International
López Obrador challenges Mexican Supreme Court ruling on infrastructure megaprojects
May 19 |
Hours after Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a government agreement declaring large infrastructure projects as “national security” works is unconstitutional, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador published a similar order in the Official Journal of the Federation in clear defiance of the high court’s ruling.
The Court made clear that the federal government cannot simply decree that tourist trains or other public works projects are matters of “national security” because that violates the public’s right to information about such infrastructure.
However, on Thursday afternoon, a similar agreement went into effect giving that label to several projects, among them the Mayan Train, a controversial mega-project in the Mexican southeast that the president wants to finish before the end of his term in 2024.
López Obrador has tried to speed it up by exempting it from normal permits and public reporting on the grounds that it is vital for the country’s security.
The ruling is the latest in a series of setbacks for the president, who has sought to expand the discretionary powers of the executive.
At the moment it is unclear whether Thursday’s court ruling only affects the public’s right to access information on spending, costs and other data on such projects, or whether it also repeals the fast-track permitting procedure. The court is scheduled to discuss and vote Monday on the overreach and implications of the ruling.
Unlike the 2021 ruling, which did not mention specific projects by name but referred to infrastructure in general, Thursday’s ruling decreed that the Mayan Train and the economic corridor that will cross the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the narrowest part of the country, as well as three airports in that area of the southeast, were of national security.
López Obrador is upset with the highest court for dismissing some of his electoral reform initiatives, and has called for a change to make the Supreme Court an elected body. Currently, the president suggests the shortlists of potential justices, but the Senate chooses them.
In July, the government invoked national security powers to advance the Mayan Train construction project, a tourist railroad along Mexico’s Caribbean coast that threatens an area of caves where some of the oldest human remains in North America have been discovered.
The government had paused the project in 2022 after activists won an injunction against the route because it opened a strip of jungle for the tracks without first submitting an environmental impact statement.
But the government invoked national security powers to resume construction. The measure also makes it easier for the government to withhold information on such projects.
International
Bogotá and Quito Seek Dialogue After Tariffs and Power Cut Escalate Tensions
Bogotá and Quito will hold an emergency bilateral summit next week amid recent developments that have strained relations between the two countries.
Tensions escalated this week after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa unexpectedly announced a 30% tariff on Colombian imports. Colombia responded with a reciprocal measure, imposing the same tariff on around 20 Ecuadorian products and suspending electricity exports to Ecuador.
Aware that electricity imports are critical to easing Ecuador’s recent energy crises, Quito further imposed a 30% tariff on the transportation of Colombian oil through its territory.
However, recent statements from the Ecuadorian government suggest that dialogue between the two sides has intensified in recent hours. Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabriela Sommerfeld, confirmed that active conversations are under way.
In Colombia, segments of the business sector have welcomed the prospect of negotiations. The National Business Council (Consejo Gremial Nacional, CGN), for instance, urged both governments to restore commercial relations, warning that the dispute “puts jobs and regional economic stability at risk.”
International
Trump-Era Defense Plan Prioritizes Border Security and Scales Back Global Commitments
The U.S. military will prioritize the defense of the homeland and the deterrence of China, while providing more limited support to its allies and elevating Latin America as a key focus of its agenda, according to a Pentagon strategic document released on Friday.
The 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) represents a significant shift from previous Pentagon policies, both in its emphasis on allies assuming greater responsibility with reduced backing from Washington and in its more moderate tone toward traditional adversaries such as China and Russia.
“As U.S. forces focus on defending the homeland and the Indo-Pacific, allies and partners elsewhere will assume primary responsibility for their own defense, with crucial but more limited support from U.S. forces,” the document states.
The previous defense strategy, published during President Joe Biden’s administration, described China as Washington’s most consequential challenge and characterized Russia as an “acute threat.”
The new strategy, however, calls for maintaining “respectful relations” with Beijing and makes no reference to Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by China and allied with the United States. It also describes the threat posed by Russia as “persistent but manageable,” particularly affecting NATO’s eastern members.
