Sergio Salomón assumes the INM between promises and shadows of the past

A new face takes the reins of the INM with promises of dignity and order, but can he clean up the controversial legacy?

Publicado 1 mayo, 2025 el 1 de mayo a las 20:02 | 2 mins reading |4,438 vistas | por Carlos Méndez

Another day, another official: the INM has a new boss

It seems that the National Migration Institute (INM) is making a debut, like when Netflix announces a reboot of a series that no one asked for. This time, the protagonist is Sergio Salomón Céspedes, former governor of Puebla and now the organization’s new commissioner. The Secretary of the Interior gave him his appointment with as much fanfare as when your boss congratulates you for complying with the minimum.

Rosa Icela Rodríguez, head of Segob, announced it on Spoiler alert: we’ve heard that speech before.

From Puebla to INM: upgrade or downgrade?

Salomón replaces Francisco Garduño, who was in office for almost six years and left more stained than a white shirt in a mechanical workshop. His management was marked by the fire in Ciudad Juárez (2023), where 40 people died. Did they keep it? Yes, because in Mexican politics sometimes “experience” means “knowing where the bodies are buried.”

The new commissioner swore loyalty to Claudia Sheinbaum (as if he had a choice) and promised “dignity, order and regional co-responsibility”. Translation: he will try not to literally burn his reputation. Of course, their challenge is not only to clean up the image of the INM, but also to deal with pressure from the US, because migration without border drama would be like tacos without sauce: tasteless.

Garduño, by the way, was appointed in 2019 by AMLO and survived as a secondary character in a soap opera. Sheinbaum let him go… just when criticism of the Juárez tragedy was burning again. Coincidence, right?

What’s next? See if Solomon keeps his promises or if the INM will continue to be that place where good intentions go to die, like your New Year’s resolutions. Meanwhile, migrants continue to wait for real solutions, not just musical chair changes in the bureaucracy.

Are you interested in politics with a touch of reality (and sarcasm)? Share this article and follow us for more analysis that will not leave you indifferent. #MigraciónConCriterio

National

FDA recognizes false positive in Taylor Farms lettuce

Cofepris analysis rules out contamination; FDA admits error in initial sample.

Publicado 6 hours ago el 23 de julio a las 22:34 | 1 min reading

Analysis results

The Ministry of Health reported that tests carried out on lettuce and water samples from the Taylor Farms Mexico plant were negative for the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis —which causes severe diarrhea— and also for fecal coliforms. The analyses, carried out by Cofepris, confirmed that the product complies with the physicochemical parameters established in national standards.

Traceability and false positive

Taylor Farms has a traceability system that allowed United States authorities to identify the origin of the product and track a batch held at customs in Laredo, Texas. That batch never entered US territory.

The sample obtained from that batch returned a false positive, a situation that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized in an update published on July 19. The Ministry of Health emphasized that the product is suitable for human consumption.

National

UIF identifies 55 people in the CJNG financial network

The FIU detected 55 people linked to a CJNG financial network, including 16 front companies.

Publicado 8 hours ago el 23 de julio a las 21:08 | 2 mins reading

The Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) of Mexico detected 55 people allegedly linked to a financial network of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The finding was achieved through specific financial indicators, as reported by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP).

Release 61 details that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury designated 55 people – 39 individuals and 16 legal entities – related to this structure. The action is part of bilateral cooperation against the finances of organized crime.

Indicators detected

The FIU identified “indicators related to possible operations with resources of illicit origin.” Among them: cash operations, acquisition of high-end vehicles, jewelry and real estate, international transfers, intensive use of credit and service cards, and inconsistencies in income reported to the SAT.

The authorities detected “possible inconsistencies between the income reported to the tax authority and the resources observed in the financial system,” which strengthened the identification of the network.

Front companies and complaints

Of the total, 16 legal entities had illegal activities. According to the FIU, some registered relevant operations, while others were front companies with “limited or no apparent economic activity.”

The UIF filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) for the crime of operations with resources of illicit origin. It also included the subjects designated by OFAC on the List of Blocked Persons (LPB), and added eight additional ones—four individuals and four legal entities—linked to the same financial structure.

International coordination

The Treasury stressed that the coordinated actions with the United States seek to “prevent improper use of the financial system, combat money laundering and weaken the economic structures of organized crime.” The FIU maintains cooperation with national and international authorities, in accordance with the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

National

US Treasury locates Florence as a drug production center

The Treasury Department identified the Zacatecas municipality as the CJNG base for fentanyl and cocaine.

Publicado 8 hours ago el 23 de julio a las 20:44 | 2 mins reading

The United States Department of the Treasury identified Florencia de Benito Juárez, Zacatecas, as one of the key points of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) to manufacture fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.

According to the agency, José Octaviano García Martínez is the current head of the plaza in the area, accompanied by Cuauhtémoc Rivera Zepeda and Uriel Hernández Morales. These last two would be in charge of the clandestine laboratories in Zacatecas and Jalisco. All three report to Audias Flores Silva—alias El Jardinero—, designated as successor to the late leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho.

Criminal presence in a small municipality

Florencia de Benito Juárez barely covers 328 square kilometers in the south of the state, in the Sierra Madre Occidental, adjacent to Jalisco. Despite its size, the municipality has been the scene of organized crime operations.

In March 2025, authorities dismantled a camp used by a criminal cell. Months later, in June, they destroyed a greenhouse used for growing marijuana. Both operations sought to neutralize illegal infrastructure.

The municipal president elected in 2024 is Fortino Cortés Ramírez, who will conclude his term in 2027.

Recent violence and federal response

On Saturday, July 18, 2025, 10 bodies were found in the municipalities of Morelos, Pánuco and Sain Alto. Of the victims, six were construction, mining and entertainment businessmen. Two others were officials of the Fresnillo city council: Fidel Alvarado de la Torre, secretary of Municipal Social Development, and firefighter Jesús Gerardo Muñetón Hernández.

Given these events, the Secretariat of National Defense deployed 100 Special Forces elements on July 22. They joined the 400 Army and National Guard troops who had already been operating since July 19. They carry out ground reconnaissance and deterrent actions in Zacatecas, Guadalupe and Fresnillo.

The conflict in the region is not new. On May 20, 2011, a clash between rival groups—known as The Florence War—left 77 people dead. The journalist Alfredo Valadez Rodríguez documented this episode in the book of the same name, published by Ediciones Proceso in 2021.