In the grand scheme of things, Salinas has been discredited. In the eyes of public opinion, he’s associated more with corruption and authoritarianism than modernization, which he hoped would be entry into History. ibid. woman
January 2016: El Chapo, head of the Sinaloa cartel, is arrested. Rival factions fight for control of his empire. The Sinaloa cartel still smuggles thousands of tons of illegal drugs into America. They traffic heroin, cocaine and Meth but their biggest earner is … marijuana. Dope s2e3: Even If They Didn’t Pay Me, I’d Still Do It, Netflix 2018
Mexican cartels earn up to $29 billion a year from the US drug trade. ibid.
May 2017 was Mexico’s deadliest month since records began with 2,186 killings. ibid.
In 2016 CBP [Customs & Border Protection] seized over 600 tons of marijuana. Half the weed seizures along the south-west border were in the Tucson sector. ibid.
I’ve come to Mexico where just before the outbreak of war stunning examples of Meso-American art began to emerge from the jungle … These remarkable colossal heads heralded the discovery of a lost world. It was a culture that turned out to be larger and more magnificent than anyone could have imagined. Nothing like this had ever been found in the Americas before. Janina Ramirez, Raiders of the Lost Past III, BBC 2019
The state of Veracruz: I’m following in the footsteps of two of America’s greatest pre-war archaeologists: husband and wife team Matthew & Marion Stirling … The Olmec: they built the very first pyramids, palaces and planned cities. ibid.
At the same time as ancient Egypt, the Olmecs flourished here. ibid.
Wonderful symbol of the jaguar … repeating throughout Olmec art. ibid.
We see the barbaric up against the civilised. ibid.
The oldest tomb ever found in Meso-America. ibid.
Masterpieces in jade … The complexity of Olmec society … sourced from elsewhere … Jade was the most precious commodity in the Olmec era. ibid.
[Olmec] Accomplished wood carvers. ibid.
Mexico is chock-full of epic landscapes, beauty and rich history. But on the border with the US there is an unfolding migrant crisis in a region gripped by a deadly drug war. The Americas with Simon Reeve IV, BBC 2019
About a third of the border is already fenced. ibid.
There’s now more than 30,000 killings in Mexico a year. ibid.
I do it became I remember that this didn’t exist before. So, my kids, we gladly bring these to all of you. The Trade s1e1, Mexican gangsta bearing toys, Showtime 2020
I’ve never seen this kind of epidemic before. We’re seeing folks that are struggling across the border in Mexico who would love to have that American dream, and they see what the drug trade has to offer – thousands of dollars a day, and that thirst takes over. ibid. border officer
31/32,000 vehicles a day that come into the United States – and quite frankly they can’t screen every vehicle. ibid.
We have lost trust in the government so we fend for ourselves. We are always alert because the price of poppies keeps rising. ibid. Mexican gangsta
I’d like to see my children grow up without weapons, without hitmen killing family upon family. ibid.
I would love it if it was all calm and we could live in peace. The Trade s1e2, Mexican gangsta
I’ve never thought of myself as a leader. I have defended my family and my town from Los Rojos. And through these actions we’ve won over the people. The Trade s1e4, Mexican gangsta
Joaquin El Chapo Guzman is the most ruthless Kingpin ever to rule Mexico. Kingpin s1e2: El Chapo, caption, History 2018
In 2016 the most notorious drug lord of the modern age is extradited to an American prison, ending an over 25-year-long crime spree that builds an illegal billion-dollar industry and turns the streets of Mexico into a bloodbath. ibid.
El Chapo Guzman’s network of tunnels is a critical innovation and it sets him apart from his competitors. ibid.
The Felix brothers are losing millions of dollars fighting El Chapo. ibid.
El Chapo runs his cartel from his jail cell. ibid.
In 2001 the US and Mexico sign a long-sought treaty of extradition. ibid.
Guzman put out a trap for the Felix brothers. ibid.
One kingpin controls the entire country … For the next ten years Guzman turns Mexico into a war zone. ibid.
