Murders said to have dropped by a third in Mexico's Tijuana

Authorities in the district of Tijuana in northern Mexico said criminal killings (homicidios dolosos) dropped 32% in 2025 compared to 2024, with better policing and coordination between local and state authorities. "Preliminary figures" given by the state prosecution service of the state of Baja California showed there were just over 1,200 criminal killings in 2025 in Tijuana, a district of around two million residents, compared to just over 1,800 in 2024, the newspaper Excelsior reported on 13 January. It observed that tighter coordination between the various levels of government - local, state and national - was a crucial part of the security strategy of the government of President Gloria Sheinbaum Pardo. A chart showed April to have been the deadliest month in Tijuana in 2024, with 173 reported killings that fell to 102 for the same month in 2025.

Honduran army says stands by election results

The head of the Honduran armed forces confirmed on 12 January that the army had already recognized the results of presidential elections on 30 November and would help assure a transfer of presidential powers this month, regardless of any bid for another recount of votes. The ruling party of President Xiomara Castro whose candidate was roundly defeated, earlier appeared to have engineered a recount. But the head of the armed forces joint chiefs of staff, Héctor Valerio, said the army obeyed the constitution and "we are still backing" the electoral authority's December verdict, which declared the conservative Nasry Asfura president-elect, Spain's EFE news agency reported. The president, he stated, had "at no time given me instructions" to hand over ballots for a recount, referring to the army's role in guarding the premises of the electoral authoritiy. Asfura is to begin a four-year term on 27 January, and travelled to the United States on 13 January to meet with U.S. officials, EFE reported. 

Nicaragua releases detainees..

Nicaragua's socialist regime announced on 10 January that it was freeing "dozens of persons" held in the country's prisons, as a conciliatory gesture and to mark the 19th anniversary of the presidency of Daniel Ortega. This seemed to include "more than 20" of some 60 or more jailed opponents," Spain's ABC newspaper reported, citing agencies and Nicaraguan exiles.The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Western Hemispheric Affairs reacted online, saying Ortega's presidential term, which began in 2007, should have ended some years back. The release was attributed to pressures by the Trump administration and echoed similar developments in Venezuela. There, the regime freed around 24 detainees on 12 January, in addition to 17 it released in recent days also under U.S. pressure, according to Foro Penal, a rights group. The interior ministry claimed in contrast that it had freed over 100 prisoners in recent days, and 187 in December, CNN reported.

Honduran president orders a recount of all presidential votes

Xiomara Castro, the socialist president of Honduras set to leave office on 27 January, ordered a recount on 9 January of "every single vote" cast in the presidential elections of 30 November, insisting yet again that the results were not right, Spain's EFE news agency reported. The poll gave the conservative candidate a narrow victory that was confirmed by the country's electoral body, though the Liberal contender and Castro's own administration rejected the final count, suspecting it might have been tweaked to satisfy the Trump administration. By loudly backing the conservative candidate, Castro insisted, the United States had thus meddled in the elections, Mexico's La Jornada reported on 11 January. The recount was approved by parliament on 10 January at a session that excluded more than 70 opposition members, and there were speculations the army might block it , EFE reported.

Destruction of the Amazon slowed, somewhat, under Lula da Silva

Satellite pictures showed an 8.7% reduction in Amazonian deforestation in Brazil in 2025 compared to 2024, with a total of just over 3,800 square kilometres cut down or burned that year, Brazil's INPE or National Institute of Space Research revealed in January. There was a similar, nine per cent year-on-year drop in the destruction rate of the Cerrado, a grasslands region listed as a unique ecosystem, Mexico's La Jornada reported on 9 January, citing INPE. This was the first time deforestation dropped simultaneously in both environmental zones even if the area destroyed "remained twice the size of Sao Paulo," the paper observed. It attributed the decline clearly to policies of the administration led by the socialist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as rainforest destruction peaked at over 10,000 square kilometres in 2022, the last year of the presidency of the rightist Jair Bolsonaro. The Brazilian state most successful in this regard in 2025 was Pará in northern Brazil, which cut deforestation by 36%. The government wants to end Amazonian deforestation entirely by 2030. 

