Mexican president suffers court reverse, tensions rise

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Supreme Court has struck down part of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s ‘jail, no bail’ program. The court voted against mandatory pre-trial detention for people accused of fraud, smuggling or tax evasion. Because trials can take years in Mexico, the justices argued that being held in prison during trial was equivalent to being punished with no conviction. Instead, prosecutors will now have to convince judges there are reasons not to release people on their own recognizance. López Obrador has already been railing about corrupt judges and rulings he doesn’t like, and Thursday’s supreme court vote was likely to spark more attacks by the president.