A young wrestler or boxer was shot dead in Mexico City on 25 January, in an incident police provisionally pinned on a local extortion racket, the daily La Jornada reported. Christian David López, who fought with MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) México, was shot from a passing motorcycle as he approached a street stand in the Nextenco district of the Azcapotzalco municipality in the capital. Police found that days before, he had refused to pay extortion money to one of the city's gangs, Los Malportados (the 'Badly Behaved'). La Jornada separately reported on 26 January that extortion continued to plague the capital's businesses in spite of the authorities' putative success in reducing violent crime. It stated there were 381 complaints by businesses to the police between June and November 2025, though it is commonly believed most such threats are never reported.
Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Venezuelan officials, critics differ over release of opponents..
Venezuela's interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, said in Caracas on 26 January that 808 detainees - presumably including regime opponents - had been freed since December 2025 as a conciliatory gesture toward society, amid skepticism over how many and which detainees were really being released. The regime said it would free a considerable number on 8 January, though the process has been laborious and conditional. The country's interim presidency has insisted opponents were not being freed under pressure from the United States but on the orders of the last president, Nicolás Maduro, given in December before his capture in January by U.S. forces. The rights group Foro Penal believed the regime had so far freed just 266 politicial detainees since January 8, according to CNN. Cabello insisted UN officials could come and check, as "we have nothing to hide." One hundred or 104 dissidents were reportedly freed on 25 January.