The U.S. and the Weapons That Reach Mexico

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13
PROGRAM #11237 12:00 PM PT

The U.S. and the Weapons That Reach Mexico.

After years of investigation, the Arizona prosecutor’s office announced the dismantling of a weapons smuggling network operating along the border. Based in Phoenix, nearly thirty people face charges for illegally purchasing firearms to smuggle them into Mexico. How did this network operate? What ties does it have to organized crime in Mexico? And what impact does arms trafficking from the United States have on the violence shaking communities on both sides of the border?

Guest: Fernando Coca Menese, Journalist, Author and Political Analyst, Mexico City, MX.

The American Pachuco. A documentary celebrates the life and legacy of Luis Valdez, the Chicano creator who brought his stories from the agricultural fields to Broadway and Hollywood. In this conversation, the film’s director, David Alvarado, reflects on identity, belonging, migration, and the power of telling your own story. He also explains why the figure of the “pachuco” remains central. How does Valdez’s work continue to inspire new generations of Latino and Chicano artists in the United States?

Guest: David Alvarado, Filmmaker, Director and Producer of “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, ” Brooklyn, NY.

The Trauma of Surviving ICE Bullets. Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández was on his way to work when ICE agents stopped him and shot him at close range in an agricultural town in California. He survived, but his life and his family’s have been shattered: he remains detained and faces prosecution, while his wife fights for his rights, raises their daughter alone, and struggles with deteriorating mental health. The violence embedded in immigration policy is generating a state of terror that experts are calling a public health emergency. Why is the Mendoza family’s case not an isolated one? What does it mean to survive an ICE attack? And how are the violent federal operations directly affecting the mental health of communities? This is a special report produced through the Ethnic Media Collaborative, with support from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.

Guest: Sophia Rerucha, Reporter, Mission Local, San Francisco, CA.

AI Used to Deceive on Social Media. Instagram is flooded with profiles that use artificial intelligence to spread health disinformation in Spanish, offering supposed tips and treatments with no scientific basis. Some of these accounts have millions of followers and publish misleading recommendations — like bone broth to relieve leg pain or vinegar with lemon

Guest: Laura Zommer, Co-founder and CEO, Factchequeado, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Design: Sara Shakir

Photo: U.S. Government Accountability Office

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