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Reinforced walls and detection technology: The ‘smart wall’ the US is building on the border

26 April 2026 at 04:00
The US-Mexico border, seen from Ciudad Juárez, January 14.

The U.S. government is reinforcing the border wall with Mexico and now describes it as a “smart” one. Following the 2025 passage of Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which includes a $46.5 billion budget package for border infrastructure construction, the United States is expanding and erecting new 32-ft-high steel bollard walls (nearly 10 meters), transforming water barriers, building roads, improving lighting, and installing high-tech detection tools such as infrared cameras and motion sensors. In addition, the area will be constantly monitored by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

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Mexico steps up its anti‑piracy drive ahead of the 2026 World Cup

26 April 2026 at 04:00
Sale of Mexican national team jerseys in Mexico City, April 9.

In downtown Mexico City, the so‑called “sports street” has become a hub for football knockoffs. Several blocks of shops selling jerseys, balls, and keychains with dubious logos illustrate a new economic battleground: the Mexican government’s campaign against piracy.

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Mexican national team jersey in the Historic Center of Mexico City.Zayu Plush, Mexico's mascot for the World Cup.A vendor displays a Mexican national team jersey in Mexico City.

‘Backrooms’: How Kane Parsons Turned YouTube Project Into “Lonely” A24 Film With 30K-Square-Foot Set

26 April 2026 at 00:30
The filmmaker, who becomes the studio's youngest feature director, took to CCXP Mexico to tease his horror movie that hits theaters next month and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve.

2 C.I.A. Officers Killed in Mexico Crash Lacked Proper Authorization

25 April 2026 at 21:29
The two Americans were killed on Sunday when their vehicle crashed while returning from an antidrug operation led by Mexico’s armed forces in the state of Chihuahua.
  • ✇The Rio Times
  • Latin American Pulse for Saturday, April 25, 2026 Matias Sebastian Lopez
    Peru F-16 Crisis: Chancellor and Defence Minister Resign, US Ambassador Threatens Reprisals, MEF Pays $462M Anyway — Brazil Expands Minha Casa Minha Vida to R$600,000, Middle Class Enters Housing Programme — Argentina: Milei Bans All 60 Journalists from Casa Rosada, Hosts Peter Thiel Same Day, Approval Crashes to 14th of 18 LATAM Leaders — Peru […] The post Latin American Pulse for Saturday, April 25, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.
     

Latin American Pulse for Saturday, April 25, 2026

25 April 2026 at 07:43

Peru F-16 Crisis: Chancellor and Defence Minister Resign, US Ambassador Threatens Reprisals, MEF Pays $462M Anyway — Brazil Expands Minha Casa Minha Vida to R$600,000, Middle Class Enters Housing Programme — Argentina: Milei Bans All 60 Journalists from Casa Rosada, Hosts Peter Thiel Same Day, Approval Crashes to 14th of 18 LATAM Leaders — Peru […]

The post Latin American Pulse for Saturday, April 25, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.

  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • Conspiracy theory over UFOs and missing scientists spreads from web to White House Edward Helmore
    Claim of nefarious plot draws attention of lawmakers and president – but are disappearances and deaths really linked?Are the disappearances or deaths of at least 11 US scientists, each allegedly connected in some way to space, defense and nuclear research, really linked in a nefarious plot: one that involves the Chinese or other state enemies, or possibly links back to UFOs?A conspiracy theory positing exactly that has roared through sections of the US population in recent weeks, spreading rapid
     

Conspiracy theory over UFOs and missing scientists spreads from web to White House

25 April 2026 at 15:00

Claim of nefarious plot draws attention of lawmakers and president – but are disappearances and deaths really linked?

Are the disappearances or deaths of at least 11 US scientists, each allegedly connected in some way to space, defense and nuclear research, really linked in a nefarious plot: one that involves the Chinese or other state enemies, or possibly links back to UFOs?

A conspiracy theory positing exactly that has roared through sections of the US population in recent weeks, spreading rapidly from the internet into rightwing media and hence into the mainstream press and prompting an inquiry from Congress and questions from Donald Trump.

