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Mary Beth Sheridan Profile
Mary Beth Sheridan

@marybsheridan

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Mexico/Central America correspondent for The Washington Post. Email me at mary.sheridan @washpost .com

Mexico
Joined November 2010
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
THREAD: Mexico appears to have far fewer cases of coronavirus than the U.S. Why?
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
From Mexico’s newest superhero to Iran’s most elegant hand-washer: Watch how countries are promoting coronavirus safety
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
3/One reason: the virus reached Mexico about a month after it appeared in the US. Another: the govt has done far fewer tests. Mexico has relied more on math models based on sampling and info from health centers around the country.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 months
How bad is Mexico's security situation as it heads for elections? Cartels are even going after tortilla shops – by the thousands. Here’s a🧵on how organized crime is changing, and transforming a country crucial to the US.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
9/One issue: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has at times seemed to ignore his own experts’ warnings -- shaking hands and holding big rallies until recently. He’s been criticized for muddying the message.
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Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
Mexico's leftist govt chose to not use fines or curfews to enforce #coronavirus lockdown, citing concern for poor and history of police abuse. Idealistic or irresponsible?
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Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
4/The coronavirus czar, Hugo López-Gatell, acknowledges the confirmed # of cases is far lower than the real #. That’s always true for epidemics, he says. He says the important thing is tracking the virus’ speed and direction -- not the # of cases.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
6/Why not lock down earlier? Nearly 60% of Mexican workers are in the informal sector. Few have savings. Sending them home too early could cause ‘frightening damage,’ said López-Gatell.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
8 months
Seventy years ago, the CIA backed a coup against an elected leftist in Guatemala, leading to decades of dictatorship. Today, a center-leftist, Bernardo Arevalo, was sworn in as president. This time, the US provided crucial help in avoiding a coup. How did this happen? 🧵
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
2/The difference is huge in states on the US-Mexico border. As of Sunday, California reported over 6,200 cases, Baja California, just 23. Arizona had 919 cases; 14 in Sonora. New Mexico 237; Chihuahua, 6.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
3 years
Mexico secretly opened an organized-crime investigation into human-rights defenders and a journalist who've played prominent roles in investigating the thousands of people who've disappeared in recent years.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
Mexico's government named a Harvard-trained lawyer to lead a search for the nearly 80,000 #disappeared . What she found: extermination camps, feckless bureaucrats, the extraordinary bravery of Mexican moms.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
10/Some experts say Mexico should have done more testing. Countries that do -- like South Korea -- ‘are doing better than those that don’t,’ said Carlos del Rio, a Mexican epidemiologist at Emory University.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
12/There’s skepticism about the govt approach. But experts say there really are fewer cases in Mexico. Why? People in California and Texas have more contact with Europe and Asia -- which had big outbreaks -- than residents of northern Mexico.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
It might seem an obscure fight over a bureaucratic institution. But #AMLO 's attack on the freedom-of-information institute reveals a deepening split over whether #Mexico has truly become a democracy.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
5/Mexico held off on tough measures like closing schools and govt offices until it determined the virus was spreading beyond folks who’d traveled abroad and their immediate contacts (“community transmission”).
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
8/But last Saturday, movement in Mexico City had only declined 30%. By Monday, it was 60%. For the strategy to work, people have to stay home and keep the virus from spreading wildly.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
13/ Mexico has had just 28 coronavirus deaths so far, compared to over 3,000 for the US. Hospitals aren’t yet seeing a crush of cases. That doesn’t mean Mexico will be spared though.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
11/Others say testing is overemphasized. ‘No one has been able to replicate’ South Korea’s success, said Samuel Ponce de León, an infectious-disease specialist at Mexico’s flagship public university, UNAM.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
5 years
Mexican twitter is having too much fun with #AMLO 's idea of selling off the presidential luxury jet in a lottery with $25 tickets.
@PinnedArticlesX
Breach X
5 years
Te amo Internet #AvionPresidencial
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
14/’We will have it,’ said Ponce de León. ‘But we’re at a different moment in the epidemic.’
