The central Mexican city of Celaya has become the scene of a brutal turf war between rival drug cartels. These criminal groups have taken advantage of its strategic position at the crossroads for transporting drugs into the United States. Kidnappings, shootouts with police and drive-by killings now occur on an almost daily basis in broad daylight. Nearly 500 people were killed in Celaya last year. The city's police officers (pictured) risk their lives every day and are forced to travel in armoured vehicles. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Lauren Bain.

A weakening economy and increasing political repression are forcing ever more Chinese people to emigrate. Spurred by TikTok, many are seeking more sustainable conditions in the United States

Los Ardillos is one of 16 crime groups in Guerrero that battle over drug-trafficking, kidnapping and extortion rackets, according to Defense Ministry documents cited by the daily Milenio. The state is a top producer of opium poppy, the main ingredient of heroin.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is among the top US officials set to visit Mexico as intense negotiations over immigration policy continue on Capitol Hill.

Washington closed a number of border crossings after authorities registered a record number of irregular arrivals. Mexico's president says the two countries have now agreed to keep crossings open.

In Mexico, 111,000 people are classified as disappeared and the country’s morgues hold 52,000 unidentified corpses, bones and remains. The country is going through a crisis in forensic medicine fuelled by a lack of personnel, technology and political will – but also by significant corruption. Families of the disappeared have formed themselves into collectives and are trying to locate mass graves.

With US officials recording almost 10,000 border crossings from Mexico every day, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has pledged to do more to curb migration.

The caravan is believed to be the largest trying to enter the US in over a year. It casts doubt on the effectiveness of Biden's policies to curb migration.

Last year, a record 2 million people crossed the US border illegally and 800 people died there. Back in October, the Biden administration announced that construction on the US-Mexico border would resume, a surprising about-face in the middle of an election campaign. The White House also said that direct deportation flights to Venezuela, which had been suspended for years, would restart.

People in Mexico’s southernmost state, Chiapas, have for the last year and a half, been living through a conflict between rival criminal groups. The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel are both vying for control of the territory. The state, which borders Guatemala, has long been a hotspot for trafficking drugs, arms and migrants. But ravaged by years of inter-community conflicts, the security situation in Mexico’s poorest state is now spiralling out of control.

The US National Hurricane Center said that Hurricane Otis made landfall near the resort city of Acapulco on Mexico's Pacific Coast. The agency warned a "potentially catastrophic storm surge" was expected.

In the state of Guerrero, 13 hostages were released by a criminal organization known as "Los Ardillos" or "The Squirrels." Concern for the rising influence of organized crime in the region is growing.