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

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government has sent in marines to take over part of a private railway line in southern Mexico. It is not clear whether the seizure of the rail line on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on Friday constitutes an expropriation. The government says it will compensate the owners for what it calls the “temporary occupation” of the railway run by Grupo Mexico Transportes. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador needs the rail line for the rail-seaport network he is trying to build on the isthmus, connecting Pacific coast ports with the Gulf of Mexico. It marks the second time this year that López Obrador has seized ports or rail lines from private companies.