Venezuelan regime says it is freeing opponents

Venezuela's interim presidency announced on 8 January that it would release an "important number" of political detainees in a gesture of appeasement it insisted was unrelated to any U.S. pressure. The announcement was made by the Speaker of parliament Jorge Rodríguez (the interim president's brother), who also thanked three intermediaries - Brazil's president, a former Spanish prime minister and the state of Qatar - presumably for their role in the release of foreign detainees. Numbers however were scarce nor was there any loosening of the regime's police-state tactics on the streets. The rights group Foro Penal had counted 806 such prisoners as of 5 January, CNN reported on 8 January, while the few released early on appeared to be foreigners and some politicians. U.S. President Donald J. Trump wrote online on 9 January that the regime was freeing "large numbers of political prisoners," with a collaborative attitude that had avoided further U.S. strikes on the country. 

Rights body in Mexico appalled by levels of violence on minors

A Mexican children's rights association revealed in January that around 1,991 children and teenagers were reported as murdered in Mexico through 2025, a figure it described as critical in spite of an 11% year-on-year drop in such crimes. REDIM or the Network for Childhood Rights in Mexico separately observed a 30% rise in kidnappings of minors to reach over 10,680 cases in that period, the daily La Jornada reported on 6 January. Over 2,850 of those minors were still missing, the report stated.

Mexican authorities see steady drop in daily murders, nationwide

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo declared in Mexico City on 8 January that criminal killings or murders (homicidios dolosos) dropped 40% in daily average terms between September 2024 and December 2025. Sheinbaum told her morning press conference that this was due to better security policies and coordination between national and local authorities through the SNSP or National System of Public Security, Once Noticias reported. "This means 34 homicides less a day, and that is the lowest figure since 2016," she said, adding, "it is the result of a security strategy that is giving results and very tight coordination in all areas of security, justice and with state governors." The head of the SNSP, Marcela Figueroa Franco, also spoke, saying Mexico saw an average of 86.9 homicides a day in September 2024 drop to 52.4 in December 2025. That month, she said, the country had a murder rate of 17.5/100,000 residents, compared to "a peak" of 29.1/100,000 in 2018. The announcements broadly coincided with threats by the U.S. President Donald J. Trump to start striking the drug cartels that "are running Mexico."

Police arrest Tijuana couple for killing a puppy

Police arrested a couple in Tijuana in northern Mexico for beating a pitbull puppy to death on 27 December. They were seen, and filmed, beating the creature before putting its remains in a suitcase, the daily Heraldo de México reported on 5 January. The pictures were posted on social media, prompting an animal rights groups, Patitas firmes, to call the police. The couple may be jailed for up to five years and fined if convicted of relevant charges of cruelty to animals. Neighbors were said to be so incensed with the couple's conduct they had gathered for a possible lynching, El Sol de Tijuana reported.

Venezuelan hardliners seek tighter control at home amid U.S. threats..

The Miami Herald reported on 5 January on the Venezuelan interior minister's public defiance toward the United States following its recent capture of the country's former leader, Nicolás Maduro. Diosdado Cabello Rondón, himself a wanted figure in the United States for suspected involvement in large-scale drug trafficking, was cited as urging regime elements to patrol the streets and vowing revenge on those who aided the U.S. raid on 3 January. These faced possible arrest, CNN reported. "I'm in the street... let's go onto the streets, whatever we can (do)," Miami's El Nuevo Herald cited Cabello as saying in unspecified voice messages. He said of U.S. forces, "these rats attacked and will regret it the rest of their lives." It wasn't clear in that case if he would obstruct the acting president's bid to work with the Trump administration, which had threatened further punitive raids. Media reported on 6 January that the administration expected the interim presidency of Delcy Rodriguez to expel agents of Cuba and the Islamic Republic of Iran, stop selling oil to powers hostile to the United States and boost efforts to fight drug trafficking. Her government's relationship with U.S. officials picked to help run the country for at least a month, remained unclear.

