Mexico seizes part of part railway line, sending in marines to take over

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government sent in marines Friday to take over part of a private railway line in southern Mexico. The government said it would compensate the owners for what it called the “temporary occupation” of the railway run by a Mexican company, Grupo Mexico Transportes. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador needs the rail line to fill out the rail-seaport network he is trying to build on the isthmus to connect Pacific coast ports with the Gulf of Mexico. In a statement, the company said that “the surprising and unusual takeover of the installations by the armed forces is being analyzed by Grupo Mexico Transportes, its investors and advisers.” The company said it was continuing to offer service on a roughly 60-mile stretch of the freight line, formally known as Ferrosur SA de CV. The U.S. State Department said after the port seizure that it was “concerned about the fair treatment of our companies in Mexico.” “Cases like these have the potential to impact our ability to achieve our shared vision for improving livelihoods in one of Mexico’s most economically disadvantaged regions.