The world over, cultures have been shaped through combat. Each culture unique in their approach to scratch out their survival. Fightworld s1e1: Mexico: La Pistola y el Corazon, Netflix 2018
Mexico: home to some of the greatest fighters the sport of boxing has ever known. ibid.
Mexican boxing is about fighting in the pocket, very rarely backing up, very rarely surrendering … They pride themselves on being the toughest in the ring. ibid.
Since 2006 a bloody war between Mexican authorities and the drug cartels has been raging which has so far claimed the lives of 300,000 people. Over 3,000 women are murdered every year. That’s ten a day. One every two and a half hours. An estimated twenty-four thousand women and girls are missing. Women at War: Mexico, Sky 2023
‘Although the escalation of violence against women and girls in Mexico has reached critical levels, it has bee normalised for so long that it risks being made invisible.’ ibid. International Rescue Committee
Protesters Demand To Know What Happened To 40 Missing Students. This World: Disappeared: Mexico’s Missing 43 I, BBC 2023
‘The shooting got more intense. We threw at them whatever we could. I threw a stone and a water bottle.’ ibid. survivor
During the attacks Aldo is critically injured, three students and three members of the public are killed, and a large group of students go missing. ibid.
‘Who can you trust if the authorities themselves attack you?’ ibid. student
In September 2014, 43 students disappeared form passenger buses in the Mexico town of Iguala, Guerrero. The federal government took charge of the case. This World: Disappeared: Mexico’s Missing 43 II
‘The evidence is not matching the official story.’ ibid. investigator
To find out what we’ve been missing in Mexico … an 11-hour flight from the UK. Holidaying with Jane McDonald s2e2: Mexico
When I got off the plane it was just like a blanket wrapping around me … So let’s get them bones a-moving. ibid.
The best invention ever – a bar in a pool. ibid.
My night out – I’m going to a fiesta … They really know how to party here. ibid.
One thousand feet below the surface the search is on for a monster: for a giant-sized squid as big as a ship. A risky plan that’s never been tried before. MonsterQuest s1e3:Giant Squid Found/The Kraken, History 2007
The Sea of Cortez, a deep channel of water surrounded by the hilly Baja Peninsula and Mexico’s mainland … For as long as they can remember, the sailors here have feared … a mankiller … a very real creature .. the giant Humboldt Squid. ibid.
Giant Squid: 1,000 feet below the sea. A momentary glimpse of what some believe is the largest sea creature ever photographed. A legendary monster from the deep. MonsterQuest s2e16: Monster Squid Ambush
Guadalajala, Mexico: What lies beneath its streets is a labyrinth of pipes, cables and tunnels … The unthinkable happens: 206 citizens lose their lives. Seconds from Disaster s1e8: Inferno in Guadalajala
April 21st 1992: A foul smell has been hanging in the air for two days … People report seeing gas plumes coming out of manhole covers. Something is wrong underground … Residents now discover gasoline in their water supply. ibid.
The blast tears underground along the sewer line … Like a bomb zone … and still the blasts continue … The scale of destruction is immense. ibid.
15,000 people are homeless, 1,440 injured, and 206 dead. ibid.
Gasoline in the sewers … ‘an erosion takes place; the wall of the gasoline pipe decreases and the leak of gasoline takes place.’ ibid. expert
One of the most mysterious and revealing mythologies in prehistory comes down to us through the ancient cultures of Mexico. Ancient Apocalypse s1e2: Survivor in a Time of Chaos
A land of fertile valleys and simmering volcanoes. This is the Puebla region, east of Mexico City. ibid.
This hill isn’t the natural feature it’s often mistaken for. It’s the most massive monument ever built anywhere in the world … This is the Great Pyramid of Cholula … [and] rose to at least 213 feet, 65 metres … 400 x 400 metres at its base. ibid.
They were stunned at what they discovered inside … 8 kilometres of tunnels … The Pyramid of Cholula is simply the latest in a whole series of more ancient pyramids hidden beneath. ibid.
You start off with a place that for one reason or another is regarded as sacred. ibid.
According to myth, the Great Pyramid of Cholula was built by a race of giants. ibid.