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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, June 21 (Reuters) - The death toll from a riot at a women's prison in Honduras rose to 46, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday, as anxious relatives demanded information about the fate of incarcerated family members. Relatives of inmates gathered at the Centro Femenino de Adaptacion Social, the 900-person women's penitentiary around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the capital city Tegucigalpa, where gang violence erupted a day earlier. Identifying victims is a challenge, as many of which were "charred or reduced" to ash, according to Yuri Mora, spokesperson for the public prosecutor's office. The riot had been planned by gang members with guards' knowledge, Honduran President Xiomara Castro said on Twitter on Tuesday, saying she would take "drastic measures" to address the deaths. [1/5]Security forces operate outside the Centro Femenino de Adaptacion Social (CEFAS) women prison following a deadly riot in Tamara, on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 20, 2023.

Persons: Yuri Mora, Xiomara Castro, Angel Garcia, Fredy Rodriguez, Garcia, Mara Salvatrucha, Miguel Martinez, Julissa Villanueva, El, Gustavo Palencia, Brendan O'Boyle, Valentine Hillaire, Daina Beth Solomon, Alistair Bell Organizations: Centro Femenino de, Twitter, Security, REUTERS, Central America, Thomson Locations: TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Tamara, Los Angeles, Central, El Salvador

MEXICO CITY, June 12 (Reuters) - U.S. asylum appointments at a dangerous Texas-Mexico border crossing can no longer be scheduled via an online app following reports that migrants face extortion in Mexico. A website for the app, called CBP One, no longer lists Laredo as a city where asylum seekers can schedule appointments. Nuevo Laredo has long been notorious for widespread kidnapping and extortion of migrants. An advocate in Nuevo Laredo, who requested anonymity due to safety fears, said criminals have demanded as much as $500 per person. Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City and Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Joe Biden, Daina Beth Solomon, Ted Hesson, Richard Chang Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Reuters, Nuevo, U.S . Customs, Border Protection, U.S, Associated Press, Strauss, University of Texas, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Texas, Mexico, Mexican, Nuevo Laredo, Laredo, U.S, Austin, Mexico City, Washington

☆ Mexico to announce work visa program for Central Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 22 (Reuters) - Mexico will present a program this week to give Central Americans temporary visas to work on public infrastructure projects, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday. Such projects require more people such as welders, iron-workers and engineers, Lopez Obrador told his regular daily news conference. "We need a workforce for these projects, especially if it's skilled labor," Lopez Obrador said. Lopez Obrador has long pushed for investment in Central America to stem the migration of thousands of people every year fleeing poverty and violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. He has also sought to boost development in the impoverished southern region of Mexico, which sits near the border with Guatemala.

☆ Migrant encounters down 70% since end of Title 42, US official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 19 (Reuters) - Migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped 70% since COVID-era border restrictions ended last week, U.S. Homeland Security official Blas Nunez-Neto said on Friday. Speaking in a call with reporters, Nunez-Neto said the number had continued to tick down after an average 4,000 encounters a day as of May 12. "In the last 48 hours there were 3,000 encounters a day on the border, this is a more than 70% reduction," he said. Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Valentine Hilaire, Editing by Daina Beth SolomonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Two dozen National Guard troops quickly set about stretching coils of barbed wire across the cement base of the bridge where the migrants had been. Under the order known as Title 42, U.S. authorities could quickly turn back migrants without giving them a chance to seek asylum. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday said the number of migrants crossing the border fell by half since the end of Title 42. A Dominican couple under the bridge told Reuters they had just reached Ciudad Juarez and had not heard of it. Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Jose Luis Gonzalez in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the Biden regulation, saying it aims to encourage migrants to enter using legal pathways. U.S. asylum officers hurried to figure out the logistics of applying the new asylum regulation. COVID EMERGENCY ENDS, ASYLUM BAN BEGINSTrump first implemented Title 42 in March 2020 as COVID swept the globe. The order allowed American authorities to quickly expel migrants to Mexico or other countries without a chance to request asylum. Migrants have been expelled more than 2.7 million times under Title 42, although the total includes repeat crossers.