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
7/On March 24, Mexico declared it had “community transmission.” It increased testing to track the virus’ movement and amped up restrictions, to try to “flatten the curve” of cases and not overwhelm hospitals.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
1 year
Blowout victory for anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo in Guatemala presidential election w/ @NicWirtz
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
This hasn’t gotten much attention yet, but a crisis is brewing in US #mexico relations, as Biden prepares to take office.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
3 years
In Mexico’s election, scores of candidates have been killed, threatened, + kidnapped. It's a sign of the fight for territorial control, involving crime groups and politicians.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
3 years
Coronavirus vaccination site, Mexico City 😀
@InigoHerraiz
Íñigo Herraiz
3 years
Los efectos de la vacunación en Ciudad de México. Se armó el baile en la Santa María
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
3 years
So honored to win one of the 2021 #CabotPrizes , which have long recognized the outstanding work of journalists in Latin America. Congrats to @adelanavarro @AZehbrauskas @brumelianebrum and many thanks to @colombiajourn
@columbiajourn
Columbia Journalism
3 years
Announcing the 2021 Cabot Winners! Congratulations to @adelanavarro , @AZehbrauskas , @brumelianebrum and @marybsheridan . Full announcement at #CabotPrizes
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
5 years
Morgan said US had no confirmation asylum-seekers being sent back to wait in Mexico were being kidnapped. Journalists have found case after case after case.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
3 years
Many people were surprised by #Mexico ’s decision to decriminalize #abortion this week. But the women's movement is transforming Mexico. It now has more gender equity in politics than the United States.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
we just had a 7.1 earthquake. (I'm fine). What next, 2020?
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
5 years
A professor sells his clothes for food. A child dies of drinking dirty water. The symphony is too short-handed to play Beethoven. #Venezuela ’s once-shining city, #Maracaibo , is dying. Great work by ⁦ @Anthony_Faiola ⁩ and @mrchavezphoto
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
1 year
The nomination of 2 women for president shows how far #mexico has come. It’s #4 in the world in female lawmakers in Congress; US is #71 — behind Iraq. W/el_reportero
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
El Salvador’s govt boasted about a plunge in homicides. Now it looks like officials may have cut a deal with the MS-13 gang. @AnnaCat_Brigida on an explosive report by @_ElFaro_
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
6 years
Mexico’s new president is the product of a remarkable trend -- Latin Americans rising up against corruption. But can things really change?
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
5 years
The wall worked because any East German citizen trying to escape across the wall was gunned down by border guards .
@MollyMcKew
Molly McKew
5 years
This is a US Govt official praising the GODDAMN BERLIN WALL, the symbol of 70 years of oppression and division under the Soviet boot. In any other administration, this person would be fired immediately and never work in this town again. What an embarrassment these clowns are.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
3 years
Three-quarters of Venezuelans now live in ‘extreme poverty.’ Stunning.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
OK US drug indictment of Mexican ex-defense minister #cienfuegos says he was known as "El Padrino" -- the Godfather. You can't make this stuff up.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
After today’s 7.5 quake, some people ran outside barefoot. But most remembered their mask. #mexico
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
3 months
Last fall, the State Dept polled Mexicans on how willing they’d be to migrate irregularly to the US in the next 6 months. Nearly 40% said they’d be ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ willing. That was up from 9% in early 2022. 🧵 1/5
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
1 year
Costa Rica has been a model of democracy in Latin America, and a tourist mecca. Now it's grappling with record homicides linked to domestic drug use -- a growing problem for many countries in the region.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
5 years
The average #Mexican eats around 40 pounds of #chiles per year. Do not mess with these people.
@panchogzz
Francisco González
5 years
#Dato : El consumo per cápita en México es de 18 kilos de chiles al año México es el exportador de chiles número uno a nivel mundial. #LecturaRecomendada
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
2 years
1. For years, there was a little-known figure at the heart of US-Mexican anti-drug cooperation -- an unassuming navy officer who stood out for his courage and the remarkable special-operations team he built. He was known as El Aguila. The Eagle. (Thread)
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
Chilling story about the lonely deaths of large numbers of elderly Italians due to #Coronavirus . By ⁦ @chicoharlan ⁩ and ⁦ @StefanoPitrelli
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
5 years
‘The highest-ranking oficial to be arrested in at least a half-century’ on drug charges. Mexico shocked by US charges against #GarciaLuna . With ⁦ @shaynajacobs
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
3 years
'The Mexican army has largely stopped fighting drug cartels here' Strong reporting by @mexmarks on the government's hands-off policy in violent Michoacan.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
5 years
Why we love Mexico: in Guadalajara, torrential rains. Shopping center floods. What do the musicians do? Start playing “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic.
