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David Agren

@davidagren.bsky.social
446 followers 74 following 127 posts

Freelancer. Mexico and Latin America coverage for @theglobeandmail.com, UnHerd, America Magazine and OSV News. Opinions my own.

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Reposted by David Agren
Rodolfo Soriano-Núñez @rsnunez.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A very accurate summary and analysis of Mexico and Canada as US trade partners, by @davidagren.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
theglobeandmail.com
Mexico charts its own path in pursuit of trade deal with U.S.
While Carney aims to diversify export markets and pivots toward the EU, Sheinbaum has doubled down on negotiating with Trump
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
“Injecting herself into the Canada dispute, even rhetorically, cuts against everything that has protected Mexico’s own file so far, in her view. It’s about not letting Canada’s crisis become hers.” www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
theglobeandmail.com
Sheinbaum stays on the sidelines of Canada-U.S. trade war
Mexico and the U.S. are scheduled to hold a fourth round of talks to review the USMCA in September
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
"The pressure keeps coming from Washington ... as the Trump administration targets ... the ruling Morena party over accusations of corruption & alleged ties to drug cartels. 'There are three points of leverage: tariffs, military action and Morena politicians'" www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
theglobeandmail.com
Mexico is watching Canada-U.S. trade talks closely
Mexico City and Washington have already held three rounds of talks, with a fourth set for September
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
My two cents www.canadaland.com/podcast/192-...
canadaland.com
#192 Mexico is Giving Trump What he Wants. Is it Working?
New tariff threats. Emergency premiers' meetings. Daily political panic.
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Play-by-play caller on Argentine TV: “I don't like this refereeing at all.”
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Nobody minds winning ugly in Argentina
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
“The Merlín escapade encapsulated the excitement of the World Cup, the surreal nature of Mexican fandom and the frivolity of Mexican politics. It came into especially sharp relief as the gov’t tried to downplay … the nation’s missing persons problem” www.americamagazine.org/politics-soc...
americamagazine.org
Is the World Cup distracting Mexico from news of crimes and disappearance?
“I have to disguise myself as a duck, so the president looks at us,” read one sign held up by a demonstrator in a duck costume at a protest led by madres buscadoras, the “mothers who search.”
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
"Analysts say attacks on Spain gin up domestic support at a time when Ms. Sheinbaum hesitates to express anti-American sentiments. ... She has also learned that Spain and Cortés just make safer targets than the mercurial Mr. Trump." www.americamagazine.org/politics-soc...
americamagazine.org
500 years later, the Spanish conqueror of Mexico still stirs controversy on both sides of the Atlantic
While many Mexicans consider Cortés a rapacious historical villain, Hispanophiles, both in Spain and across the Americas, lionize him for bringing Catholicism and Spanish culture to Mesoamerica.
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Reposted by David Agren
Rodolfo Soriano-Núñez @rsnunez.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
A carefully reported piece by @davidagren.bsky.social from Chile... www.globalsistersreport.org/migration/nu...
globalsistersreport.org
Nuns serve Haitians and Venezuelans in Chile as anti-migrant attitudes rise
As Chile's political and social attitudes harden against migration, Catholic sisters accompany Haitian and Venezuelan migrant camps in Curicó.
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Matthew Hay Brown @matthewhaybrown.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
250 years later the king lectures the U.S. government on democracy
washingtonpost.com
King Charles urges checks on executive power as Trump hosts royal visit
In a speech to Congress, the monarch avoided naming the president but highlighted democratic norms, Ukraine and Western unity.
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The Economist @economist.com · 23/04/2026
President Donald Trump has wrecked the dream of a more united region
econ.st
As the World Cup approaches, North American relations are at a nadir
President Donald Trump has wrecked the dream of a more united region
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
What a monstrous bladder of vanity
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Canada's ruling Liberal Party is a more competent, conniving and durable version of Mexico's once-venerable Institutional Revolutionary Party – not to mention equally ruthless, unsentimental and ideologically malleable
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The Economist @economist.com · 21/03/2026
A new book looks at one of the most famous murders in history: that of Leon Trotsky in Mexico City. What is there new to say, 86 years later? A lot, it turns out econ.st/4lDwC0O Photo: Bridgeman Images
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Ernesto López Portillo @ernestolpv.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Aduanas: botín militar y delincuencia organizada con López Obrador | Información de seguridad, judicial y de inteligencia a la que Proceso tuvo acceso indica que unos 200 elementos de la Marina y unos 150 del Ejército se encuentran bajo investigación www.proceso.com.mx/reportajes/2...
proceso.com.mx
Aduanas: botín militar y delincuencia organizada con López Obrador
Mandos en retiro y activos de la Marina y del Ejército ocuparon las aduanas al amparo de López Obrador y en tres años estructuraron un entramado para traficar combustibles drogas y armas de la mano de...
