Sheinbaum defies U.S. demand to extradite Mexican governor on drug charges - BERITAJA

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President denounced arsenic “political” the U.S. prosecution of a sitting Mexican politician and different officials, and said Thursday that Mexico would not comply pinch Washington’s demands that the accused beryllium arrested and extradited to the United States.

“We are not permitting a overseas authorities to opportunity what is the early of Mexico,” said Sheinbaum, who many times assailed U.S. “meddling” successful the incendiary case.

U.S. authorities person not submitted capable grounds to warrant the arrests and detentions of anyone successful Mexico, Sheinbaum said.

Mexico’s rejection of the U.S. request for the apprehension and extradition of the accused would look to put Mexico connected a collision people pinch the Trump, who has harshly criticized Sheinbaum’s authorities for not doing capable to ace down connected cartels.

Sheinbaum’s comments travel a time aft the unsealing of a bombshell indictment successful national tribunal successful New York accusing 10 existent and erstwhile Mexican officials of supplier trafficking and arms offenses and links to the notorious Sinaloa cartel co-founded by Joaquín “E Chapo” Guzmán .

Rubén Rocha Moya, politician of the Mexican authorities of Sinaloa, astatine the inauguration of President Claudia Sheinbaum successful Mexico City successful 2024.

(Luis Barron/ Eyepix Group/Sipa USA via AP)

Topping the database of accused was Rubén Rocha Moya, politician of northwestern Sinaloa state. Also indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice were a national legislator from Sinaloa and the sitting politician of Culiacán, the authorities superior of Sinaloa.

Rocha Moya and others named person denied the charges, calling them an effort to subvert Mexico’s sovereignty.

The indictment outlines a disturbing script of an full Mexican authorities and its institutions astatine the work of the Sinaloa mob.

But Sheinbaum disputed the relationship arsenic inaccurate and lacking evidence. During her greeting news conference, she seemed to mock immoderate of the U.S. grounds — hand-written ledgers allegedly denoting payoffs to Mexican politicians. Her unit projected the images connected the surface during the greeting convention astatine Mexico’s National Palace.

Sheinbaum emphasized that it was unprecedented for the U.S. to initiate charges straight against a sitting governor. “This has ne'er happened before, ever,” she said.

She many times said that her authorities “protects nary one,” but demanded “real” and “irrefutable” grounds earlier taking action against Rocha Moya and others.

Sheinbaum’s defiance sets Mexico connected a confrontation pinch U.S. authorities not seen since 2021, during the first Trump presidency, erstwhile a erstwhile Mexican defense curate was arrested astatine LAX successful Los Angees connected trafficking charges.

Retired Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos was yet released aft an aggravated lobbying run by Mexican diplomats and then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum’s predecessor and mentor.

Cienfuegos ne'er faced charges successful Mexico, and López Obrador accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of fabricating a lawsuit against him. “Why did they do the investigation for illustration this?” López Obrador said astatine the time. “Without support, without proof?”