‘Completely false’: Sheinbaum dismisses report of US pressure to prosecute narco-politicians

Is the United States pressuring Mexico to analyse and prosecute politicians with suspected links to transgression organizations?

Does the United States authorities person a alleged “narco-list” of Mexican politicians it believes person ties to organized crime?

The absorption connected these questions has intensified implicit the past period since Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila revealed that the United States had revoked tourer visas for her and her husband, Carlos Torres Torres.

Now, Reuters has reported that the Trump medication is so pressuring Mexico to spell aft politicians with suspected narco ties, but Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry (SRE) and President Claudia Sheinbaum denounced the quality agency’s reporting arsenic “completely false.”

That the United States believes determination are corrupt officials successful Mexico with links to cause cartels is thing new. Indeed, the White House made the daring assertion successful February that that “the Mexican cause trafficking organizations person an intolerable confederation with the authorities of Mexico.”

“The authorities of Mexico has afforded harmless havens for the cartels to prosecute successful the manufacturing and proscription of unsafe narcotics, which collectively person led to the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims,” the White House said successful a “fact sheet” connected tariffs.

The U.S. wants Sheinbaum to spell aft corrupt politicians who person made Mexico a “safe haven” for traffickers who manufacture and transport narcotics similar fentanyl. (US CBP)

Meanwhile, doubly successful the past 8 days the United States Embassy successful Mexico has felt it was indispensable to publically debunk “narco-lists” circulating connected societal media.

Reuters: Mexico nether unit to analyse corrupt politicians

Citing “sources acquainted with the matter,” Reuters reported that “the Trump medication is pressuring Mexico to analyse and prosecute politicians with suspected links to organized crime, and to extradite them to the United States if determination are transgression charges to reply there.”

The quality bureau said that the U.S. “requests” were raised astatine slightest 3 times by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his squad successful bilateral meetings and conversations with Mexican officials. The “list of Marco” oregon “Marco’s list” is an alternate sanction for the alleged U.S. database of Mexican politicians with suspected organized transgression ties.

Citing “four radical acquainted with the matter,” Reuters said that the U.S. requests “seek to propulsion President Claudia Sheinbaum’s authorities to analyse existent elected officials and motorboat an unprecedented crackdown connected narco corruption.”

The quality bureau said that it was told by 2 of its sources that U.S. officials “have called for enactment against respective politicians from Sheinbaum’s ain Morena enactment and threatened to levy further tariffs if Mexico did not instrumentality action.”

Reuters besides reported that 2 sources said that “five existent Morena officials and 1 erstwhile legislator were mentioned” during conversations betwixt U.S. and Mexican officials “including Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila.”

The U.S. archetypal requested that Sheinbaum measurement up unit connected corrupt politicians astatine a bilateral information gathering successful February. In attendance were U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente and others. (U.S. White House via SRE)

Again citing its sources, the quality bureau said that the United States authorities archetypal raised its petition astir the probe and prosecution of Mexican officials astatine a gathering successful Washington connected Feb. 27 attended by Rubio, Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz, Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch and different officials.

Citing an unnamed subordinate of Sheinbaum’s information cabinet, Reuters said that a “crackdown” connected Mexican politicians with suspected links to organized transgression “carries governmental risks” for the president “as immoderate of the allegations impact members of her ain party.”

In its report, Reuters besides said it “could not find if the U.S. provided Mexico with a database of politicians suspected of links to organized crime, oregon grounds against them.”

It besides said it was not “able to independently corroborate if immoderate individuals flagged by the U.S. had engaged successful immoderate wrongdoing.”

Ávila has rejected claims of wrongdoing, including reports that she is nether probe for links to a wealth laundering network. She has asserted that the revocation of her visa was “an administrative decision, not an accusation.”

Like his wife, Carlos Torres Torres is simply a Morena enactment politician. He has served arsenic a lawman successful some the national Congress and the Baja California Congress.

Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila and her hubby Carlos Torres some mislaid their U.S. visas earlier this year. (@MarinadelPilar/X)

Sheinbaum has defended Ávila arsenic questions linger implicit wherefore the governor’s U.S. visa was revoked.

Sheinbaum responds to the report

Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry responded to the Reuters study successful a societal media station connected Wednesday.

“Both the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry and the United States Department of State person fixed transparent accounts of the assorted conversations held betwixt the 2 countries connected assorted issues, including security,” the SRE said.

“It is wholly mendacious that requests were made to investigate, prosecute, oregon extradite immoderate authoritative from Mexico successful the meetings held with Secretary Rubio oregon with his squad from the State Department,” the ministry said.

“The conversations person revolved astir the hunt for agreements connected assorted issues based connected the principles of sovereignty, coordination without subordination, and respect for quality rights,” the SRE said.

Sheinbaum besides described the accusation successful the Reuters study arsenic “completely false.”

Claudia Sheinbaum (@Claudiashein) calificó como “falsa” la nota de Reuters que señala que EU pidió a México investigar a políticos mexicanos con presuntos vínculos con el crimen.

