Public corporation security services will be favored: Diego Prieto

Angel Vargas

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, p. 5

According to Diego Prieto Hernández, director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), there will be no problem in terminating the relationship with the private security companies SSS Asistencia y Supervisión SA de CV and Sistemas Prácticos en Seguridad Privada SA de CV.

These companies had been assigned through a joint public tender to oversee 30 museums and museum spaces in the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico starting June 1, but their alleged noncompliance—which even led to the temporary closure of several of them, such as the National Museum of Anthropology and Chapultepec Castle—led to their replacement by the Mexico City Auxiliary Police.

The best legal option is being considered in conjunction with the Anti-Corruption and Good Government Secretariat. For now, service has been restored with the Auxiliary Police , the official stated at the end of a press conference.

He explained that the final details are being finalized to sign the contract with the capital city corporation, but that this requires concluding the relationship with those private companies and determining whether to terminate the contract through rescission or early termination.

It's an administrative matter, but there won't be any problems. We're confident there won't be any litigation, because it's clear there were breaches, and we're also confident the company will want to avoid a general ban. Therefore, with the support of the Anti-Corruption and Good Governance Office, we'll reach the best agreement .

"Has there already been a sanction?" the anthropologist was asked, and he clarified that the sanctions are applied immediately. They are deductive and involved removing them from the centers that correspond to the metropolitan area, which comprise the largest portion and the largest volume in terms of number of elements and cost of the contract the company had obtained. What greater sanction could there be?

Asked if these measures will be taken nationwide, he clarified that, based on a statement by President Claudia Sheinbaum, what they are seeking is to have the services of public corporations: We have already asked the Federal Protection Service to provide us with quotes to see if the Treasury will authorize the resources, because their service may be a little more expensive than our ordinary budget .

Europa Press

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, p. 5

Madrid. The Rome Court of Appeal has upheld the convictions of Francesco Bidognetti, head of the Casalesi clan, and his lawyer, Michele Santonastaso, for threats made in 2008 against journalist Rosaria Capacchione and writer Roberto Saviano. Saviano welcomed the ruling and appeared emotional upon learning of the verdict, according to the Italian edition of Vanity Fair .

"My life has been stolen ," Saviano said in the courtroom upon learning the verdict, hugging his lawyer, unable to hold back his tears. According to another Italian outlet, Corriere della Sera , the writer lamented that his life had been ruined and criticized those who doubted he needed police protection.

For years, there were those who said I didn't need police protection, that it was just a privilege. But I dream every day of being able to have a little bit of freedom again, a ride on my motorcycle, a stroll , he said.

The defendants were sentenced to one year and six months in prison, in the case of Bidognetti, and one year and two months for Santonastaso. The judges of the Rome Court, in their reasons for the sentence, assert that the conduct attributed to the two defendants "is part of the organized crime of the Casalesi clan, of which Bidognetti was the leader."

The threats and intimidation blatantly directed against the two journalists were an expression of a precise strategy devised by the mafia boss himself, whose interest was to facilitate and strengthen the clan's control over the territory and strengthen its power , the ruling states.

The conviction stems from events in 2008 during the Spartacus trial in Naples. Lawyer Santonastaso, reading a joint statement signed on behalf of the then-detained Bidognetti and Antonio Iovine, described Saviano and Capacchione as journalistic allies , including them among the alleged enemies of the Casalesi family. This statement was immediately interpreted as mafia intimidation.

The journalist has not commented, but has long described the case as a dark page that shows how gangs use the courts as platforms for intimidation , according to the Italian outlet.