Summit of the Americas/More Journalist Murdered

AMLO may  not attend the Summit of the Americas. President López Obrador assured that if representatives of all the countries of the Americas are not invited to the Summit of the Americas in the US, he will not attend. López Obrador stressed that if some countries are left out of the Summit, he will send Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard in his place so that the country is aware of what was discussed at the Summit. “If some countries are excluded or not invited, I will not go to the Summit.. I want to defend the independence and sovereignty of all countries, and advocate for universal brotherhood.”

Last week, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols announced that the US is planning  not to invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the Summit of the Americas, which will take place in June. Nichols explained that these countries do not respect the Democratic Charter of the Americas, for which they are not expected to add value to the meeting. In the case of Cuba, relations between the two countries became further polarized when the US accused Cuba of suppressing the 2021 protests and Cuba accused the US of promoting them. Meanwhile, the US government does not recognize Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and accuses them of committing electoral fraud. For its part, Cuba criticized the exclusion of the US and described the US president's policy as a historic setback.

The airspace´s redesign has not caused any accident: AMLO. López Obrador assured that after the government decided to redesign the Mexico City airspace to incorporate Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA), there has been no incidents or accidents. “I have to tell people that there is no danger. We are responsible and all the personnel who work in the sector are professionals, who do not want unfortunate events. The people who accuse us of accidents is because they are conservative and are against us.”

This week the government has been accused of having implemented an unsafe air design after a Volaris plane was authorized to land on a runway at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM)where another plane was located and about to take off. In addition, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots has pointed out that there have been more incidents since many planes have been arriving with very low fuel levels due to unplanned delays, mostly caused by AIFA. For his part, López Obrador said that there will be a meeting to review the air logistics in the region.

More journalists killed. López Obrador lamented the murder of journalists Yessenia Mollinedo and Sheila García in Veracruz and assured that an investigation into their murders is already underway. In addition, the president emphasized that the government is working to provide greater security for citizens and journalists. “We are investigating the case and soon we will have a report. Their deaths are very unfortunate. We send a fraternal hug to the families of the victims and we assure them that this crime is already being investigated.”

Yesterday, an unidentified man shot Mollinedo and Garcia inside their car. Both worked for the newspaper "El Veraz". Mollinedo was director while García was a reporter. With the death of both journalists, the number of reporters murdered in Mexico rises to 11, making 2022 the most violent year for journalists. According to the organization Article 19, since the beginning of López Obrador’s government there have been 1,945 attacks against journalists, of which 33 have been  murders.

COVID-19 epidemic decreasing. Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell explained that although the COVID-19 epidemic is still active, it has minimal activity, demonstrated by the drastic decrease in infections and hospitalizations. “The COVID-19 epidemic continues in a stable state but with minimal activity. We have an average of 370 mild cases per day and there are even places where there are no COVID-19 patients. Meanwhile, we have an average of death per day. The outlook remains very optimistic and we believe it will continue."

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health reported that the total number of COVID-19 infections stands at5,745,228 while the death toll stands at 324,463. Regarding vaccines, the Ministry reported that 205,629,946 million doses have been administered and approximately 85,923,271 million people have been vaccinated.