☆ Faced with tougher U.S. policy, migrants in Mexico pin hopes on asylum app
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Daina Beth Solomon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., gather on the Matamoros-Brownsville International Border bridge, in Matamoros, Mexico May 12, 2023. Now, she is trying another way she hopes will be easier: the U.S. asylum app. "It's much better," Silva said on Thursday at the border, scrolling through a WhatsApp chat with tips about the app known as CBP One. Under the COVID-era order, U.S. officials could immediately expel migrants back to Mexico, blocking them from requesting asylum. Alongside her, two young men from Venezuela said they were also going to seek asylum appointments on the CBP One app.

Walmart de Mexico (Walmex) (WALMEX.MX) in April said it had bought Trafalgar, a payment app, to compete in a market dominated by Grupo Salinas' Baz, Oxxo's (FEMSAUBD.MX) Spin and MercadoPago of MercadoLibre (MELI.O). Executives at the Walmart unit expect the deal to "unlock Cashi's potential," starting with transfers, withdrawals and remittances while keeping open the option of loans and other financial services in the future. "We want to be the best financial services application in Mexico, and that requires constant investment," Marcelino Herrera, Walmex senior vice president of financial services, told Reuters. Walmart plans over $15 billion in capital expenditures for automation and alternate revenue streams in 2023, including its ad business, third-party marketplace, and deliveries. SYNERGIESWalmart has not defined fintech as a top investment priority but has poured money into it over the past year.

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - A Miami-based digital marketing firm was behind a series of covert political influence operations in Latin America over the last year, Facebook-owner Meta (META.O) said this week, a rare exposé of an apparent U.S.-based misinformation-for-hire outfit. "It's a classic pattern that you tend to see with for-hire influence operations," said Ben Nimmo, Meta's Global Threat Intelligence Lead. Meta says it regularly takes down disinformation and misinformation operations in order to maintain the integrity of its platform. Twitter said in a September 2022 blog that it had shared datasets about influence operations with Cazadores. Former Twitter employees told Reuters in January that most of the staff involved in the TMRC had since left and Reuters could not determine if it was still operational.

☆ Thousands of union contracts to dissolve in Mexico's fight against pro-company deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Daina Beth Solomon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mexico committed to eliminating these so-called "protection contracts" under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade pact that replaced the 1994 NAFTA. "This is historic, because we finally managed to rid the labor market of pretend contracts and fake unions," Labor Minister Alcalde said in an interview. Since the vote process began four years ago, workers have cast ballots on some 20,000 contracts in sectors spanning autos, retail and mining. The Independent Mexico Labor Expert Board, a U.S. advisory committee, said in March the small number of rejected contracts "raises serious doubts about the credibility" of the process. Alcalde said she expects unions to aim to establish new contracts in place of ones that were canceled.

☆ Mexican migration chief accused of unlawful practice after deadly fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, April 25 (Reuters) - Mexican prosecutors on Tuesday formally accused Mexico's top migration official with unlawful practice in public office, a criminal offense, over a fire at a government detention center that killed 40 migrants, according to Mexican media. Francisco Garduno, head of the National Migration Institute (INM), is the highest-ranking official to be formally accused in the case, which also led to the arrests of several other INM officials on homicide charges. Garduno, in remarks to reporters broadcast by Milenio television after the hearing, said he had invoked his right to remain silent before a judge. The hearing was held in Ciudad Juarez, the northern border city where the fire occurred. Perez said the hearing will continue Sunday, when the judge is expected to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to merit charges against Garduno.

☆ Mexican president accuses Pentagon of spying; vows to restrict military information
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, April 18 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday accused the Pentagon of spying on his government following leaks in U.S. media, and said he would begin classifying information from the armed forces to protect national security. His comments came several days after the Washington Post reported on apparent tensions between Mexico's Navy and the Army, citing a U.S. military briefing revealed in online leaks of secret U.S. military records. "We're now going to safeguard information from the Navy and the Defense Ministry, because we're being a target of spying by the Pentagon," Lopez Obrador told his daily news conference. The Washington Post story said there was no indication the cited document came from intercepted communications of Mexican officials. Lopez Obrador has come under pressure to hold the military accountable for years of alleged abuses, including reported disappearances and killings.

