Recovering Pasta de Conchos Victims/Blackout Impact

SEDENA head recovering well. Deputy Minister of National Defense (SEDENA) André Foullon reported that Minister of SEDENA Luis Cresencio Sandoval is recovering quickly and is in good health. “Sandoval sends a cordial greeting to everyone and appreciates your concern. His health is very good and he is recovering quickly. He hopes to be here very soon,” Foullon said. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador added that he recently spoke with Sandoval and that his health had improved. "We will continue, we will send him strength and solidarity. Yesterday, I spoke with him and he is improving," said López Obrador. On Wednesday, Sandoval reported that he has COVID-19. On his Twitter account, he wrote, “I will continue with my duties isolated from home. I am undergoing medical treatment and I am counting on SEDENA officials to continue working for Mexico,” El Financiero reported.

Crime rate falls in January. Minister of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) Rosa Icela Rodríguez announced that during the month of January there was a decrease of 19.6 percent in crimes under federal jurisdiction and a reduction in incidence in 16 of the 18 crimes under common jurisdiction. “The data allow us to corroborate that we have successfully managed to contain the crimes that were increasing. Homicide had reduced 5.5 percent, which is 165 homicides fewer than in the same month of 2020,” Rodríguez said. She added that crimes of gender violence also decreased: human trafficking fell 17.8 percent; rape fell 1 percent and femicide fell 10.7 percent.

Recovery of Pasta de Conchos victims begins. López Obrador announced that the government and CFE are working to recover the bodies of the miners who died in the Pasta de Conchos, Coahuila, disaster. “We have already started the recovery work and we are committed to recovering all the miners. The damage that corresponds to the state is being repaired.” López Obrador added that his administration is committed to repairing the damage caused to families of the miners and said his only concern is that there may be not enough time.

In February 2006, an explosion at Pasta de Conchos mine 8 trapped 65 of the 73 miners working at the site. The accident was due to the accumulation of methane gas and was worsened by the unsafe conditions of the mine. In August, López Obrador signed a pact to begin an integrated plan to excavate the Pasta de Conchos mine and recover the remains of the miners who were buried in the accident. According to the president, the recovery plan is expected to conclude in August 2024 when his mandate ends, reported MBN.

Private sector affected by blackouts. López Obrador said there would not be a high economic impact from the natural gas shortage caused by the cold weather in Texas and that he expects natural gas supply to normalize soon. “We will continue to guarantee the energy supply and I think the private sector knows that it was a situation caused by a cold wave and not by CFE.” López Obrador added that the suspension of operations of private companies due to power outages will be resolved soon. According to El Sol de México, the blackouts and the cold have caused economic losses of US$2.7 billion in six northern states and affected 2,600 companies and 1.3 million workers. In a press release, the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) explained that the recent events highlighted the urgent need to improve transmission infrastructure. In addition, CCE said that its resources are only supporting state-owned companies and not private companies.

100 percent of the elderly in 3 CDMX delegations have been vaccinated. López Obrador said that in Mexico City, 100 percent of the elderly in the delegations of Milpa Alta, Magdalena Contreras and Cuajimalpa have already received the COVID-19 vaccine. "The vaccination campaign will not be interrupted; we will be vaccinating daily all the elderly people that we can." López Obrador added that he hopes to soon have all the elderly in other delegations vaccinated.

Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish