced perspective on the topic of migration that did not always hinge on violence.

“The idea was to have a film that is more open and has more air so that you can, as an audience, maybe see that yes, violence is part of that environment,” said director Fernando Frías de la Parra to The Times in 2021. “But so is joy and growth and other things.”

“I Carry You With Me” (2020) directed by Heidi Ewing

Iván’s (Armando Espitia) life appears at a standstill — he’s a busboy with aspirations of becoming a chef, and a single dad to his 5-year-old son who lives with his estranged ex. But his monotonous life changes when he meets Gerardo (Christian Vázquez) at a gay bar, which shifts his journey into a blooming love story that traverses borders and decades. The story is inspired by the real-life love story of New York restaurateurs Iván García and Gerardo Zabaleta, strangers-turned-friends of director Heidi Ewing, a documentary filmmaker by training. The 2020 film first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the NEXT Innovator and Audience Awards.

Nostalgia was a crucial element for the film, a poignant feeling for those unable to return.

“Sometimes I dream about when I was a kid in Mexico and that makes my day,” said García to The Times in 2021. “That’s all we have left, to live off our memories and our dreams.”