¡Hola amigos! It’s been a tense few days in Mexico. After the operation against El Mencho, banks are beginning to reopen in affected states, flights are resuming, and President Sheinbaum is publicly denying rumors about her whereabouts and clarifying what happened.

Also in this issue: how to replace a lost or stolen driver’s license, new digital platform rules raising serious cybersecurity questions, and the two-word phrase that says it all.

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❓México Trivia

Which volcano in Mexico is referred to as the smallest in the world, but isn’t actually a volcano? 

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.

📣 México News Roundup

🚢 President Sheinbaum denied social media claims that she was hiding on a Navy vessel during the operation against El Mencho.

💸 Businesses in Querétaro reported estimated losses of 60 to 70 million pesos after preventive closures on Sunday.

🏦 Major banks will reopen branches today in states hit by weekend violence, though some locations remain closed. See which banks are affected.

✈️ Air Canada resumes flights today from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to Puerto Vallarta. Flights from Toronto to Guadalajara will resume Wednesday.

🛡️ President Sheinbaum said the operation that killed El Mencho was carried out solely by Mexican federal forces, with only intelligence sharing from the U.S.

🛄 Viva and Volaris reported on Monday the gradual normalization of their operations at the Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta airports.

🥩 Beef prices in Mexico rose 16.5% year-over-year in January 2026.

🚗 The U.S. launched a review of USMCA auto rules that decide whether Mexico-made vehicles qualify for duty-free entry into the U.S.

😷 Mexico has confirmed 8,889 measles cases and 28 deaths across all 32 states.

🏦 Banco Plata, known for its Plata Card, is now a licensed digital bank operating through a mobile app in Mexico.

📉 Mexico’s economy grew 0.8% in 2025, according to final INEGI data.

🏦 Citigroup agreed to sell 24% of Banamex to seven investors, including Blackstone and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, in a 43 billion peso deal pending approval.

🍎 Your Health Pulse

What Is the MIB and Why It Matters

When you apply for international health insurance while living in Mexico, your disclosures don’t exist in isolation. Insurers may compare your answers against prior applications submitted in the U.S. or Canada.

Most U.S. and Canadian carriers participate in the Medical Information Bureau (MIB), a cooperative database designed to identify material inconsistencies in insurance applications. It doesn’t store full medical records, but it does contain coded entries reflecting conditions disclosed on prior applications, typically for up to seven years.

When you apply for international insurance, you give permission for the insurer to check the MIB. If there are discrepancies between your current application and past submissions – say, a forgotten surgery or a previously diagnosed but low-grade condition – your insurer may flag it. 

If an insurer determines you withheld information, that condition could be classified as a non-disclosed pre-existing condition and excluded. In more serious cases, your policy could be rescinded.

The MIB is essentially your “insurance credit score,” and you have the right to request your own report. 

If you have a complex medical history or are unsure whether something was previously disclosed, review your records or speak with your broker before submitting the application. 

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📍Immigration Essentials

Replacing a Lost or Stolen Driver’s License in Mexico

If your Mexican driver’s license is lost or stolen, the replacement process is handled by the state that issued it. There is no federal standard. Requirements, fees, and whether you must appear in person vary across Mexico’s 32 states.

Some states require an in-person appointment. Others allow limited online processing. In cases of theft, a police report may be mandatory. Certain states require proof of no outstanding traffic violations before issuing a duplicate.

For foreign residents, identification and proof of legal stay in Mexico are typically required, but the specific documentation depends on the state.

The key step is verifying the procedure directly with your state’s Secretaría de Movilidad, Control Vehicular office, or state finance authority. Search “Reposición de licencia de conducir” plus your state name.

As with lost or stolen license plates (which we’ve covered previously), assume nothing is standardized nationwide. State rules control the process.

🧩 Life in México

Mexico’s New Digital Platform Rules Raise Security Questions

If you use Amazon Mexico, Mercado Libre, Airbnb, Uber, delivery apps, or similar platforms in Mexico, there is a regulatory change you should be aware of.

New requirements stem from a 2025 amendment to Article 30-B of the Federal Tax Code and applies to both Mexican and foreign digital platforms operating in the country.

This reform builds on Mexico’s 2020 VAT regime for digital services, which already requires foreign-based platforms serving users in Mexico to register, charge 16% VAT where applicable, and remit it to the government.

According to Mexico’s Tax Administration Service (SAT), access will be limited to information necessary to verify tax compliance as recorded in the platforms’ systems. This includes transaction volumes, product origin, whether goods were subject to foreign trade taxes, and applicable tariff restrictions.

Platforms already report this data periodically. 

Beginning April 1, 2026, SAT will require continuous, real-time digital access to information necessary to verify tax compliance.

The government’s stated objectives are increased tax collection, reduced evasion through digital marketplaces, and stronger control over smuggling linked to online commerce.

For individual consumers, this does not create new personal tax obligations.

The concern instead centers on data security and system integrity.

Industry groups have raised cybersecurity questions. Creating permanent live connections between private-sector systems and government infrastructure introduces new vulnerability points. 

