Trump administration pressures Mexico to focus on politicians tied to drug cartels

The Trump administration is pressuring Mexico to research and prosecute politicians with suspected hyperlinks to organized crime, and to extradite them to the USA if there are felony costs to reply there, in accordance with sources accustomed to the matter.

The requests – raised at the least 3 times by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his workforce in bilateral conferences and conversations with Mexican officers – search to push President Claudia Sheinbaum’s authorities to research present elected officers and launch an unprecedented crackdown on narco corruption, 4 folks accustomed to the matter stated.

Of their discussions, the US officers have known as for motion in opposition to a number of politicians from Sheinbaum’s personal Morena occasion and threatened to levy additional tariffs if Mexico didn’t take motion, two of the sources stated.

The conversations haven’t been beforehand reported.

President Donald Trump’s administration has justified its declarations of tariffs on Mexico on the rising affect of the cartels over the federal government.

A crackdown – probably focusing on high-ranking elected officers whereas they’re in workplace – would mark a dramatic escalation of Mexico’s efforts in opposition to drug corruption. But it surely carries political dangers for Sheinbaum, as a few of the allegations contain members of her personal occasion, a member of her safety cupboard instructed Reuters.

The US first raised the request at a gathering in Washington on February 27 led by Rubio and Mexican Overseas Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente, the 4 folks accustomed to the matter stated. US Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi and different officers from the Departments of Homeland Safety and Justice in addition to Treasury attended the assembly, the 4 folks stated. Mexico’s Lawyer Basic Alejandro Gertz and Secretary of Safety Omar Garcia Harfuch had been additionally on the assembly.

The Mexican Presidency, overseas ministry, Lawyer Basic’s Workplace and Safety Ministry didn’t reply to requests for touch upon the talks. The White Home, State Division, Division of Justice and Division of Homeland Safety additionally didn’t reply to Reuters questions.

Mexico despatched 29 cartel figures to the U.S. in late February – the most important such handover in years – following Trump’s threats to impose across-the-board tariffs on Mexican items. The opportunity of expediting the seize and/or deportation of precedence DEA and FBI targets was additionally mentioned, two of the sources stated.

As a part of the discussions, two of the folks accustomed to the matter stated, U.S. officers floated the thought of appointing a U.S. fentanyl czar to liaise immediately with Sheinbaum on progress to fight the lethal artificial opioid.

Washington additionally pressed Mexico for extra thorough inspections of U.S.-bound cargo and vacationers on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Alleged cartel hyperlinks

Though Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s workplace is unbiased of Sheinbaum’s administration below the nation’s structure, Washington has lengthy accused Mexico of defending politicians alleged to have hyperlinks to the cartels.

Serving state governors and federal lawmakers are immune from prosecution for many crimes and may solely be prosecuted for critical federal crimes like drug trafficking or racketeering if approved by Mexico’s Congress.

Reuters couldn’t decide if the U.S. supplied Mexico with an inventory of politicians suspected of hyperlinks to organized crime, or proof in opposition to them.

However two of the sources stated 5 present Morena officers and one former senator had been talked about – together with Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Avila.

Avila introduced on her social media accounts on Could 11 that the U.S. had revoked her and her husband’s vacationer visas. She didn’t present a cause and stated canceling the visa was “an injustice.” The State Division and U.S. embassy in Mexico Metropolis haven’t commented on the case.

Going after serving politicians has lengthy been thought-about a crimson line in Mexico, 5 diplomatic officers stated. Whereas Mexican politicians have sometimes been arrested and prosecuted for corruption in the USA, this has solely occurred after they left workplace.

In 2020, when former Mexican Protection Secretary Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested at Los Angeles Airport on the request of the DEA it sparked a diplomatic disaster and halted co-operation between the 2 nations on drug trafficking crimes.

The US dropped the fees and Cienfuegos returned to Mexico the place he has not confronted prosecution.