MI’s Mexico Foreign Press Chatter – Jan. 9, 2025

January 23, 2026
2:16 pm

There was no shortage of Mexico-related headlines at the start of the year, as Maduro’s capture by U.S. armed forces reverberated across Latin America. The WSJ detailed his indictment and trial on charges including ties to the Cartel of the Suns, taking bribes from Colombian drug-traffickers to transport drugs, and facilitating money laundering flights from Mexico. Then, the NYT noted Trump’s comments that action could be taken against more countries, among them Mexico. President Sheinbaum promptly dismissed these prospects, insisting on coordination and collaboration with the U.S. government; the AP underscored the differences between Venezuela and Mexico.

A flurry of op-eds and analyses followed. Reuters reported on Sheinbaum’s condemnation of the strikes and Mexico’s balancing act of disapproving of U.S. actions on the record, while maintaining close cooperation to avoid Venezuela’s fate. The WSJ featured a harsher op-ed by pro-MAGA Joshua Treviño, who assessed U.S.-Mexico relations through Morena’s ideological alignment with authoritarian left-wing governments rather than cooperation. Bloomberg and the NYT placed the episode in a broader geopolitical context, pointing to a revival of U.S. interventionism, regional polarization, a changing world order, and erosion of international law. Cuba became a secondary fault line, with the FT reporting on Mexico’s growing oil shipments to the island, a source of friction with the Americans. Sheinbaum stressed these are contractual shipments and sent for humanitarian reasons, but Bloomberg noted they will add to the tension. On a different note, The Guardian revisited historic U.S. intervention in Latin America, arguing that while Washington has long shaped the region’s politics, the latest episode marks a rare instance of direct action.

Developments in Venezuela largely bumped from the spotlight some otherwise significant news. The NYT followed a train derailment in Oaxaca that killed 14 along the interoceanic railway. The AP emphasized victims’ families’ despair and demand for answers from the government, which inaugurated the line in 2023 amidst concerns over regulatory shortcuts and environmental oversight. The NYT also covered the crash of a humanitarian mission transporting a two-year-old burn victim from southern Mexico, killing six, and featured the rescue stories of the two survivors. For its part, the AP covered a 6.5 magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico, killing two but scaring millions. Beyond breaking news, The Guardian featured an op-ed by Michoacan local Claudia Ignacio Alvarez, arguing that the avocado industry has destroyed local communities by entangling profit-seeking corporations with organized crime and environmental destruction.

Bilateral tensions unrelated to Venezuela also drew attention. The NYT released a retrospective on a year of Trump’s immigration crackdown, underscoring how it’s changed daily life in cities and at the border. Meanwhile, Reuters reported on two new screwworm cases reported in Mexico; the border remains closed to Mexican livestock.

On business and the economy, Reuters reported that higher Asian tariffs took effect after Jan. 1, while Bloomberg highlighted a $9 billion dollar-bond issuance to support Pemex; Reuters separately noted the appointment of a new head of the company’s production unit.

Shifting gears, the NYT covered the monarch butterflies’ extraordinary sense of direction, as scientists make progress in understanding the patterned insect’s magnetic navigation. In music, the NYT highlighted Bad Bunny’s eight sold-out concerts in Mexico City, which drew over half a million people, 77 nationalities, and eager campers crazy for the Puerto Rican sensation. In sports, Bloomberg covered the sale of a 49% stake in Club América by Ollamani to General Atlantic. Meanwhile, The Guardian visited the beautiful Isla Espíritu Santo in Baja California, underscoring how rising tourism is straining legal protections born from a grassroots campaign that once shielded the UNESCO world heritage site from development.

Notable blogs in English on Mexico

Unsurprisingly, Mexico-related substacks also focused on Venezuela. In Moments in Mexico Alexandra Helfgott explores why sovereignty is so important for Mexico and firmly rejected U.S. intervention, highlighting historic episodes that have shaped Mexican national identity. In Mexico Decoded, Viri Ríos explains why the fear of intervention is understandable but wrong, citing economic reasons as the key differences between Mexico and Venezuela. In CrashOut, Ioan Grillo examines the case American prosecutors are building against Maduro, suggesting that, while there is evidence of senior Venezuelan officials taking bribes, proving Maduro’s involvement will be difficult. In Materia Gris, Eduardo García questions President Sheinbaum’s silence regarding Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, suggesting it is an example of Morena’s anti-democratic instincts. And switching to a less geopolitically tense topic, the Mexico Political Economist explores Mexico’s growing toy manufacturing industry.

Our own Miranda Intelligence substack in three posts this week (Public Affairs, Energy, Politics) analyzed the political and energy implications for Mexico of Venezuela developments, as well as covering other relevant public affairs news this week (mobile phone registry issues, electoral reform, COFEPRIS changes).

Photo of the Week

Espíritu Santo, an uninhabited island off the north-west coast of Mexico, is renowned for its biodiversity and marine life. Photo by Leon Werdinger/Alamy.

FOREIGN PRESS COVERAGE

Venezuela’s Maduro Seemed Untouchable. Now He Will Stand Trial in New York.

01/03/26, WSJ, José de Córdoba et al

Trump Suggests U.S. Could Take Action Against More Countries

01/04/26, New York Times, Yan Zhuang

Mexico dismisses US military intervention despite Trump’s threats after Venezuela operation

01/05/26, AP, María Verza

Mexico condemns attack on Venezuela while seeking to avoid its fate

01/06/26, Reuters, Laura Gottesdiener and Emily Green

Mexico Is Acting Like an Adversary to the U.S.

01/05/26, WSJ, Joshua Treviño

Trump’s Ouster of Maduro Shows America’s New World Order Is Here