Mexico’s ‘untouchables’ are politicians tied to cartels
10 politicians indicted by the United States enjoy institutional protection from the Mexican government. Source link
All posts tagged: Mexicos
Mexico’s Sheinbaum Escalates Rhetoric Against U.S., Blames Far-Right ‘Offensive’
MEXICO CITY, June 1 (Reuters) – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that far-right sectors in the United States are coordinating with domestic groups to attack her government, escalating her rhetoric against Mexico’s largest trading partner. The remarks follow a weekend rally where Sheinbaum denounced alleged interference by U.S. government agencies and business interests. “I believe it is sectors of the far right in the United States who want a bad relationship with Mexico” because of “ideological” differences, Sheinbaum told a press conference. The leftist president said she does not believe the attacks are being orchestrated by her U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump. Relations between the two nations have been strained since Trump began his second term in January, fueled by disputes over tariffs and immigration policies. Tensions escalated in April after the U.S. Department of Justice indicted 10 Mexican officials, including Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha of the ruling Morena party, for alleged ties to drug trafficking. Following the U.S. indictments of Morena politicians, Sheinbaum has intensified her calls to protect national sovereignty. “Who decides …
Allies of Mexico’s Sinaloa Governor in US Custody on Alleged Drug Charges
NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) – U.S. authorities have detained two former high-ranking officials from Mexico’s Sinaloa state over alleged ties to the powerful Sinaloa cartel, court records and sources said on Friday. They were charged last month along with Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha, who has not yet been detained, in what marks a significant escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Mexico over the fight against the drug cartels. Gerardo Merida Sanchez, who served as public security secretary in Rocha’s government from September 2023 through December 2024, was arrested in Arizona on Monday and appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday, court records showed. Separately, former Sinaloa finance minister Enrique Diaz surrendered to U.S. authorities on Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter. A Sinaloa government source also confirmed he was in U.S. custody. Reuters could not immediately reach Diaz or his representatives for comment. Both former officials were charged in an indictment unsealed in court on April 29 with conspiring with leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel to import massive quantities of …
Mexico’s Sheinbaum Denies Reports of CIA Operations There While CNN Stands by Report
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday denied a CNN report that the CIA was carrying out deadly operations in Mexican territory, accusing the U.S.-based news organization of attempting to “hurt the government and the people of Mexico.” CNN reported Tuesday that the CIA facilitated a targeted assassination of a member of the Sinaloa cartel on a highway outside Mexico City, fueling a firestorm in Mexico. The New York Times later reported that Mexican forces carried out the attack and the CIA provided planning and support. Sheinbaum called the CNN report a “lie.” Asked about the New York Times report during her morning press briefing, she called it “a fiction the size of the universe.” Liz Lyons, a spokesperson for the CIA, also lambasted the CNN report, posting on X that “this is false and salacious reporting that serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk.” A CNN spokesperson said the CIA had been presented with details of the report prior to publication …
Mexico’s goalkeeper Ochoa set to hang up gloves after his sixth World Cup
April 30 : Guillermo Ochoa, one of the most iconic goalkeepers in Mexican football history, will hang up his gloves immediately after the World Cup, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano. “Memo Ochoa will play his sixth World Cup representing Mexico, as the legendary goalkeeper will be part of the squad. Ochoa will retire from professional football immediately after, leaving his club and the national team,” Romano, who specialises in news about soccer transfers, wrote on X. Ochoa appeared to confirm the news himself by reposting Romano’s message. The World Cup, co-hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada, will be a landmark occasion for the 40-year-old shot-stopper, who could become one of the very few players in history, alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, to appear in six World Cup tournaments. Ochoa first represented Mexico on the world stage at Germany 2006 and went on to feature at South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, where he famously saved a penalty from Poland’s Robert Lewandowski. During his 22-year career at club level, …
Mexico’s Sheinbaum seeks ‘irrefutable’ evidence for US charges against Sinaloa governor
