Mexico's Sheinbaum cries interference as US revokes visa of former president's son

Visa revocation

Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, son of former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and until May the second-in-command of the ruling Morena party, announced on Thursday night that the United States had revoked his visa. In a three-page letter published on Instagram and addressed to President Donald Trump, López Beltrán called the decision "a crude and perverse dirty trick" and described it as "Hitlerian," accusing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau of acting like "gangster bosses" who target those who refuse to submit to their authoritarian ambitions. He called on Trump to fire both officials.

The letter was dated August 13 in Teapa, Tabasco, the municipality López Beltrán seeks to represent as a federal deputy in the 2027 midterm elections. His longer-term goal, according to ABC, is to run for governor of Tabasco in 2030. López Beltrán is one of four sons of the former president, who governed Mexico from 2018 to 2024 and remains a key leader of Morena. Christopher Landau was Trump's ambassador to Mexico during his first term, when the US president had a relatively good relationship with López Obrador.

Sheinbaum's response

President Claudia Sheinbaum, López Obrador's political protégée, told her morning news conference on Friday that the visa cancellations were politically motivated. She said the measures were not applied consistently across countries, as they would be if the intent were truly related to crime, and called them "an act of interference in Mexican politics."

It's a kind of foreign intervention in Mexican politics.

Sheinbaum said Washington should present evidence of any crimes to Mexican prosecutors and allow Mexican judges to determine responsibility. She avoided addressing López Beltrán's case by name, instead placing it among several cases including that of Sinaloa governor Rubén Rocha, who is on leave. She insisted there should be no interference from any country in Mexico's affairs and called for a relationship of mutual respect.

Broader pattern

At least 50 Mexican politicians have had their US visas revoked in recent months, according to El País, including governors Alfonso Durazo of Sonora, Américo Villarreal of Tamaulipas, and Marina del Pilar of Baja California. Mexican media have pointed to possible links between some of those officials and organised crime, including drug trafficking and illegal fuel trade. The US State Department has not commented on López Beltrán's case; a US embassy spokesperson told AFP that visa records are confidential under US law.

The Trump administration has intensified pressure on Mexico over fentanyl trafficking and alleged corruption, indicting high-ranking sitting Morena officials rather than waiting for them to leave office. López Beltrán has been accused of corruption by political opponents, including the opposition National Action Party (PAN), but authorities have never filed formal charges. ABC reported that Sheinbaum privately complained that his ostentatious lifestyle was damaging her administration's image.

López Beltrán's defiance

In his letter, López Beltrán denied any wrongdoing and said US officials had no evidence of immoral or criminal conduct. He wrote that he had no desire to visit the United States and could wait until things change.

I don't mind not going to the United States in these decadent and sad times of hate, racism, drug addiction. I can wait until things change.

He described Trump as "arrogant" if the president was aware of the decision, and called for Rubio's dismissal if he was not.