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Diesel tank explodes, revealing gas-theft operation

September 30, 2022 By Yucatan Daily News

A tank with thousands of liters of diesel exploded, leaving behind dense black smoke south of Umán.

No injuries were reported.

The land where thousands of liters of diesel were stored is one step away from dozens of truck drivers resumed to be selling fuel to huachicoleros — gas thieves — El Universal reported.

Neighbors said they were going about their daily business when a loud explosion was heard.

In the area, state police, firefighters, and paramedics responded.

The accident occurred in the satellite community of Tebec, which is under Umán’s jurisdiction. This would be the second time that a huachicol warehouse in the area. Last year, more than 36,000 liters of fuel were found mysteriously stockpiled.

Fuel thefts can be deadly. Two of seven alleged fuel thieves were killed in July 2018 when they accidentally blew up a pipeline they were attempting to tap near the Mérida-Progreso highway, according to Yucatán Magazine.

The next year, 21 were killed and nearly 80 seriously injured in a tragic fireball when residents in Hidalgo, in central Mexico, had lined up for fuel gushing from a ruptured pipeline.

Police report the site to have contaminated 36 thousand liters of diesel obtained by people illegally taping into Pemex ducts or steeling the raw material from trucks.

In recent years the practice appears to have become even more widespread, despite President Lopez Obrador’s claims to be cracking down on the issue. 

Earlier: Pemex battles with scientists over methane-leak report

The thieves, who target Pemex ducts or have an in with corrupt Pemex employees or officials, then sell the fuel on the black market, or to other wholesalers. Fuel thieves are rarely prosecuted.

The practice of diesel and gasoline theft is a cause of great anger to Mexicans, especially as the average cost of a liter of fuel has now surpassed 22 pesos.

Filed Under: Crime, Merida

Protesters set Mérida letters on fire at Plaza Grande

September 29, 2022 By Yucatan Daily News

Photo: Por Esto

The colorful cutout letters spelling the city’s name were spray painted and torched Monday night.

Graffiti protesting Mexico’s restrictive abortion laws was found on the Mérida sign, a popular spot for tourist selfies. The flagpole and numerous planters were also painted with slogans.

Photo: Facebook

Police reportedly are using photographs to track down the vandals, most of whom appeared to be masked. An estimated 200-300 women marched from the Remate, where an anti-monument was erected, to the Plaza Grande via Calle 60.

The monument to motherhood, which marchers passed by, was boarded up to protect it from repeat incidents of vandalism.

The Merida letters were a popular selfie spot in the Plaza Grande. Photo: File

Sept. 28 was International Safe Abortion Day and parallel protests were held in several countries. Mérida, however, is still cleaning up after International Women’s Day in March. Monuments and private property were spraypainted throughout the Centro denouncing violence against women.

Filed Under: Cover Story

Spy camera found in Winpot Casino women’s bathroom

August 26, 2022 By Yucatan Daily News

The Winpot Casino in Mérida, Yucatán. Photo: Google Street View

A gambling casino in Mérida has been shut down after an employee found a spy camera in the women’s room.

Officers with Mexico’s Ministry of Public Security and Civil Protection agencies shut down the Winpot Casino in Miguel Hidalgo’a Plaza Las Americas following the complaint.

The employee reported the finding to her bosses, who in turn fired her, she wrote on social media.

The casino manager allegedly replied, falsely, that bathrooms are “common areas” and approved for security cameras. Additionally, all surveillance equipment must be clearly marked under federal law. This camera was discreetly tucked into a corner near the ceiling, able to catch images of unknowing patrons.

In November 2021, police shut the same casino down for violating several rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic, staying open past legal operating hours and violating capacity laws. In March 2020, Winpot was forced to stop charging non-members 500 pesos (US$25) to for a COVID-19 test before entering the casino.

Filed Under: Crime, Yucatan Tagged With: Casino

2 COVID deaths every day for over a month

August 22, 2022 By Yucatan Daily News

The official number of daily coronavirus cases dropped below 50 for the first time since mid-May, data from the Yucatán health ministry shows.

Meanwhile, the weird, steady drumbeat of two COVID fatalities a day has continued since July 13. The latest to perish was a 91-year-old man from Mérida, without comorbidities, and a 75-year-old from Umán, who had suffered from diabetes and hypertension.

Another 48 new COVID cases were registered Sunday, all but one coming from Mérida. The other was found in Progreso.

With these, a total of 137,085 infections have accumulated in Yucatán since March 2020. Of those, 94 percent of the patients recovered.

Hospitalizations declined by two, with 13 patients in public facilities. Home quarantines increased by 10 to reach 742.

Filed Under: Yucatan Tagged With: coronavirus

Homeowner chops off alleged burglar’s hand in Yucatán

August 21, 2022 By Yucatan Daily News

A suspected burglar in Chemax, Yucatán, lost his hand after alleged victims decided to seek their own justice, local media reported.

Manuel C.R., 38, had a reputation as a repeat burglar, local media reported.

Around 2 a.m. Wednesday, a resident in the Chulután comiseria found the man stuffed in a bloody bag and on the side of the road and assumed he was dead.

Police contacted the Red Cross, and the man was taken to the Valladolid General Hospital to be stabilized after significant blood loss.

Sipse reported that police had handled the case with secrecy until local media were tipped off.