@veronicalderon
Verónica Calderón 🦋
5 years
Tormenta en Guadalajara. Un centro comercial se inunda. ¿Qué hacen los músicos? Tocan “My heart will go on”, de Titanic. Mi país es muy difícil de explicar…
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Mary Beth Sheridan
4 months
2/9 Extortion is one of their biggest businesses. They’re shaking down fishermen, chicken vendors, builders, and even producers of Mexico’s staple food – the corn tortilla.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 months
8/9 Why is the criminal economy growing? Big cartels have split. There are now 2 national cartels, 87 regional mafias and 586 gangs in Mexico, according to Lantia Consultores. They’re all trying to earn money. The weak justice system has been unable to contain them.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 months
3/9 Mexico’s National Tortilla Council estimates at least 15 percent of tortillerias are being forced to pay extortion. That’s at least 20,000 businesses.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 months
1/9 We all know how Latin American cartels became famous for cocaine, heroin and fentanyl. (Thanks Netflix). Those are still big businesses. But now criminal groups are diversifying like crazy.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
29 days
A document has been found listing 183 suspected leftists who may have been killed in 'Death Flights' -- tossed from helicopters into the sea by Mexico's military in 1972-74. Extraordinary reporting by @marcelaturati
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
Express burials raise fears Ortega's Nicaragua hiding coronavirus deaths - The Washington Post
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 months
5/9 In Mexico, entire industries are being penetrated by crime groups. Around 70 percent of lumber production is illicit. At least 30 percent of the fuel sold in the country is stolen or smuggled.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
7 years
A gorgeous read: Two friends were stuck in a refugee camp. A scholarship competition was their only way out.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 months
6/9 The growing crime economy is hurting democracy. Dozens of candidates in the June 2 election have been killed. Hundreds have resigned. Cartels are trying to gain control of mayors’ offices so they can exploit the local economy.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
1 year
El Faro, the pioneering Salvadoran news organization, has moved its registration to Costa Rica because of a lack of legal security and ‘right to a legitimate defense.’
@_elfaro_
El Faro
1 year
#efEDITORIAL | En El Salvador ya no hay derecho a la legítima defensa ni leyes que se hagan valer por encima de la voluntad de funcionarios públicos. Por eso, decidimos sacar El Faro de El Salvador y mudarnos a Costa Rica. Te compartimos los detalles. 🧵
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Mary Beth Sheridan
6 years
“Really proud to include female journalists.” Really? I’m really proud that I quote men in my stories.
@USAmbNepal
U.S. Ambassador Dean R. Thompson
6 years
Had a stimulating discussion (and maybe even some good debates) w/ Nepali media professionals today. Really proud to include female journalists. And one comment that is always “on-the-record” – we need to see more representation/inclusion like this in other media events.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
3 months
Here’s our story on how the criminal economy is expanding way beyond drugs in Latin America, provoking violence and forcing people out of communities:
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
5 years
#Mexico has bent over backward to help US on #migration . But its Senate says ‘no way’ to a Safe Third Country accord with #Trump admin. Looks like the country is gearing up for a fight.
@m_ebrard
Marcelo Ebrard C.
5 years
Celebro la amplia coincidencia entre esta Secretaría y las fuerzas políticas representadas en el Senado de la República en el sentido de mantener la negativa al planteamiento de tercer país seguro que hiciera EU en junio pasado. Diplomacia de Unidad Nacional seguiremos haciendo.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 months
4/9 Armed groups are moving into all areas of Mexico’s tortilla business. They’ve infiltrated the public water system in Sinaloa, a big corn producer. They rob tractor-trailers carrying corn to tortilla makers. In some states, they've become middlemen, buying and selling corn.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 years
Whoa. #Mexico govt estimates after field study that 25 pc of the population has already had #covid -19. Vast majority -- 80 pc -- had few or no symptoms.
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@marybsheridan
Mary Beth Sheridan
4 months
7/9 Crime groups are also forcing Mexicans to leave home. In a poll last fall for the State Dept, 39% of Mexicans said they’d be willing to migrate irregularly to the US in the following months. People migrate for lots of reasons -- but that was a big jump from early 2022.
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