It also raises broader questions about how securely that information will be stored, accessed, and protected once inside government systems. 

Earlier this year, a large-scale cyberattack compromised multiple Mexican public agencies, including the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) and various federal and state entities. That breach heightened scrutiny around government data protection practices.

SAT maintains that access will be limited to fiscal data. The technical standards governing how that access will function have not yet been fully detailed publicly.

Platforms that fail to comply may face temporary suspension of internet access in Mexico, effectively taking the service offline until compliance is restored.

🇲🇽 Viva México

The Chachalaca: Mexico’s Unmistakable Call

If you've lived anywhere in coastal or jungle Mexico, you know the sound – a raucous, relentless dawn chorus that slices through the humid air. That’s the chachalaca, a no-snooze jungle alarm clock.

Their calls, which sound like “cha-cha-LAW-ka,” echo across the canopy in sharp, rhythmic bursts.

There are several species of chachalaca across the Americas, ranging from Texas through Mexico and into Central and South America. 

The West Mexican Chachalaca, endemic to the Pacific slope from Jalisco to Chiapas, thrives in tropical deciduous forests and mangroves. Other species – such as the White-bellied and Rufous-bellied Chachalacas – occupy overlapping regions in southern Mexico, adapting to dry forests, scrubland, and coastal jungle.

All of them share the same social temperament. They travel in tight-knit groups, often six or more, moving branch to branch high in the forest canopy.

Despite their size (adults measure about 65 cm long), they blend easily into the foliage and are rarely seen on the ground. More often than not, you’ll hear them long before you catch a glimpse of them.

Though often compared to turkeys because of their long legs and rounded bodies, chachalacas are not true turkeys. They belong to the Cracidae family, along with guans and curassows.

Dating back to pre-Hispanic times, chachalacas were hunted for food and remain part of traditional diets in parts of Oaxaca and Chiapas. Their presence in villages was both practical and cultural – a source of protein, but also a constant auditory backdrop to daily life.

In many rural areas, farmers still pay attention when the chachalacas grow especially loud. The surge in calling is often associated with shifts in humidity or approaching rain. 

Today, the word chachalaca has taken on a life of its own. 

Cháchara usually refers to junk, but it can also mean chatter. In Mexican slang, a chachalaca is someone who talks excessively or without thinking – a playful reflection of the bird’s famously loud, communal “conversations.”

That’s why the name lives on – in slang, in stories, and on the signs of neighborhood bars and restaurants – places with the same loud, unapologetically social energy.

🪷 Viva Wellness

Chayote: An Ancient Mexican Staple

That unassuming green squash at your local mercado? It’s one of Mexico’s oldest superfoods.

Long before the Spanish arrived, the Aztecs and Mayans cultivated chayote across Mesoamerica. Known as chayohtli in Nahuatl, this climbing vine thrived in humid highlands, producing an abundant harvest of edible fruit, seeds, leaves, and even roots. Unlike corn, which needed grinding and cooking, chayote could be eaten straight from the vine — raw, roasted, or mashed into stews.

It’s packed with fiber, folate, vitamin C, and powerful antioxidants that support digestion, heart health, and youthful skin.

Studies suggest it may even help regulate blood sugar and reduce inflammation. And with just 39 calories per squash, it’s a weight-loss-friendly alternative to potatoes.

Chayote comes in a few varieties — some smooth and pale green, others dark and covered in soft spikes. While often boiled into oblivion, chayote shines in fresh preparations.

Try it raw in salads, spiralized into noodles, or blended into a bright green agua fresca. Its crisp texture and mild, slightly sweet flavor pair well with citrus and herbs.

Next time you spot chayote at the mercado, take a cue from the ancients – bring it home and make it part of your diet. This Mesoamerican staple has stood the test of time for a reason.

💡 Say It in Spanish

Ni modo
Translation: Oh well. / It is what it is.

You’ll hear ni modo when something doesn’t go your way and there’s nothing left to do about it.

Missed the bus?
Power went out?
Paperwork delayed…again?

Ni modo.

Sometimes it’s sympathetic. Sometimes it’s final. Either way, it means: we move on.

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🎯 Trivia Answer

Cuexcomate.

It’s often called “the smallest volcano in the world.” At just 13 meters (43 feet) tall, it barely rises above the plaza in Puebla’s La Libertad neighborhood.

But here’s the twist: it isn’t a traditional volcano at all.

Cuexcomate is an inactive geyser, geologically classified as a maar – a crater formed when magma violently interacts with groundwater. It was created after an eruption of Popocatépetl reactivated thermal waters in the region. 

Its cone measures 23 meters across, with an 8-meter-wide crater that drops about 17 meters deep. Visitors can descend into the crater via a spiral staircase.

Its last recorded activity occurred in the early 1660s, when it expelled gases and hot water rather than lava.

The name comes from the Nahuatl cuexcomatl, meaning “storage jar” or “granary,” a reference to its rounded, clay-pot shape.

During the colonial period, local accounts say suicides were thrown inside because they were denied burial in consecrated ground. In later years, it was used as a dumping site before being cleaned and restored.

Take a video tour of Cuexcomate here.

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