Mexico is seeking “irrefutable” evidence to back up the shock US drug trafficking charges against a sitting governor and other officials before proceeding with extradition requests, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday. The US Justice Department unveiled charges on Wednesday against Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and nine others, accusing them of working with the notorious Sinaloa cartel to distribute “massive quantities” of narcotics to the United States. Rocha Moya, a member of the Sheinbaum’s left-leaning Morena party and close ally of her predecessor, has governed the violent state since 2021. The 76-year-old has a long history in public life that included stints as a state lawmaker in the 1980s, the head of the University of Sinaloa in the 1990s, the advisor of two governors in the 2000s and then a state leader for Morena. Read moreChihuahua operation: Mexico, US trade harsh words over deaths of two US agents “If the Office of the Attorney General … receives solid and irrefutable evidence in accordance with Mexican law, or if, in the course of its own investigation, …
Mexico’s Jalisco drug cartel commander ‘El Jardinero’ found hiding in ditch | Crime News
Mexican special forces have arrested Audias Flores, known as “El Jardinero”, one of the top commanders of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), as well as his chief financial operator, Mexico’s Security of Security Omar Garcia Harfuch said. Videos shared by Garcia Harfuch on social media on Monday showed aerial footage of the arrest of Flores as helicopters hovered overhead during the arrest operation, which the Mexican Navy said followed months of surveillance and involved more than 500 troops, six helicopters and several planes. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “Audias Flores Silva, alias ‘El Jardinero’, was detained in Nayarit. He has an arrest warrant in Mexico and is also sought by United States authorities for extradition purposes. For his capture, the US government offered a reward of 5 million dollars,” Garcia Harfuch said in a post on social media. Flores, a regional commander in control of swaths of CJNG territory along Mexico’s Pacific coast, was considered a potential successor to Nemesio Oseguera, alias “El Mencho”, who ran the feared cartel and …
Gunman kills tourist and wounds 6 others on Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramid
MEXICO CITY — A gunman opened fire Monday from a pyramid in the famed Mexican archaeological site of Teotihuacán, killing a female Canadian tourist and wounding six others. At least seven other people were injured as tourists scrambled to escape the gunfire. The shooter later took his own life, officials said. The injured included six U.S. citizens, one of them a 61-year-old woman, as well as a 6-year-old boy from Colombia and two other Colombian nationals. Two Brazilians, one Russian and one Canadian were also injured. At least six of the injured suffered gunshot wounds, authorities said, while others apparently were hurt in falls while trying to escape. There was no immediate breakdown on the conditions of the injured, all of whom were being treated in area hospitals, authorities said. Various Mexican media outlets, citing police sources, identified the assailant as a 27-year-old Mexico City resident who had expressed admiration for Hitler and for the perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. Monday’s attack occurred on April 20, Hitler’s birthday, and also the anniversary …
Mexico’s new top diplomat: A gay millennial and expert on U.S.
MEXICO CITY — The junior Mexican diplomat, part of an official delegation to Washington, was caught in an undiplomatic moment: munching on peanuts piled on a napkin as he sat with political heavyweights including Mexican Cabinet secretaries and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The 2019 image of the peanut-chomping envoy quickly went viral, begetting a biting social-media hashtag: #LordCacahuates (Lord Peanuts). It was the kind of protocol-busting moment that could derail a career. One wag wrote on X that the young diplomat had “behaved like a drunk in a dive bar under the stunned gaze of Nancy Pelosi.” But Roberto Velasco Álvarez survived Peanutgate — with a flourish. Last week, the Mexican Senate confirmed President Claudia Sheinbaum’s nomination of Velasco as the new secretary of foreign relations, Mexico’s equivalent of secretary of State. Velasco, who is 38 but looks even younger, replaced Juan Ramón de la Fuente, 74, a veteran diplomat and academic who stepped down, he said, for health reasons. This was a cultural, as well as generational, changing of the guard. Velasco, a millennial who came …
Mexico’s Police Focus on World Cup While Thousands Remain Missing
new video loaded: Mexico’s Police Focus on World Cup While Thousands Remain Missing transcript Back transcript Mexico’s Police Focus on World Cup While Thousands Remain Missing Mexico’s heavy security investment for the World Cup is drawing criticism from families of the disappeared, who argue the focus on safety for teams and fans ignores their search for missing loved ones. “We’re in a Black Hawk with Mexican police flying over Guadalajara’s Akron Stadium. As Mexico prepares to host four World Cup matches here in June, it’s pulling out the stops on security, deploying thousands more officers and beefing up surveillance. But here in the state of Jalisco, more than 16,000 people are missing or believed to be murdered by drug cartels, individuals, as well as corrupt police officers. And victims’ families say the show of force for the World Cup does nothing to protect them or help find their loved ones. In February, this region erupted in violence after the military killed a powerful cartel leader. And now the government is trying hard to project a …