☆ Mexico investigates top migration officials after deadly fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, April 11 (Reuters) - Mexican prosecutors have launched criminal proceedings against top immigration officials as they investigate a fire that killed 40 migrants in a detention center last month, the Attorney General's office said on Tuesday. The Attorney General's office said in a statement it had launched criminal proceedings against six public officials in connection with the fire, identifying them only by first name, as is customary in Mexico. It did not specify whether the people had been charged or would face charges, and neither the office nor INM provided additional details. "They indicate a pattern of irresponsibility," the Attorney General's office said. The statement also alleged that Gonzalez and three other officials were linked to conduct that led to the deaths of the migrants.

☆ Missing key to cell sealed fate of migrants in Mexico fire, president says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezMEXICO CITY, April 11 (Reuters) - The 40 migrants who died in a fire at a detention center in Mexico last month were unable to escape because the person with the key to their locked cell was absent, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday. "The door was locked, because the person with the key wasn't there," Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference. Five people so far have been arrested, including private security personnel and agents from Mexico's National Migration Institute, and another arrest warrant is still pending. Hearses carrying the bodies of victims from Guatemala and Honduras were taken to the Ciudad Juarez airport to be repatriated on Tuesday. Reporting by Kylie Madry, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mexican migration officer absent as deadly fire began in cell he supervised, guard says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

She did not know if the absent migration officer had taken the keys to the men's unit with him or if they had been stored on site, she said. Mexican officials on Thursday arrested five people suspected of involvement in the fire, after obtaining arrest orders for three INM officers, two private security officers and the person accused of starting the fire. "He returned when we were already outside; I was with the women," Hinojosa said. Officials have said they will replace CAMSA's services with federal guards in Chihuahua state, where Ciudad Juarez is located, and flagged concern over whether the company's guards were properly trained. "We are the support," she said, referring to her role helping migration officers.

☆ Mexican probe into missing students beset by delays and failure, watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), human rights experts who have tracked the investigation, on Friday urged the military to cooperate with informational requests, and for prosecutors to issue more arrest orders. "We have insisted on the need for verifying and carrying out these arrest orders," she told a news conference. Prosecutors last year called for the arrests of 83 military, police and government officials, among others, with 21 of the arrest orders later withdrawn. Buitrago said the GIEI has now sent evidence to prosecutors supporting the arrest orders that were dropped. The rights experts said the military had told them that certain documents and records did not exist even after the GIEI had obtained some of those same records.

☆ Ongoing supply shortages threaten U.S. infrastructure and war efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Lisa Baertlein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"One of the big issues as we're trying to ramp up the military industrial base is having enough electronic components," Miller said. Companies that make war weapons like shoulder-fired Javelin and Stinger missiles are awaiting U.S. funding before starting new production for Ukraine. "Any general shortage in semiconductors will affect defense," said Brad Martin, director of Rand Corp's National Security Supply Chain Institute. On the other hand, ongoing demand for auto and farm equipment has kept stocks of microchips that act as electronic brains in that machinery tight. "As we've moved through the past year or so, we have seen gradual improvement in our supply chain, including semiconductors ... Short-term disruptions will continue to happen," GM spokesman Dan Flores told Reuters in an email.

☆ Migrants were locked behind bars during deadly Mexico fire, witnesses say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, March 29 (Reuters) - Migrants were locked in a cell as a blaze spread killing 39 people at a detention center in Mexico, witnesses and a survivor said on Wednesday, as Mexico's president vowed to bring to justice those responsible. "There'll be no attempt to hide the facts, no attempt to cover for anyone," he told a news conference in Mexico city. All the victims were male, and Mexico's government is under pressure to find out why they died after officials said the women migrants at the center were successfully evacuated. Outside a hospital in Ciudad Juarez, which sits across the border from El Paso, Texas, family members anxiously waited for news of their loved ones who had been injured in the fire. Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Ciudad Juarez and Daina Beth Solomon, Dave Graham and Valentine Hilaire in Mexico City; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The supply chain woes that sent costs soaring and spurred shortages of everything from toilet paper to passenger cars are easing for retail-focused industries, but remain stubbornly persistent in important growth sectors like autos, machinery, defense and non-residential construction, experts said. "One of the big issues as we're trying to ramp up the military industrial base is having enough electronic components," Miller said. Companies that make war weapons like shoulder-fired Javelin and Stinger missiles are awaiting U.S. funding before starting new production for Ukraine. "Any general shortage in semiconductors will affect defense," said Brad Martin, director of Rand Corp's National Security Supply Chain Institute. "As we've moved through the past year or so, we have seen gradual improvement in our supply chain, including semiconductors ... Short-term disruptions will continue to happen," GM spokesman Dan Flores told Reuters in an email.

