US revokes visa for son of Mexico's former president López Obrador, straining bilateral ties

Visa revocation

Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, the 39-year-old son of former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, announced late Thursday night that the United States had revoked his visa. In a three-page open letter to President Donald Trump posted on social media, López Beltrán attributed the decision to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau, saying the officials had no evidence against him regarding any immoral or criminal act. He called the revocation "a crude and perverse act" and described the measure as "Hitlerian in style." The letter was later deleted from social media.

López Beltrán was the number two official of Mexico's ruling Morena party until May 2026, when he stepped down to run for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies in the 2027 midterm elections, likely representing a district in his home state of Tabasco. His father founded Morena in 2011 and served as Mexico's president from 2018 to 2024. López Beltrán was elected the party's secretary of organisation in September 2024, weeks before his father left office.

Sheinbaum's response

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, López Obrador's political successor, said Friday that the visa revocations amount to interference in Mexican politics. At her morning news conference, she said the cancellations have a political sense because they are not applied consistently across all countries.

“I am not going to bow my head either.”

Sheinbaum said she would seek to maintain the best possible relationship with the United States but insisted the bilateral relationship must be built with respect for Mexican sovereignty. She added that she was unaware of any domestic prosecutorial investigations into López Beltrán. When asked about his letter, she said he has the right to write what he decides, and described the matter as "an issue of defending the homeland, as simple as that."

Broader pattern

The revocation of López Beltrán's visa fits a pattern of US visa cancellations targeting Mexican public figures. According to an October report by Reuters, the Trump administration had revoked travel privileges for at least 50 Mexican politicians and officials spanning various political parties as part of its anti-cartel measures. Among those affected are governors Alfonso Durazo of Sonora, Américo Villarreal of Tamaulipas, and Marina del Pilar of Baja California.

State Department officials have said such revocations are directed at individuals implicated in corruption, narcotics smuggling, or assisting unlawful migration. López Beltrán has been accused of corruption by political opponents, but he has denied the allegations and authorities have never filed formal charges against him. The US State Department and the US embassy in Mexico did not respond to requests for comment.

Political fallout

Morena issued a statement rejecting "the use of migration instruments as a mechanism of political interference." Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada and Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez expressed solidarity with López Beltrán. In his letter, López Beltrán said he had no desire to visit the United States during what he called "these decadent and lamentable times of hatred, racism, drug addiction, family breakdown, social discontent and sorrow." He called Trump "arrogant" if he was aware of the decision, and urged him to fire Rubio if he was not. Sheinbaum has attempted to walk a political tightrope amid an intensifying pressure campaign from Washington, pledging cooperation on cartel issues while defending Mexican sovereignty.