U.S. border apprehensions of Mexicans fall to historic lows

Pew Research Center: For the first time on record, more non-Mexicans than Mexicans were apprehended at U.S. borders in 2014 by the Border Patrol, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of more than 60 years of Border Patrol data. This shift is another sign that unauthorized immigrants from Mexico are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border significantly less often than they did before the Great Recession.

U.S. Border apprehensions of Mexicans fall to historic lows. About 229,000 Mexicans were apprehended by the Border Patrol in fiscal year 2014 compared with 257,000 non-Mexicans during the previous year, according to recently published Border Patrol data. Taken together, total apprehensions of Mexican and non-Mexican unauthorized immigrants (more than 486,000) were up 16% over the previous year. Read more. 

Mexico's Light Crude, Shunned For U.S. Shale, Sails East

Reuters: Mexican crude oil is sailing to the U.S. East Coast at the highest rate in over a decade, according to customs data reviewed by Reuters, in a sign deepening discounts help crack open new markets as domestic shale inundates Texas.

Delta Air Lines-owned Monroe Energy received nearly 500,000 barrels of light-sour Mexican crude in September and a similar cargo in October at its 185,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Trainer, Pennsylvania, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. It was the refiner's first imports from Mexico since 2009, the furthest the data go back. Read more. 

Signs of new cartel in State of Mexico

El Universal: A new cartel appears to be setting itself up in the State of Mexico, according to security officials, which could mean more violence brought on by disputes over control of the territory.

Recent events point to the creation of La Empresa, or The Company, in the south of the state, where at the same time La Familia Michoacana appears to be undergoing a regrouping. But that cartel suffered a bit of a setback two weeks ago when its leader, Bulmaro “El Negro” Salazar Blas, was killed in Tejupilco.

A message left by his body indicates that the new cartel was responsible. “La Empresa,” it read, “does not condone either kidnappings or robberies. Residents of Tejupilco can now be calm.”

El Negro was one of Mexico’s most wanted: in July the state attorney general put up a reward of 300,000 pesos for information leading to his arrest.

Other La Familia members were picked up by police this week. At a press conference, security chief Damían Canales Mena revealed that four suspected members of La Familia were arrested while riding in a taxi and carrying 30,000 pesos, believed to be extortion money charged in Tejupilco, a municipality of 71,000 people situated 100 kilometers southwest of Toluca.

The bills had been packaged and labeled with the names of hitmen and other gang members, said Canales Mena.

One of those arrested was Adolfo “El Diablo” Patiño Arias, 28, who was involved in a shoot-out with police in Ixtapan del Oro in January, and is believed to have been assigned to take control of the area for the cartel.

Translation by Mexico News Daily

Who Really Crosses the U.S.-Mexico Border?

The Atlantic: For the first time in more than 60 years, more non-Mexicans than Mexicans were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol at checkpoints in 2014, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center.

Approximately 257,000 non-Mexicans were apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol in 2014, compared to about 229,000 Mexicans, according to the recently released data. The total number of unauthorized immigrant apprehensions is up 16 percent from the prior year. Read more. 

Mexican Self-Defense Members Turn Themselves In

NY Times: The leaders of two rural vigilante groups and 35 of their members have surrendered to authorities following a clash that left 11 dead in the western state of Michoacan, a federal official said Tuesday.

Luis Antonio Torres, better known as "Simon the American" because he grew up in the U.S., and nine of his followers surrendered on Tuesday, three days after his rival, Hipolito Mora, turned himself in. Mora's son had been among the people killed in a Dec. 16 shootout between the two groups at a roadblock near La Ruana, a remote mountain town about 160 miles (300 kilometers) west of Morelia, the state capital. Read more. 

Monarch Butterflies Will Be Considered for Endangered Species List

NewsWeek: There was a time, not long ago, when monarch butterflies were widespread enough that it would’ve been crazy to think about listing them as endangered. In 1996, for example, 1 billion of these regal orange-and-black insects were estimated to have arrived at their wintering grounds in Mexico. Last year that number reached a record low of 33 million.

Due to this precipitous decline, several conservation groups petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in August to list the monarch butterfly as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. And on Monday the federal agency announced that it would indeed look into whether the monarch should be listed, saying in a release that the petition “presents substantial information indicating that listing may be warranted.” Read more. 

Canadian Oil Boom Reaches U.S. Gulf, Puts Mexico on Defensive

Yahoo: A price war is brewing between Canada and Latin America over who will satisfy U.S. Gulf Coast refiners' hunger for heavy oil.

The new Seaway Twin pipeline will almost double the amount of heavy Canadian crude coming to Gulf terminals and plants to about 400,000 barrels a day starting in January, according to Calgary-based based ARC Financial Corp. The shipments are growing even without the Keystone XL pipeline, which has been delayed for six years because of environmental opposition. Read more.