Chihuahua Rally canceled due to violence in the state
Clashes reported on highways
Chihuahua Rally canceled due to violence in the state
Jesus Estrada
Correspondent
La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, April 25, 2025, p. a11
Chihuahua, Chih., The Rally Chihuahua Express motorsports race, which had been held for 17 consecutive years and is part of the FITA (International Adventure Tourism Festival) program, announced its cancellation yesterday due to clashes between organized crime groups on the state's highways.
The competition's organizing committee reported that "due to the current conditions and recent events in Chihuahua, in conjunction with sports and state authorities, the difficult decision has been made to cancel the event.
We thank all the teams, volunteers, and federal, state, and municipal authorities for all the support they provided in planning this race.
This year's rally was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, April 23, with qualifying on the Curvas del Perico section on the free highway to Ciudad Juárez. Stage 1 was scheduled to begin yesterday, from Chihuahua to Ciudad Madera and returning to the capital.
This Friday, April 25, Stage 2 planned to run from the capital to El Divisadero, located in the Copper Canyon, passing through Creel and Bocoyna, before returning to Chihuahua. On the final day, Saturday, April 26, the route would run from the city center to Ojinaga, passing through the Pegüis Canyon and the Coyame Caves.
Regarding the Chihuahua Express Rally, the Mexican Federation of Sports Motorsports highlights that it has several speed stages and features classic and sports cars, with several categories involved, on a 1,400-kilometer route over four days, which is contested primarily between four locations: the capital of the state of Chihuahua, Ciudad Madera, El Divisadero, and Ojinaga.
Twenty crews from various countries, including Sweden, Canada, the United States, England, and Mexico, will participate. Lalo Henkel with Sergio Puente and Doug Mocket with Manuel Iguiniz were winners in previous editions and will return to compete this year. Also participating will be former formula car driver Gilberto Jiménez, with Armando Zapata as his co-driver, and Enrique Montaño, a Studebaker driver from the Carrera Panamericana.
They carry out operations
On Wednesday, April 23, members of the State Investigation Agency, in coordination with members of the State Public Security Secretariat, the Mexican Army, and the National Guard, conducted operations on the highway from Ojinaga to the municipality of Aldama, following reports of an armed confrontation during the early morning hours.
On four different stretches of the highway, they found an arsenal of nine assault rifles, more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition and homemade explosive devices, as well as two burned vehicles and a trailer. The criminals also left tire punctures, stole belongings from bus passengers, and set a fire at a toll booth.
On the highway from Chihuahua to El Divisadero, on the Riva Palacio-Cuauhtémoc stretch, armed men attacked a patrol car from the State Investigation Agency near the El Pino orchard.
State prosecutors' sources explain the clashes as incursions by two Sinaloa cartel groups: Los Jaguares in the Cuauhtémoc region and Los Cabrera in Ojinaga, to dispute control of highways and roads with the criminal organization La Línea , which belongs to the Ciudad Juárez cartel.
Owners' unity key to LMB success: De la Vega
Erendira Palma Hernández
La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, April 25, 2025, p. a11
With an increase in the number of fans, especially among younger generations, Horacio de la Vega, president of the Mexican Baseball League, noted that the unity among the owners has been vital to driving the development of the tournament and even becoming an example for other leagues in the country in certain aspects.
"Football requires many important changes. It's up to great friends like Mikel Arriola (commissioner of the Mexican Football Federation) and Ivar Sisniega (executive president of the FMF) to tighten the screws so we can continue growing. In baseball, what we've done well is to reach an agreement among ourselves, making decisions collectively.
I don't know if we're examples, but we are clear, consistent, and determined to execute, and this type of thing, like fans cleaning the stadium properly and giving them a garbage bag, is an example. Many leagues can follow suit; it's up to them; we do the best we can
, he stated.
When De la Vega took over as president of the LMB in 2019, the challenge was to increase stadium audiences and, above all, reach new generations. The initiatives he has worked on with the owners allow the baseball tournament to boast an average attendance of 11,000 fans at games, which is higher than that of some Liga MX soccer teams. Furthermore, 74 percent of this new market is under 45 years old.
The strategy
De la Vega's strategy to boost the tournament was both to generate good communication with the owners and to create an engaging experience for fans, which included everything from music that connects with the younger generation, a good food offering, and safe and clean stadiums.
He noted that the crowning achievement of this fine work at the helm of the so-called King of Sports would be securing the baseball and softball teams a place in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, as well as performing well in that tournament and the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The executive announced that for the 100th anniversary of the LMB, they have already prepared a series of activities, including a photo exhibit in Chapultepec and another of sculptural caps on Paseo de la Reforma, as well as the launch of a book detailing the history of the competition, an album, and murals in several states across the country.