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The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 10/03/2026
The U.S. consulate in Toronto was hit by gunfire Tuesday morning, according to Canadian authorities. The gunfire follows a series of similar shootings at synagogues in the Toronto area. on.wsj.com/4be1e4f
on.wsj.com
Shooting in Toronto Targets U.S. Consulate Building
The gunfire follows a series of similar shootings at synagogues in the Toronto area.
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
“Ms. Sheinbaum has played exactly the opposite game that Mr. Carney is suggesting,” said Manuel Molano, an economist at the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla. “Her strategy is not to confront Trump.” www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: While Canada diversifies trade away from the U.S., Mexico chooses concessions
Mexico is using security co-operation to help secure the survival of USMCA
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Reposted by David Agren
Jan-Albert Hootsen @jahootsen.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Personal 🧵: I recently began writing in earnest again for a paper I hardly wrote for in several years, due to burnout and some lingering effects of the PTSD that hit my like a torpedo about a decade ago. I'm writing this for my younger colleagues: take care of yourself, don't repeat my mistakes. 1/9
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
“Sunday’s operation was ... the result of sustained pressure from the White House that altered the incentives of the Mexican state. The bilateral security relationship has entered a more demanding phase with less political room for ambiguity.” www.americamagazine.org/politics-soc...
americamagazine.org
Mexico burns after drug cartel leader is captured and killed
Mexico exploded in violence after special forces killed drug cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, leader of the fearsome Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Its foot soldiers fanned out across 20 st...
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
My two cents. #Mexico www.theglobeandmail.com/podcasts/the...
theglobeandmail.com
Mexico’s uneasy balance of power between cartels and government
Many Canadians were left stranded due to cancelled flights on Sunday after the Mexican army killed cartel leader El Mencho
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
“Killing Oseguera was one more step toward pacifying the United States, albeit a big one. It’s more politically palatable for Sheinbaum to target big cartel bosses than arrest politicians with drug cartel ties.” unherd.com/newsroom/el-...
unherd.com
El Mencho death shows Trump’s growing influence in Mexico
Yesterday, the Mexican military carried out one of its most important operations in the war on cartels by killing a prominent cartel boss. Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera was the leader of one of the cou...
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Non-governmental groups working with migrants say images of ICE raids (in the US) have stoked disquiet among some immigrants in Chile – and provoked calls for similar enforcement in South America. “There are people who wish we had a police like that in Chile.” www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
theglobeandmail.com
Migrants in Chile fear what’s next after Kast wins election
President-elect campaigned on a platform of expelling undocumented migrants and constructing special prisons
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Reposted by David Agren
LA NACION @lanacioncom.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
Delcy Rodríguez anuncia una ley de amnistía general para los presos políticos y el cierre del Helicoide en Venezuela www.lanacion.com.ar/el-mundo/del...
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
“It’s a matter of time. There’s an opportunity to change Venezuela permanently. Cuba is clearly on the radar and in the crosshairs now. And after something is done on Cuba, Nicaragua is the logical next step from there.” www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
theglobeandmail.com
Nicaragua keeps a low profile as Trump targets Latin American leftists
Sandinista regime has been co-operating on drug enforcement, toning down hyperbolic discourse
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
"Because of the instability promoted by Chavista policies, people 'started to support anything that would undermine and eventually remove them,' to the point where there was eventually more LatAm support for Maduro’s removal than there was in the U.S." www.americamagazine.org/politics-soc...
americamagazine.org
Trump’s capture of Maduro has more support in Latin America than in the U.S.
More than a half dozen right-leaning, Latin American heads of state supported the U.S. intervention in Venezuela to depose Nicolás Maduro, including the pro-Trump leaders of Ecuador, Argentina and El ...
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Reposted by David Agren
LA NACION @lanacioncom.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
En medio de máxima reserva, el pontífice recibió a la líder opositora de Venezuela, quien también tiene previsto ver a Trump esta semana www.lanacion.com.ar/el-mundo/el-...
