Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic could have been a fraught moment for U.S.-Mexico relations — two leaders from opposite ends of the political spectrum facing the largest crisis ever confronted by either administration.

Instead, presidents Donald Trump and Andrés Manuel López Obrador are carrying on like old pals.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico has entered its most serious stage in the spread of the coronavirus, which the government calls “Phase 3,” as the spread of the virus is intensifying, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Tuesday.

Mexico has registered 712 coronavirus deaths and 8,772 infections, with 511 new cases reported on Monday.

Lopez-Gatell said it was vital Mexicans followed government instructions to help the country’s health system.

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — Sixteen migrants from several countries have tested positive for coronavirus in Mexico’s northern border state of Tamaulipas, the state government said Monday.

The state’s announcement came the same day that the U.S. government said it will continue to quickly expel migrants it encounters along the border for at least another month in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

MEXICO CITY, April 20 (NNN-TELESUR) — Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador administration prohibited the cremation of unclaimed bodies who died because of COVID-19.

This decision obeys the Law on the Forced Disappearance and Search of Persons, which establishes that “corpses or remains of persons whose identity is unknown or have not been claimed, cannot be cremated, destroyed or disintegrated, or dispose of their belongings.”

MEXICO CITY, April 16 (NNN-Xinhua) — Latin American countries reported more COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to nearly 80,000.

In PERU, a total of 1,172 new cases were reported, bringing the number of infections to 11,475 with 254 deaths, the Health Ministry said.

“We have tested 109,385 people for COVID-19, obtaining 11,475 positive results and 97,910 negative results,” the ministry said in a statement.

Seven legislators are among those who have tested positive, the statement added.

MEXICO CITY, April 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexico could force the closure of companies in non-essential sectors if they refuse to suspend operations during a state of emergency to curb spread of the coronavirus, a top health official said.

The announcement comes after a group representing US manufacturers told President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that an economic shutdown over the virus could weaken North America’s response to the pandemic.

MEXICO CITY, April 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Mexican journalist who disappeared over a week ago in the southern state of Guerrero was found dead close to where his family last saw him, the local prosecutor said.

Forensic tests on human remains in the seaside resort of Acapulco were identified as belonging to Victor Fernando Alvarez, who disappeared on Apr 2.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — They are the first line of defense against the COVID-19 pandemic, but in parts of Mexico, doctors, nurses and other health workers are being harassed to the point that federal authorities have pleaded for Mexicans to show solidarity.

While tributes to courageous medical personnel putting themselves in the virus’ path circle the globe, Mexico and some other places have seen disturbing aggression born of fear.

5 April 2020; AFP: A gang battle in Mexico has left at least 19 people dead in the northern state of Chihuahua, officials said Saturday.

At least five armed clashes have occurred in the Madera community so far this year, local authorities have said.

"The state attorney general, in conjunction with the public safety office and Mexican Army, launched an operation to investigate and locate armed groups that staged a confrontation that left 19 people dead yesterday in the town of Madera," authorities said.

MEXICO CITY, Apr 5 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – At least 19 people were killed and one wounded, in a confrontation between alleged criminal groups in Mexico’s northern state of Chihuahua, authorities said.

The shootout was first reported at 6:35 p.m. local time (0030 GMT) on Friday, in the town of Chuhuichupa, in the municipality of Madera in western Chihuahua, the state attorney general’s office said in a statement.

Local police and soldiers who responded to the report found 18 people dead at the scene and two more injured, one of whom died later at hospital.