What to watch in Mexican president AMLO's meeting with Kamala Harris
06 May 2021
Joint efforts to stem the increased number of migrants heading to the U.S. will likely be at the top of discussions when Vice President Kamala Harris and Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador hold their virtual meeting on Friday.
The big picture: TheU.S. government has consistently asked its southern neighbor to prevent immigrants from reaching the border, mostly through threats like former President Trump’s talk of tariffs.
- But the Biden administration is signaling a willingness to collaborate on the many other issues important to both countries (but that are usually overshadowed by migration).
- Mexico, for example, would like the U.S. to do more to stop illicit gun trafficking and keep those weapons out of cartels’ hands.
The Biden administration is also pressing an anti-corruption campaign in the region, and corruption is a heated topic in Mexico.
- An elevated section of the capital's newest subway line, the No. 12, collapsed on Monday, killing at least 25 people and leaving 50 more hospitalized. At least 9 are still missing.
Driving the news: The No. 12 line had been plagued by problems since its inception, with accusations of poor planning by a congressional commission and international bodies.
- The railways and cars were bought separately and did not initially fit together properly, so any movement created excessive wear.
- A handful of officials were sent to prison under fraud allegations for their handling of the contracts.
- Neighbors near the overpass had reported apparent structural damage from a 2017 earthquake and lack of maintenance.
The bottom line: The Mexican government has promised an independent investigation of the collapse, and the White House has offered assistance in rebuilding.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.