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
“The crisis of the Latin American anti-imperialist left is so profound that a person like Trump is capable of influencing the decisions of many countries.” #Venezuela www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
theglobeandmail.com
Latin American leaders give mixed reaction to Maduro’s capture
Deep divisions emerge over American military intervention in region long aggrieved by U.S.-backed regime changes
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Reposted by David Agren
The Globe and Mail @theglobeandmail.com · 25/12/2025
theglobeandmail.com
Mexican government seizes motorcycles, drugs in raids connected to Ryan Wedding
Authorities say they identified four properties in Mexico City and Mexico State related to the investigation
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Laura Martínez 🥑 @miblogestublog.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
"Don't mess with the bolillo" ☝️https://apnews.com/article/british-baker-hart-mexico-bread-social-media-outrage-5b2f23a36f9f714f4d4c96e1509b43a5
apnews.com
British baker’s criticism of Mexican 'ugly' bread triggers social media outrage
A British baker's critique of Mexican bread has sparked outrage on social media, leading to a public apology.
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The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 12/12/2025
The crimes described on “Forensic Files” keep most people up at night. But for a subset of fans, the show is the only thing that puts them to sleep.
on.wsj.com
Can’t Sleep? Try Listening to This Man Talk About Torture and Death
Fans of ‘Forensic Files’ seek comfort in the voice of narrator Peter Thomas talking about feeding bodies through a woodchipper.
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Jacobo Dayán @jacobodayan.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Sheinbaum ante Uruapan: negar, minimizar y eludir letraslibres.com/politica/esp...
letraslibres.com
Sheinbaum ante Uruapan: negar, minimizar y eludir | Letras Libres
Comunicar desde el gobierno en una crisis obliga a decir la verdad, dar explicaciones, asumir costos y hacer cambios. Propagar un relato faccioso, en cambio, es negar el dolor de la sociedad.
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The Economist @economist.com · 20/10/2025
How well bright-light treatment works is tricky to test. But the available evidence looks good—and the benefits appear significant enough for researchers to look into whether it can help non-seasonal forms of depression, too
econ.st
Can bright light banish winter depression?
It seems so. And it might work for other kinds of depression, too
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Laura Martínez 🥑 @miblogestublog.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
media.tenor.com
a cartoon of tom talking on a phone with the fbi written on it
ALT: a cartoon of tom talking on a phone with the fbi written on it
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The Mexico Brief @themexicobrief.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
New & Free Today: One year into Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s term, a “complex” operator is emerging, writes @davidagren.bsky.social
themexicobrief.org
Analysis: Sheinbaum at one year: A ‘complex’ operator emerges — The Mexico Brief.
by David Agren, writer-at-large. President Claudia Sheinbaum swore the oath of office one year ago in a ceremony laden with symbolism as she became Mexico’s first female president. Flanked by femal...
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
"(Trudeau) was preachy and talked down to people. ... Though he was right to have a gender-balanced cabinet (a former minister wrote) he never stopped talking about it, never stopped the virtue signalling: 'It made it sound like we were there to fill a quota'" www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Catherine McKenna’s memoir trashes Trudeau. So why was the carbon-tax-killing Carney spared?
The polarizing former environment minister publishes a candid book about her triumphs and trials in government
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Her approval rating sits at 73 per cent, according to the newspaper El Financiero, as middle-class Mexicans unsettled by Mr. López Obrador’s class politics and populist policies warmed to Ms. Sheinbaum’s more sober and serious style. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
theglobeandmail.com
A year into her presidency, Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum is stepping out of her predecessor’s shadow
Country’s first female president arrived an unknown quantity, but is taking a different tack than that of her mentor Andrés Manuel López Obrador
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Stephen Wicary @wicary.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Donald Trump’s treasury secretary pledges to provide “all options for stabilization” to Javier Milei as he works to keep Argentina from falling back into crisis, prompting a rally in the South American country’s assets www.bloomberg.com/news/article... (Gift link)
bloomberg.com
Bessent Says All Options on Table to Help Milei’s Argentina
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged to provide “all options for stabilization” to President Javier Milei as he works to keep Argentina from falling back into crisis, prompting a rally in the S...