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© Photograph: Valérie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

© Photograph: Valérie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

© Photograph: Valérie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

  • ✇El País in English
  • Inside the fuel‑smuggling network that brought down two Mexican Navy officers Zedryk Raziel
    Manuel Roberto and Fernando Farías Laguna were high-ranking officers in the Mexican Navy. Although they were brothers, within the Navy, they were referred to as “Los Primos” — The Cousins. This was perhaps because they were nephews by marriage of Rafael Ojeda Durán, who served as secretary of the navy under former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Their connection to such a powerful figure helped propel their rapid rise: despite their youth, Manuel Roberto reached the rank of vice admiral a
     

Inside the fuel‑smuggling network that brought down two Mexican Navy officers

24 April 2026 at 11:33

Manuel Roberto and Fernando Farías Laguna were high-ranking officers in the Mexican Navy. Although they were brothers, within the Navy, they were referred to as “Los Primos” — The Cousins. This was perhaps because they were nephews by marriage of Rafael Ojeda Durán, who served as secretary of the navy under former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Their connection to such a powerful figure helped propel their rapid rise: despite their youth, Manuel Roberto reached the rank of vice admiral and Fernando became a rear admiral.

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© Especial

Manuel Roberto and Fernando Farías Laguna.

Roberto Lazzeri, the financier who will lead the critical relationship between Mexico and the US

24 April 2026 at 11:32

At the start of her term, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gave members of her financial team a copy of the book Mission Economy by the Italian academic Mariana Mazzucato. In it, the author argues that rebuilding capitalism requires considering social benefit and placing the state at the center, as the executor and main investor in innovation, the economy, and the markets. Roberto Lazzeri, chosen by the president to lead relations with the United States, Mexico’s main — and most demanding — trade partner, also received a copy.

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© Galo Cañas (Cuartoscuro)

Roberto Lazzeri in Mexico City, on March 18.
  • ✇El País in English
  • Mexico is adorned with thousands of murals to reclaim public spaces ahead of the World Cup Diego Mancera
    The jubilation unleashed by a World Cup leaves its mark on the host country. On June 11, Mexico will be able to say it is the only country in the world to have hosted the world’s premier football tournament three times, even four if we include the 1971 Women’s World Cup. However, unlike in 1970 and 1986, the business surrounding the game has exploded, and with it, everything has become more expensive. From jerseys to match tickets, which can reach prices of over 50,000 pesos ($2,869). Even to wa
     

Mexico is adorned with thousands of murals to reclaim public spaces ahead of the World Cup

23 April 2026 at 19:55

The jubilation unleashed by a World Cup leaves its mark on the host country. On June 11, Mexico will be able to say it is the only country in the world to have hosted the world’s premier football tournament three times, even four if we include the 1971 Women’s World Cup. However, unlike in 1970 and 1986, the business surrounding the game has exploded, and with it, everything has become more expensive. From jerseys to match tickets, which can reach prices of over 50,000 pesos ($2,869). Even to watch the matches on television, a fan must pay up to 1,000 pesos ($57) to follow all 104 games. Faced with these expenses, thousands of young Mexicans have chosen to be part of the World Cup frenzy through nearly 5,000 murals and all kinds of activities.

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© Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud

One of the murals highlighting the role of women in soccer, painted in Tepic, Nayarit.

One of the murals created by the young people in Guerrero.

One of the painted walls in Naco, Sonora.

A mural painted on the floor of a school in Colima.

© Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud

Another mural painted by a group of young Mexicans, supported by Imjuve.

© Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud

One of the murals painted by young people in Tecamachalco, State of Mexico.
  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • Dozens of Mexican mafia members arrested in California crackdown Associated Press
    Prosecutors say 43 people indicted on charges including murder, kidnapping, extortion and drug traffickingMore than two dozen members and associates of the Mexican mafia were arrested during an early morning crackdown in southern California, federal authorities said on Thursday.The FBI and other federal and local agencies executed search and arrest warrants at locations mostly in Orange county, south of Los Angeles, according to the US attorney’s office. Continue reading...
     

Dozens of Mexican mafia members arrested in California crackdown

23 April 2026 at 17:42

Prosecutors say 43 people indicted on charges including murder, kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking

More than two dozen members and associates of the Mexican mafia were arrested during an early morning crackdown in southern California, federal authorities said on Thursday.

The FBI and other federal and local agencies executed search and arrest warrants at locations mostly in Orange county, south of Los Angeles, according to the US attorney’s office.

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© Photograph: Jae C Hong/AP

© Photograph: Jae C Hong/AP

© Photograph: Jae C Hong/AP

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