The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) in Mexico condemned the recent murders of two local journalists who were gunned down in separate attacks last week.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office announced last week that three members of the so-called Riviera Maya gang will be tried in connection to compromising ATM machines across the country to steal credit card details from tourists and withdraw money from their accounts.

Florian Tudor, the alleged leader of an organized criminal group that stole over a billion dollars by compromising ATMs in tourist destinations across Mexico, was transferred to a maximum security prison on Saturday, Mexican media reported.

Spanish police announced on Tuesday that they have dismantled “one of the largest cocaine distribution networks” in Spain’s northern region of Castilla y León, arresting three people, including the group’s leader, and seizing 862kg of black cocaine disguised as coal.  

Acting on an extradition request made by Romania, Mexican authorities arrested on Thursday Florian Tudor, the alleged leader of an organized criminal group that stole more than a billion dollars by compromising ATMs in tourist destinations across Mexico.

Armed men killed a conservationist and community leader in the Mexican state of Guerrero after locals repeatedly complained about illegal logging and urged authorities to tackle the issue and stop the nationwide wave of violence targeting environmental activists.

Sanctions can help deter corruption, recover misappropriated funds and assist “the seizure, forfeiture and recovery processes” of ill-gotten assets, experts say.

Mexican authorities arrested the mayor of Asunción Nochixtlán, a town some 300 kilometers southeast of Mexico City, and two others believed to be responsible for the disappearance of British-Mexican activist Claudia Uruchurtu Cruz who took part in anti-corruption protests the day she went missing.

The son of the leader of Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to drug trafficking and agreed to forfeit US$5 million in proceeds, a statement from the Department of Justice said. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April next year.

After obtaining the full case file of the investigation into the murder of Mexican journalist Regina Martínez, OCCRP is releasing the documents in full.

One of Mexico’s most violent cartels has introduced a new tactic in its war against the government and attacked the country’s security forces with explosive drones in at least three states last week, authorities said. 

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) urged the public not to buy vaccines on the Internet after it received reports that counterfeit COVID-19 jabs are being sold via social media in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

Authorities in Romania said they fear that the chief of the so-called Riviera Maya gang, a criminal organization that stole more than a billion dollars by compromising ATMs across Mexican tourist destinations, might flee the Latin American country and escape justice.

A Bucharest court issued a warrant on Wednesday for the arrest of Florian Tudor, the alleged chief of the so-called Riviera Maya Gang which stole more than a billion dollars by skimming credit cards belonging mainly to tourists visiting Mexico and withdrawing money from their accounts.

A new wave of violence has spread across Mexico as the country approaches legislative elections in June, with criminal gangs murdering, extorting and threatening candidates as a way to strengthen their political influence.

Mexico’s president has proposed a bill that would make graft cases involving public servants and human rights violations public. The move is supposed to make corruption investigations more transparent but experts said they will believe it when they see it.

A Bucharest court sentenced on Friday six members of the so-called Riviera-Maya Gang to prison terms between three and 10 years for setting up a large-scale skimming operation in Mexico.

As part of a larger crackdown on money laundering and criminal financing, Mexico’s financial authoritiesannounced this week they will put together a guide for the prevention of human trafficking and other crimes - the fourth in a string of suchguides released this month.

Organized criminals have recovered from disruptions to their operations caused by COVID-19 and resumed flooding the United States with narcotics, including synthetic opioids that have driven the number of overdose deaths to record levels.

U.S. authorities arrested Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of infamous drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Leora, upon her arrival at the Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C., the U.S. Department of Justice said.