Venezuela swears in acting president in Maduro's absence

Venezuela's former vice-president Delcy Rodríguez was formally sworn in as acting president in Caracas on 5 January even as she insisted the country's former ruler, Nicolás Maduro, remained the proper president. Maduro and his wife, who were captured by U.S. forces early on 3 January, were meanwhile formally charged with drug-trafficking offences in a New York court on 5 January. They rejected the charges and declared themselves to be the president and first lady of Venezuela, and war captives. Maduro is to reappear in court on 17 March, the website Infobae and agencies reported. Venezuela was for now in a state of External Commotion giving its regime emergency powers and postponing any bid to initiate a transition to democratic and constitutional rule. The United States previously threatened to repeat air strikes should the interim administration refuse to collaborate with U.S. forces, though President Donald J. Trump had insisted it was, without giving details. Late on 5 January, Venezuelan authorities claimed they had fought off hostile or suspect drones flying around the presidential palace. This appeared to be unrelated to Trump's threats.

Mexico City publishes its waste bartering calendar

The Mexican capital published provisional dates in 2026 and venues for its trash-for-goods or swap markets where locals bring in recyclable items to receive food or household products. The city was keener to receive PET plastics, paper and cardboard and glass, all cleaned out, for which it would offer items including fresh produce, the daily Excelsior reported on 2 January. The first event was to be in the Bosque de San Juan park near the aiport on 11 January, and residents were asked to take between one and 10 kilograms of recyclables strictly.

Venezuelan vice-president becomes acting president.. amid uncertainties

Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice appointed the country's vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, as acting president on 3 January even as the former president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores were to face drug trafficking and organized crime charges in a New York court. The two were nabbed by U.S. forces in a ligthning, pre-dawn operation in Caracas that day. U.S. President Donald J. Trump later announced his administration would run Venezuela through an unspecified transition period, apparently dismissing any idea of handing the country over to opposition politicians. While Delcy Rodríguez was reportedly talking to U.S. officials in private, in public she immediately formed a national Defence Council and demanded her predecessor's immediate release as, she insisted, he remained the "legitimate president." Trump told a press conference in Florida that day that it would be "very tough" for Venezuela's leading opponent and Nobel Peace laureate María Corina Machado to lead the country's transition back to democracy, as she lacked the "support... or respect" needed to do so. Machado did receive an early expression of support for her role in the form of a phone call from the French president. Separately in Colombia, a former conservative vice-president, Francisco Santos, suggested, speaking to the private Colombian broadcaster NTN24, that Rodriguez appeared to be a more docile option for the United States at present, adding "I am absolutely certain Delcy handed Maduro" over to the Americans. "It's going to be harder now for María Corina," he added, commenting on the United States' own objectives and business interests in Venezuela.

Mexico City residents "ignoring" trash separation rules..

Trash collectors in parts of Mexico City said on 3 January that city residents were slow or reluctant to comply with new trash separation rules meant to ease recycling and reduce the amount of trash sent into the city's dumps. The new rules came into force in 2026. One truck driver told El Sol de Mexico that judging by the unseparated trash he was collecting in the central Doctores district and additional trash illegally left on pavements, nothing had changed. This was in spite of the city's information campaigns to explain the concept of separation. For now, trash collectors had to work extra as garbage trucks were not being let into processing plants (Estaciones de transferencia) with unseparated trash. Sandra Gazca, a spokeswoman for the Vida Circular (Circular Life) information initiative told the daily however that a 2025 study indicated that 52% of city residents did recycle trash. Legislation to enforce separation began in 2004, with a second city law in 2017 to define the concepts of organic, inorganic and recyclable, the daily reported.

Trump reports Nicolás Maduro's arrest..

U.S. President Donald J. Trump wrote online on 3 January that U.S. forces working with U.S. Law Enforcement had captured Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country, following air strikes carried out before dawn that day on sites in Venezuela. The announcement became an immediate headline on news websites.