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
“The electoral reform could be the final nail in the coffin. It’s a return to a controlled democracy,” which existed in the days of one-party rule under the Institutional Revolutionary Party. open.substack.com/pub/davidagr...
open.substack.com
'Not a democratic ally': Canadian PM Carney visits Mexico to push closer ties
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney travelled to Mexico to thaw frosty ties. President Claudia Sheinbaum greeted his trip with talk of Canadian mining companies' supposed environmental shortcomings.
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Laura Martínez 🥑 @miblogestublog.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
🇺🇸 No voy a ir 🇳🇮 No voy a ir 🇯🇵 No voy a ir 🇬🇹 No voy a ir 🇨🇦 No voy a ir 🇲🇽 Te aviso
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Matthew Hay Brown @matthewhaybrown.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
RECAP • U.S. sends warships off Venezuela • Maduro mobilizes troops, militias • U.S. strikes alleged drug boat • Venezuelan planes buzz U.S. guided-missile destroyer • U.S. warns Venezuela • www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
washingtonpost.com
Defense Dept. warns Venezuela after its jets buzz U.S. Navy destroyer
The department accused Venezuela of trying to interfere with counternarcotics operations two days after the U.S. announced a deadly strike on an alleged drug vessel.
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Hans E. Offerdal @hofferdal.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
"The #mañanera (the morning news conference) has dragged down the public discourse with an unedifying mix of trolling, shittalking, gaslighting, provoking, deflecting and accusing", opines @davidagren.bsky.social for @themexicobrief.bsky.social. #Mexico #4T
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Laura Martínez 🥑 @miblogestublog.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
If you’re not following @laloalcaraz.bsky.social you’re doing social media wrong
Award-winning cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz reimagines the Cracker Barrel logo using an old time favorite mexican icon: El Chavo del Ocho.
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The Mexico Brief @themexicobrief.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
An entrenched culture of political trolling reached an unedifying peak this week in Mexico’s Congress, @davidagren.bsky.social breaks down how we got here. Free now:
themexicobrief.org
Scuffle in Congress reflects Mexico’s entrenched culture of political trolling — The Mexico Brief.
by David Agren, writer-at-large. The permanent session of Mexico’s congress ended on Thursday with fireworks and fisticuffs with Institutional Revolutionary Party president Alejandro Moreno c...
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David Agren @davidagren.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Mexico probably isn’t looking to Canada as an ally. "Canada is not going to send mounted police to rescue Mexico from the DEA. We know that.” www.themexicobrief.org/latest/does-...
themexicobrief.org
Analysis: Does Mexico have a bargaining advantage over Canada? — The Mexico Brief.
Mexico expelled 26 narco bosses to the United States on Wednesday, responding to the Trump administration to crack down on drug cartels. Among those expelled were Servando Gómez Martínez, “ La Tuta ...
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Scott Lincicome @scottlincicome.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
"What Happens When Politicians Meddle With Economic Data: Argentina’s Example" www.wsj.com/economy/trum...
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Rodolfo Soriano-Núñez @rsnunez.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
With my commentary on the different look one gets at the US tariffs madness when watching from Mexico City or Ottawa... By @davidagren.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
theglobeandmail.com
Mexico’s Sheinbaum has more leeway than Carney when dealing with Trump
Mexican President can say whatever she wants in public, all the while acquiescing to U.S. demands as the trade war continues
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Harim B. Gutiérrez @harimbgutierrez.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
1- Un pintura representativa de la vida política de México durante el siglo XX. Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957), "El Hueso", c. 1940, Museo Nacional de Arte, INBA, México. munal.emuseum.com/objects/77/e...
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The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 08/08/2025
Trump has directed the Pentagon to begin preparing options to use military force against Latin American drug cartels, the latest step in the administration’s campaign against the cartels.
on.wsj.com
Trump Orders Pentagon to Prepare to Target Drug Cartels in Latin America
Options under discussion are focused on special forces operations, intelligence support and precision targeting, a senior U.S. official said.
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The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 04/08/2025
Mexico’s president wants to reach an agreement with the U.S. to further cooperate on security, but she has been undermined by the cartels’ pervasive influence.
on.wsj.com
Mexico’s Drug Cartels Bedevil Sheinbaum’s Dealmaking With Trump
The Mexican president wants to reach an agreement with the U.S. to further cooperate on security, but she has been undermined by the cartels’ pervasive influence.
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