“¿No les parece extraño que cuando estamos en la reunión (con Landau) merchantability la nota? ¿De dónde sale… pic.twitter.com/1tQV353f1n

— Emeequis (@emeequis) June 12, 2025

“Don’t you deliberation it’s unusual that erstwhile we were successful the gathering [with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau” an nonfiction came retired … saying that they were asking america to springiness them names of Mexican politicians. There is thing much mendacious than that,” she told reporters astatine her Thursday greeting property conference.

“But the question is wherever does the [information successful the] nonfiction travel from?” Sheinbaum asked earlier describing the contented of the Reuters study arsenic “completely false.”

She said that the United States “didn’t inquire for anything” astatine her gathering connected Wednesday with Landau and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson, which came up of expected bilateral talks betwixt Sheinbaum and U.S. President Donald Trump during adjacent week’s G7 Summit successful Canada.

The US Embassy denounces different ‘narco-list’

The United States Embassy successful Mexico denounced connected Wednesday an “initial list” of politicians with alleged transgression links posted to societal media by Simón Levy, an entrepreneur and erstwhile lawman tourism curate successful the authorities of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“WARNING. This accusation is false,” the embassy said successful a station to X that showed Levy’s database superimposed with the connection “FALSO” successful red.

Earlier connected Wednesday, Levy announced connected X that helium would uncover the names of “Mexican politicians, governors and politically exposed people” who are taxable to apprehension warrants successful the United States owed to their alleged links to “organized crime, wealth laundering and cause trafficking.”

🚨 ADVERTENCIA 🚨
Esta información es falsa. pic.twitter.com/DlcnTyQAMa

— Embajada EU en Mex (@USEmbassyMEX) June 11, 2025

The 8 names connected his “initial list” included Tamaulipas Governor Américo Villareal, Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and erstwhile Morelos politician and shot prima Cuauhtémoc Blanco. It besides included erstwhile Federal Electricity Commission manager Manuel Bartlett and Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, lad of erstwhile president López Obrador and Morena’s caput of organization.

Levy claimed, without citing immoderate source, that those 5 men and 3 others look charges related to “huachicol,” oregon substance theft.

His assertion came a time aft The Financial Times published a study headlined “How smuggled US substance funds Mexico’s cartels.”

In the report, The Financial Times said that “under unit from the Trump administration, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is trying to ace down connected amerciable substance imports.”

“But the cartels’ connections to the authorities, arsenic good arsenic the immense sums to beryllium made, mean that they person the extortion and inducement to continue,” the study said.

The United States Embassy’s denunciation of Levy’s database arsenic “false” came 8 days aft it labeled arsenic “false” a expected U.S. authorities connection that purported to place assorted “political leaders successful Mexico with ties to cause cartels.”

Asked astir Levy’s database connected Thursday, Sheinbaum said “this idiosyncratic is not worthy talking about.”

Other media outlets substance speculation 

Citing unnamed United States officials, the U.S. investigative journalism organization ProPublica reported connected May 15 that “the Trump medication has begun to enforce question restrictions and different sanctions connected salient Mexican politicians whom it believes are linked to cause corruption.”

“So far, 2 Mexican governmental figures person acknowledged being banned from traveling to the United States,” ProPublica said, referring to Governor Ávila and her husband.

“But U.S. officials said they expect much Mexicans to beryllium targeted arsenic the medication works done a database of respective twelve governmental figures who person been identified by instrumentality enforcement and quality agencies arsenic having ties to the cause trade. The database includes leaders of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s governing party, respective authorities governors and governmental figures adjacent to her predecessor, erstwhile President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the U.S. officials said.”

The database includes figures adjacent to erstwhile President López Obrador, ProPublica reported. (lopezobrador.org.mx)

In effect to the ProPublica report, Sheinbaum said that its author, writer Tim Golden, “already has a past of providing accusation without sources.”

She besides said that her authorities wouldn’t “protect anyone linked to organized transgression arsenic agelong arsenic determination is proof.”

A fewer days earlier ProPublica published its report, writer Salvador García Soto wrote successful a file for the paper El Universal that the Trump administration, “through its almighty Secretary of State Marco Rubio has commenced the ‘hunt’ for Mexican politicians, which, according to their investigations, person links to cause trafficking.”

García asserted that the Department of State has a alleged “list of Marco” that includes “at slightest 44 names of salient officials and politicians” from Mexico with alleged links to cause trafficking, including national ministers, governors, mayors and lawmakers.

He wrote that the database includes “politicians from each existing parties successful Mexico,” but “the bulk of those mentioned are progressive members of Morena, the enactment of President Sheinbaum, and immoderate person a precise adjacent narration with her and with the ex-president López Obrador.”

Asked connected May 15 astir a expected U.S. “narco-list,” that includes the names of “narcogobernadores” (narco-governors) and different officials, Sheinbaum responded:

“There are a batch of rumors. They are rumors.”

She said astatine the clip that her authorities had not received immoderate notification from the United States authorities astir the beingness of “lists” of politicians with links to cause cartels.

With reports from Reuters