Start your day with our News to Know in Mexico roundup, covering judicial election debates, major drug busts, cultural milestones and economic highlights on May 24, 2025.
Here’s your News to Know in Mexico for May 24, 2025. From ballot controversies and cartel crackdowns to cultural honors and economic highs, these are the stories you need to start your day.
Judicial Elections Face Scrutiny
Mexico’s upcoming June 1 judicial elections have sparked controversy after at least four candidates with criminal pasts secured places on the ballot, including Leopoldo Chavez, an ex-drug smuggler who served time in the United States, and Silvia Delgado, a former lawyer for Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The reform, championed by past and present administrations, lets citizens vote directly for judges but critics warn a flawed vetting process could let organized crime infiltrate courts and erode public trust. Voters will choose more than 840 federal positions, from circuit court magistrates to Supreme Court justices, in Mexico’s first-ever judicial election.
Navy Seizes Major Cocaine Shipment
Mexico’s navy seized over 1,200 kilograms of cocaine in a maritime operation off the coast of Michoacán, docking a vessel loaded with bricks of the drug at Lázaro Cárdenas port on May 23. Officials said they intercepted multiple waterproof packages bound for the United States and processed suspects on board before handing them over to federal prosecutors for investigation. This haul marks another milestone in the navy’s intensified campaign to curb cartel smuggling routes along Mexico’s Pacific corridor, following nearly 40 metric tons of cocaine seized at sea since October 2024.
Sheinbaum Rejects Remittance Tax
In a May 23 video statement, President Claudia Sheinbaum slammed the US House’s decision to impose a tax on remittances of 3.5% as “absolutely unjust,” warning it would breach bilateral treaties and penalize families counting on money sent from abroad. She said the levy would violate agreements against double taxation and could face legal challenges at the World Trade Organization. Remittances topped $60 billion in 2024, making them a pillar of Mexico’s economy and a vital support for millions of households.
New Frida Kahlo Museum Ahead
Museo Casa Kahlo, dedicated to the life and legacy of artist Frida Kahlo, is set to open this fall in the Coyoacán neighborhood of Mexico City, promising fresh insights into her family archives and personal artifacts. Curators say the museum will feature early sketches, private letters and photographs revealing Kahlo’s creative process and her ties to Mexican folk traditions. The new Frida Kahlo museum joins a growing cultural renaissance in the capital, with investments in art spaces and heritage tourism up 12% over the past year, according to the city’s cultural affairs office.
Record Foreign Direct Investment
Mexico logged a record-breaking US $21.4 billion in foreign direct investment during the first quarter of 2025, a 5.4% increase over the same period last year and the highest since 2019. The energy, automotive and technology sectors attracted the bulk of the inflows, driven by regulatory reforms and nearshoring trends that have shifted global supply chains toward North America. The National Investment Promotion Agency credited stable policy frameworks and incentives for clean energy projects with boosting investor confidence.
Spotlight on Mexican Photographer
Renowned photographer Graciela Iturbide has won Spain’s 2025 Princess of Asturias Prize for the Arts, recognizing her decades-long work documenting Indigenous communities and women across Latin America and beyond. The award jury praised her ability to blend documentary realism with a sense of magical spontaneity, highlighting her iconic 1979 image “Our Lady of the Iguanas” featuring a Zapotec woman crowned with live iguanas. Born in Mexico City in 1942, Iturbide has exhibited at MoMA in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, shaping global appreciation for Mexican visual storytelling.
Security Alert in San Luis
Authorities in San Luis activated a joint police and army security alert after four people were killed in a single night on May 23, sparking concerns over escalating violence in the northwestern border city. Reports indicate armed assailants opened fire in multiple neighborhoods around 9 p.m., and a fifth victim survived by hiding in an abandoned house. Local officials deployed additional patrols and set up checkpoints to deter further attacks, while human rights groups called for transparent investigations into links between organized crime and local power structures.
US Judge Orders Deportee Return
A US federal judge in Boston ruled on May 24 that the Trump administration must facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man wrongfully deported to Mexico, citing due process violations and risks to his safety because of past persecution.The case underscores ongoing legal challenges at the US–Mexico border, where migrants often face expulsion without proper asylum hearings, leaving families in limbo and straining bilateral cooperation on migration policy.