The Mexican Grand Prix will continue
▲ The head of government, Clara Brugada, announced that the agreement with Formula 1 will be signed on April 30, thus maintaining the Mexico City Grand Prix. "So, that's good news
," she stated, without giving further details about the extension of the sporting event. The current agreement between F1 and the Mexico City government for the race was valid until 2025, after having been renewed twice during the previous administration. Since 2019, both parties, following the controversy that erupted after the city authorities announced that the contract would not be renewed, established a financing model without resorting to public funds, so the event operates under the administration of a private trust. The terms of the new agreement and its duration are still unknown, but if they remain unchanged, the Grand Circus could secure three more years at the Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack. Photo by Víctor Camacho, with information from the Editorial Staff.
La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, April 25, 2025, p. a11
▲ In recognition of his legendary career, Hugo received a sculpture of his feet, titled Golden Roots , created by Italian artist Dante Mortet. Photo by Marco Peláez
Erendira Palma Hernández
La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, April 25, 2025, p. a12
The greatest lesson that Hugo Sánchez learned was when he played for Atlético de Madrid under the command of Luis Aragonés, a coach who told him a phrase that would be transcendental: Do great things, if you do, you will live forever
.
There isn't as much excitement (for the 2026 World Cup) as there was in other occasions, when we had more quality, talent, and seriousness. Now the national team isn't as prepared as it was in 1986
, he noted.
Regarding the case of León, which was excluded from the Club World Cup for violating the regulations against timeshare ownership, he considered that there is a lack of unity among the owners of Liga MX teams to defend the spot obtained by the emerald team in a sporting manner.
He earned it on the field, and now this is outrageous; it's shameful to me. I'm a great defender of FIFA; I was a member of the organization for many years, but I think they're doing things wrong
, he asserted.
Hugo received a sculpture of his feet as a tribute, titled Golden Roots, created by Italian artist Dante Mortet, who also made one for Pelé.
In addition to the piece, Mortet's son created another work for the former Mexican striker, reusing a photograph of Sánchez when he played for Atlético Madrid, just as he shot at the goal, which he edited to include a golden ball.
This man has a lot of strength, which he transforms into elegance. This photo shows rigor and balance. Art is the great opportunity to transform champions into heroes
, Mortet noted when presenting both works to the Pentapichichi.
In this tribute, Sánchez highlighted that Aragonés' words were what would later lead him to win five Pichichi awards as the top scorer in Spain and become the Mexican footballer with the greatest international success.
Road to success
While I was in Spain, I did miss Mexico, but I knew I couldn't return because I hadn't completed my mission. To become a great, I had to go to Europe; if I had stayed here, I'd still be the best player in history to play for Mexico, scoring goals for the national team. I played in Europe for Atlético and Real Madrid. The further you go, the greater the recognition.
However, despite the glory he has achieved, the only regret he still feels is not having achieved a better performance with the national team.
A journalist asked me: Why didn't you win the World Cup in 1986 with Mexico? I replied that back then I hardly had any warm-up matches with the national team, as there were no FIFA dates.
However, Sánchez recounted that he had a rematch to achieve his childhood dream of winning the World Cup with the Tricolor at the 1970 Mexico City International Cup, although he didn't have the support. "When I was introduced as the Tricolor's coach, I told the directors that I needed three World Cups to be champions, and they just stared at me. I told them that then we wouldn't be world champions because they don't believe it
," he concluded.
Chivas women's team has one foot in the league semifinals
▲ The red and white team won 2-0 against Pumas in the first quarterfinal match. Photo: Chivas Femenil
From the Editorial Staff
La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, April 25, 2025, p. a31
Chivas advanced to the semifinals of the Liga MX Femenil Clausura 2025 tournament after defeating Pumas 2-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinals, played yesterday at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Jalisco.
The goals for the Guadalajara team were scored by Esbeydi Salazar (60) and Alicia Cervantes (80), who reached 159 goals in total, thus continuing as one of the league's top scorers.
The red and whites made their home advantage count from the opening minutes and created danger; however, the feline defense, led by Julissa Dávila, became an insurmountable wall, while the offense forgot to attack, so both teams went into the break scoreless.
It wasn't until the 60th minute that Chivas managed to breach the auriazul goal, after Salazar received a pass sent from long distance and defined with a cross shot to beat goalkeeper Wendy Toledo and put the score at 1-0.
The home side extended their lead (2-0) in the 80th minute through Cervantes, who scored with a shot from the center of the box. The goal was nearly disallowed due to an alleged offside by the forward; however, referee Carlos Trejo validated it after reviewing the play with VAR.
In stoppage time, at 90+6, the red-and-whites celebrated a third goal thanks to a header from Adriana Iturbide, which was not counted due to an alleged prior foul.
The second leg of this series will be played this Sunday at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario.
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