Filed Under: Crime

Yucatán baseball team bus attacked on Puebla highway

August 19, 2022 By Yucatan Daily News

On the team bus heading home after an away-game victory, the Yucatán Leones baseball team was attacked Thursday morning on the Puebla-Mexico highway.

According to a video shared by player Yadir Drake, would-be armed robbers threw rocks at the vehicle on the Puebla-Mexico highway. Although it was unclear if shots were fired, at least one tire was destroyed and the vehicle was forced to make an emergency stop at 6 a.m.

No injuries were reported, according to Leones management.

Mexico’s National Guard was summoned, according to Drake’s video, shared on Twitter and viewed over 45,000 times as of early Friday.

Nos tiraron y nos corretearon pic.twitter.com/gOgLrzNNMQ

— Yadir Drake (@yadir_drake) August 18, 2022

Robberies and other crimes have been reported on highways in Mexico. Nighttime travel is discouraged.

The federal government has deployed the National Guard to reinforce highway surveillance.

The Leones had faced the Pericos de Puebla to play the first playoff series of the South Zone, which they won four games to two.

Filed Under: Crime Tagged With: Leones

Yucatán’s COVID cases back to springtime levels

August 15, 2022 By Yucatan Daily News

New COVID cases totaled 52 today while home quarantines dropped below 1,000 for the first time since early June. The official number of infections haven’t been this low since May.

Yucatán health authorities said that 938 people were recovering at home with mild symptoms. These cases were nearing 7,000 just a month ago.

While the drop in coronavirus cases in Yucatán is encouraging, deaths have remained at two per day since July 13.

Nine patients were in public hospitals, down three from Sunday. Monday’s cases were found in Mérida, Izamal, Acanceh and Tekax.

The two patients who perished were both from Mérida, an 85-year-old man and a 77-year-old woman. The male suffered also from COPD, hypertension and diabetes, and the female was battling hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

In total, 7,021 people have died from the coronavirus, according to the Yucatán Ministry of Health.

Filed Under: Yucatan Tagged With: coronavirus

Yucatán’s decline in COVID cases enters 10th day

July 31, 2022 By Yucatan Daily News

Coronavirus cases in Yucatán dropped for a second straight week, according to data from the state health authority.

A steady decrease in cases began Thursday, July 21, when infections dropped by five to reach 590.

Saturday’s total new cases totaled 167, a drop of 123 from the previous day.

Daily deaths, however, remain at two, a reflection of the current wave of infections that peaked on July 13, when 599 new cases were counted.

Doctors assume these numbers reflect an overarching trend despite the fact that home-test results and private hospitals are not included.

Quarantines dropped by 168 in a single day to reach 3,158, compared with 4,367 at the beginning of the week. Hospitalizations remain steady with 35 patients in isolation.

Yucatán remained at the epidemiological green light, allowing most normal economic and social activity. Facemasks are not required, but appear to still be the norm, in public places.

Filed Under: Yucatan Tagged With: coronavirus

Yucatán COVID infections continue to slide, but deaths remain steady

July 29, 2022 By Yucatan Daily News

Yucatán health authorities continued to declare the state at the “green light” as infections and quarantines continued to fall.

Daily new cases on Thursday totaled 367, down 38% from the week before. Quarantines dropped by 194 overnight and by over 31% the previous Thursday.

But deaths still echo the worst of Mexico’s fifth wave of infections, which apparently peaked late last week. Two people have died battling coronavirus every day since July 13.

Official numbers leave out a huge swath of the population: those testing at home and not reporting their findings, and patients in private hospitals. But the numbers are assumed to represent an overall trend.

Daily cases were down to 0 and 1 a day in Easter, but holidays, the return to public gatherings, and a more contagious variant have triggered a rise in cases ever since. On the streets, residents have tended to remain wearing facemasks although the protocol is no longer required while in open spaces outdoors.

Filed Under: Yucatan Tagged With: coronavirus

Drunk driver tries to get out of hot water by claiming he is a Ukrainian solider

March 25, 2022 By Carlos Rosado

Commenters online had a field day making fun of the man, but unfortunately several veered into racist directions. Photo: Courtesy

A drunk driver in Bolivia tried to avoid arrest by claiming he was a Ukrainian soldier after he was pulled over in La Paz. 

The man, whose name has not been made public, was very clearly intoxicated. 

“I have just returned from war, I expect respect,” said the drunk driver.

When asked to step out of his vehicle, the driver said that we would “transform,” though what he meant exactly was unclear. 

Earlier: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine —  what does it mean for Mexico?

The passengers insisted they were lawyers and would not leave the vehicle. 

However, the driver and the passengers were eventually compelled to step out of the vehicle without the use of force. 

Commenters on social media made a point of calling the drunk driver a disgrace, not only for endangering others, but also for disrespecting actual soldiers. 

“This is so cringy, this kind of behavior is so embarrassing our country,” Manuel Quispe said on YouTube.

Filed Under: Gulf Coast, International Tagged With: Interantional, Offbeat

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Recent Posts

  • Diesel tank explodes, revealing gas-theft operation
  • Protesters set Mérida letters on fire at Plaza Grande
  • Spy camera found in Winpot Casino women’s bathroom
  • 2 COVID deaths every day for over a month
  • Homeowner chops off alleged burglar’s hand in Yucatán
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