Sheinbaum calls revocation interference in Mexican politics
The U.S. has revoked the visa of Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, the second son of former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, according to López Beltrán. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum characterized the action Friday as a politically motivated attempt to interfere in Mexican politics and said the U.S. had not notified her government in advance.
López Beltrán disclosed the cancellation in an open letter to President Trump posted on social media late Thursday night and later deleted. In the post, he blamed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his deputy, Christopher Landau — who styles himself “El Quitavisas,” or “the Visa Revoker” — for the revocation. López Beltrán called the action “Hitlerian” and urged Trump to fire both officials, asking whether the move reflected “a sick conservative phobia” directed against his father’s Morena party and its leaders.
López Beltrán said he had committed no criminal or immoral act that would warrant revocation. A U.S. Embassy spokesman declined to comment. A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. maintains a policy of not commenting on specific cases but added that “every visa decision is a national security decision.”
Speaking at her Friday morning press conference, Sheinbaum said, “In my opinion, it’s an attempt to interfere in Mexican politics. I don’t see any other reason.” She said López Beltrán is not under investigation in Mexico.
Known as Andy, López Beltrán held a key political position in Morena after his father’s presidential term ended in 2024. He recently stepped down from his party role and is preparing to run for Mexico’s national assembly in next year’s midterm elections, representing his home state of Tabasco. Mexican media outlets have linked him to various corruption schemes, allegations he has denied.
Sheinbaum described the revocation as the latest U.S. action against Mexican sovereignty, citing the April indictment of Rubén Rocha, the governor of Sinaloa state, and nine other former and current officials on charges of accepting bribes to protect the operations of the Sinaloa cartel. According to the indictments, the Sinaloa cartel’s bribes allegedly helped Rocha win the 2021 governor’s race; Rocha has denied the allegations. Sheinbaum said Mexico would not extradite the men because no supporting evidence had been submitted, and argued that any such evidence should be presented to Mexico for prosecution in Mexican courts.
Last month, Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole said the Mexican government and the country’s cartels were “one and the same” and that the Rocha indictments were “just the beginning of what is to come in Mexico.”
Earlier this month, the State Department revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to Washington amid a separate diplomatic row and accusations that the Trump administration was attempting to interfere in Brazil’s October presidential elections.
Since Trump began his second term, the U.S. has pressed Mexico to permit U.S. troops to operate inside the country alone or in joint operations with the Mexican military, a request Sheinbaum has resisted. On Friday she said the cabinet had unanimously approved sending security chief Omar García Harfuch to a DEA conference in Argentina after deliberating over Mexico’s rocky relationship with the agency. García Harfuch flew to the meeting.
Sheinbaum said she did not believe López Beltrán’s letter would damage the bilateral relationship. “The best way to do things is not to become small,” she said. “Why are we going to kneel? Why are we going to lower our heads? Why are we going to be afraid?”