January 2012
Slim refutes OECD study citing huge overcharges
Bloomberg - Telephone magnate Carlos Slim refuted the OECD study that said Mexican customers were overcharged by $13.4 billion a year in phone charges. Slim said the data used by the OECD “was pulled out of thin air.”
Mexico finds $1.9 million in official's briefcase
Fox News Latino - Authorities in Mexico detained a state official who got off a government-owned plane with a backpack and briefcase stuffed with $1.9 million, setting off allegations of campaign finance violations tied to the upcoming presidential election.
latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/01/31/mexico-finds-1-mil-in-officials-suitcase/
Drought dries up Mexico's marijuana crop
Fox News Latino - Drug growers in Mexico are feeling the heat, but not from enhanced government security. A harsh drought has reduced their crops of marijuana and opium poppies and is forcing cartels to ramp of their production of other, synthetic drugs.
latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/01/31/drought-dries-up-mexicos-marijuana-crop/
Gas station found to sell stolen gasoline
Associated Press - Mexican officials said Monday they have found a new distribution point for thousands of gallons of gasoline stolen from state-owned pipelines: a seemingly normal gas station with official logos.
Fiber-line auctions to push high-speed internet
Bloomberg - Mexico will promote high-speed Internet adoption by auctioning licenses to use state-owned fiber-optic lines and to build networks in communities that don’t have the service, President Felipe Calderon said.
Mexico hedges 2012 oil at $85 a barrel
Bloomberg - Mexico, the third-largest supplier of oil to the U.S., has locked in prices for 2012 oil exports at $85 a barrel. The nation normally hedges oil exports to cover a possible revenue shortfall if prices fall.
www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-31/mexico-hedged-2012-oil-at-85-a-barrel-finance-ministry-says.html
Mexico vows more efforts to return fugitives to U.S.
Chicago Tribune - Mexico's top diplomat in the United States has vowed that his government will redouble efforts to apprehend the growing numbers of criminal suspects who escape across America's borders.
Key cartel operative sentenced to 16 years
San Diego Union-Tribune - A one-time key figure in the Arellano Félix drug cartel, Rigoberto Yanez Guerrero, was sentenced to 16 years in prison Monday for coordinating the shipments of tons of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and the U.S.
www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jan/31/tp-drug-cartel-operator-sentenced-to-16-years/
Writers urge officials to protect journalists
CPJ - Leaders of a high-level PEN International delegation met with top Mexican officials to pressure them to improve law enforcement in the murders of journalists and to change the law to bring more cases under the federal government's jurisdiction.
www.cpj.org/blog/2012/01/in-mexico-mission-pen-speaks-for-a-silenced-press.php
Stocks dip sharply lower as Greek talks cause concern
ow Jones - Mexican stocks were sharply lower in early trading on Monday, kicking off the week with fresh fears over Greek debt talks and the euro-zone debt crisis. The IPC index was down 0.9 percent to 36,847 points.