☆ Facing spying claims, Mexico president says activist's phone call was recorded
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, March 23 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday confirmed for the first time that the government monitored the phone of a human rights activist, saying it was part of a probe into a suspected gang member. Lopez Obrador has repeatedly denied allegations that his government has spied on activists, journalists and opponents, while saying it does intelligence work to fight crime. On Thursday, he said the government had access to Ramos' phone because officials were investigating a suspected criminal that he said the activist had spoken to. "This citizen ... was speaking on the phone to a suspected drug trafficker," Lopez Obrador said in a regular news conference. Lopez Obrador has said the government doesn't use Pegasus.

☆ Mexico makes lots of electric cars, but few Mexicans drive them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Aida Pelaez-Fernandez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, BMW and Volkswagen's Audi unit also are producing EVs in Mexico, or plan to. "There are still a number of issues that need resolving in Mexico before there's a massive influx of electric cars," said Mario Hernandez, KPMG's lead manufacturing partner in Mexico. Hernandez said drawbacks included a lack of subsidies for buyers, high costs for installing charging devices at homes and a shortage of public charging stations, vital for longer journeys. Mexico has about 1,100 charging stations nationwide, mostly in the capital and other major cities, according to AMIA. Pedro Corral, director of operations for EV charging stations platform Evergo, drives his all-electric i3 BMW around Mexico City.

☆ Mexico finds 'serious irregularities' in labor probe at VU Manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Carparts.Com Inc FollowMEXICO CITY, March 16 (Reuters) - Mexico's government on Thursday said it concluded there were "serious irregularities" hindering free association and collective bargaining at U.S. auto parts maker VU Manufacturing's operations in northern Mexico. "It was determined that there are serious irregularities and decisive actions on the part of the company to obstruct the free exercise of the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining within VU Manufacturing," the government said in a statement. It added that it would seek to ensure workers can fully exercise their collective rights without disrupting bilateral trade. Michigan-based VU Manufacturing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. government earlier said it received a petition in December from two Mexican labor organizations stating that workers at VU Manufacturing were being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining.

☆ US, Mexico aim to find 13,000 Mexican migrant workers owed $6.5 mln in wages
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. and Mexican officials on Tuesday said 13,000 Mexican migrant workers are owed a total of $6.5 million in unpaid wages from U.S. workplaces, and will work to help beneficiaries now living in Mexico claim their pay from U.S. labor authorities. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said the effort marked an unprecedented collaboration between the U.S. and Mexico to support workers who for years have been short-changed. "In past governments, this would not have happened," he said at an event in Mexico City alongside Mexican labor officials. Mexico will also launch a public campaign to encourage workers to come forward if they believe they qualify for checks. "The work ahead is to find these 13,000," Mexican Labor Minister Luisa Alcalde said.

☆ Walmart to invest nearly $1.5 bln in Mexico and Central America in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MEXICO CITY, March 7 (Reuters) - Walmart's unit in Mexico and Central America, known as Walmex (WALMEX.MX), plans to spend around 27 billion pesos ($1.49 billion) in the region in 2023, it said on Tuesday. Just under half of the investment will go to remodeling and maintaining existing stores, while nearly 30% will go to new stores and clubs, Walmex said in a filing following an event with investors and analysts. ($1 = 18.1026 Mexican pesos)Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Daina Beth SolomonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tesla could begin producing autos in Mexico next year -Mexican official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Tesla Inc FollowMEXICO CITY, March 6 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) could begin producing its first cars in Mexico next year, with the electric vehicle maker close to receiving its final permits allowing factory construction to begin in Nuevo Leon near the U.S.-Mexico border, the state's governor said on Monday. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk announced the investment last week, saying the Austin, Texas-based company had selected Mexico for its next "gigafactory" with plans to produce a "next gen vehicle." Mexican officials have said the factory will be the world's biggest to produce electric vehicles, with investment worth $5 billion. "The president, by authorizing and backing Tesla, sent a message to the world that they should come to Mexico." Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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