While both the Biden-era strategy and the Trump administration’s approach emphasize the importance of defending U.S. territory, they differ significantly in their assessment of the challenges facing the country.
The Trump administration’s NDS sharply criticizes the previous government for neglecting border security, arguing that this failure led to an “influx of illegal immigrants” and widespread narcotics trafficking.
International
Guatemala considers sending high-risk gang members to military prisons
Amid the escalating crisis in Guatemala’s prison system, the government is considering transferring high-risk gang members to military-run detention facilities, a move that analysts say could help address overcrowding and the lack of control in civilian prisons.
The debate has gained urgency following the killing of ten police officers by gang members, reportedly in retaliation after the government refused to meet demands made by Aldo Dupie Ochoa, alias “El Lobo,” leader of the Barrio 18 gang, which authorities identified as responsible for the attack.
Guatemala’s Minister of Defense, Henry David Sáenz, told local media that the possibility of relocating high-danger inmates to military brigades has not been formally discussed. However, he noted that the practice is not new to the Armed Forces and said it is something that “was already being done.”
One example is the detention center located within the Mariscal Zavala Military Brigade, in Zone 17 of Guatemala City, where several inmates are held under military supervision. The facility also houses high-profile detainees, including former official Eduardo Masaya, who faces corruption charges.
In 2015, a ministerial agreement authorized the establishment of the Zone Seventeen Detention Center within the brigade, with a maximum capacity of 114 inmates in Area A and 21 in Area B. The agreement specified that the facility would be used exclusively for civilians or military personnel considered at risk of assassination.
Additionally, since 2010, a prison has operated within the Matamoros Barracks in Zone 1 of Guatemala City, holding dangerous or high-profile inmates. However, media outlets have described these military detention centers as “VIP prisons,” particularly for former government officials such as ex-president Otto Pérez Molina.
Bogotá and Quito Seek Dialogue After Tariffs and Power Cut Escalate Tensions
Trump-Era Defense Plan Prioritizes Border Security and Scales Back Global Commitments
Guatemala’s president rules out negotiations with inmates after prison riots
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America5 days agoGuatemala raises police death toll to nine after gang violence escalates
-
International3 days agoMexican influencer “La Nicholette” kidnapped in exclusive area of Culiacán
-
International5 days agoDeath toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40
-
International4 days agoDaily Mail publisher insists reports relied on legitimate sources amid privacy trial
-
International5 days agoOver 160 christian worshippers kidnapped in Kaduna Church attacks
-
Central America2 days agoMazatenango Carnival cancelled amid State of Siege in Guatemala
-
International3 days agoMajor winter storm to blanket U.S. and Canada with snow, ice and arctic cold
-
International4 days agoGermany says football bodies alone will decide on possible World Cup boycott
-
International2 days agoMarkets rise as Trump halts Europe tariffs and floats Greenland agreement framework
-
International3 days ago
Trump announces preliminary NATO agreement on Greenland, suspends tariffs on Europe
-
International3 days agoColombia slams Ecuador’s 30% tariff as ‘economic aggression’
-
International5 days agoSpain’s Prime Minister pledges transparency after train crash kills at least 39
-
International2 days agoVenezuela’s interim president predicts 37% increase in revenues for 2026
-
International2 days agoTrump to invite Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez to Washington
-
International2 days agoJapan reopens Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Plant despite public concerns
-
International2 days agoFour minors killed in deadly clash between FARC dissidents in Colombia’s Amazon
-
International3 days agoJosé Jerí claims destabilization attempt after videos of secretive meetings surface
-
Internacionales15 hours agoMajor winter storm threatens “catastrophic” ice and snow across much of the U.S.
-
International15 hours agoGuatemala considers sending high-risk gang members to military prisons
-
Central America15 hours agoGuatemala’s president rules out negotiations with inmates after prison riots
-
International15 hours agoRights group says over 5,000 killed in Iran protests, mostly civilians
-
International10 minutes agoTrump-Era Defense Plan Prioritizes Border Security and Scales Back Global Commitments
-
International8 minutes agoBogotá and Quito Seek Dialogue After Tariffs and Power Cut Escalate Tensions