United States strikes targets in Venezuela

Venezuela's socialist government accused the United States of bombing Venezuelan territory early on 3 January in bid to topple the regime and nab the country's minerals and oil. The charges followed explosions heard and seen in and around the capital Caracas and other states, some of them evidently relating to military installations. The Reuters news agency and U.S. media cited unnamed U.S. officials as confirming that President Donald J. Trump had ordered the strikes. Colombia's President Gustavo Petro listed on X (Twitter) the sites that may have been struck, also reposting the Venezuelan government's statement denouncing the attack as a colonial-style power grab and bid to force regime change. The government declared a state of emergency even as the U.S. military declared Venezuela's airspace a no-flight zone, Miami's El Nuevo Herald reported. The strikes were part of the Trump administration's policy of squeezing the Venezuelan regime though without officially declaring a goal of regime change. 

Colombian government says it curbed deforestation in 2025

Colombia's government claimed the rate of destruction of its Amazonian rainforest fell 25% in the first nine months of 2025 compared to that period in 2024. The state body monitoring deforestation, IDEAM, noted the removal of some 36,300 hectares (or 363 square kilometres) of forest canopy between January and the end of September, compared to 48,500 hectares the previous year, Bogotá's Radio Santa Fe reported on 31 December. Almost all deforestation in Colombia happens in the departments of Meta, Caquetá, Guaviare and Putumayo, and mainly caused by the expansion of farming, cattle farming or coca cultivation into the rainforest. The report attributed the partial success to a range of initiatives including reforestation programs and collaboration with local communities.

Mexico City gentrification said to have shuttered beloved boutique

One of Mexico City's emblematic shops, established in 1935, was to shut after a sudden rent hike neighbors blamed on "gentrification" and ruthless speculation. The shop, Artículos ingleses (English Articles), was reputed for selling English-style clothing and accessories "not to be found anywhere else in the city," the newspaper La Jornada reported on 31 December. It was located in a busy avenue of the historical district, at the heart of the city's vast tourist economy. Local shopkeeprs told the daily Artículos regularly paid its monthly rent of around 78,000 pesos (well over 3,000 euros) a month, but that a "mafia of brokers" or real estate agents were offering landlords up to four million pesos to change for higher paying tenants that tend to be big brands or retail chains. The capital witnessed protests in July 2025 over the steeply rising cost of home rentals, largely due to tourism and the proliferation of short-term rentals for visitors. 

Christmas killings dropped across Colombia

A "preliminary count" of criminal acts committed across Colombia on Christmas Eve found a 20% drop in killings compared to 2024. Police counted 48 homicides across the country that evening, four of which were femicides (compared to eight in 2024) and eight happening in Bogotá, and observed a 30% drop in domestic violence, Bogotá's City TV reported, citing the national police chief, Hebert Benavides. More than 180,000 policemen and women had been deployed nationwide to boost security, which allowed just over 16,200 interventions to break up drunken incidents, fights or disputes in residential buildings. A little over 5,100 brawls were reported across the land that day. Broadly corroborating the figures, the defence ministry stated that homicides had dropped eight percent year-on-year in December, "or 78 lives saved," Radio Santa Fe reported.

Uber-type services squeezing out Mexico City's taxis..

Mexico City's transportation chief announced on 24 December that the Mexican capital would invest in upgrading its taxi fleet to help it meet the "unfair competition" of ride hailing services like Uber, in time for the the 2026 soccer world cup. The city's Mobility Secretary Héctor García Nieto said at an event to scrap 300 outdated vehicles that the taxi fleet had "more han halved," from 150,000 taxis to 60,000, as drivers no longer found it worth their while to even maintain their cars, La Jornada reported. The city, he said, would offer cash aid to drivers for repairs or to buy electric vehicles, create an application (Taxi CDMX), tighten regulations and security measures for drivers and passengers and replace at least 1,000 existing vehicles. The city's mayoress, Clara Brugada, speaking at the same venue, said "we're going to modernize the technology so city taxis have an application that works and is competitive." She said about 600,000 city residents used taxis every day, with about one million trips made daily.