The U.S. Is Punishing Mexico for Shielding Rubén Rocha: Arturo Villegas
Only one Mexican citizen has ever been shielded by the state against a U.S. extradition request and an Interpol Red Notice: Rubén Rocha Moya. The bill is already coming due. (184 caracteres)
In the country’s history, there is only one case in which the Mexican state has shielded a citizen wanted by the United States for extradition and flagged with an Interpol Red Notice. His name is Rubén Rocha Moya. And the bill has already started to come due.
In Mexico’s history, there is only one case in which the Mexican state has shielded a citizen subject to a U.S. extradition request and an Interpol Red Notice, and refused to hand him over: Rubén Rocha Moya, governor of Sinaloa, on leave, charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.
And it has already begun to affect the bilateral relationship with the United States.
The cancellations are no coincidence
Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, and Sara Carter, Trump’s drug czar, canceled their visits to Mexico hours before critical meetings. The president said it was because they had a cabinet call.
The reality is that Mexico is no longer treated as an equal.
Little by little, the United States has begun sending second-tier representatives. Washington’s top political tier is reserved for countries with democratic leaders and a real commitment to fighting crime. Mexico is no longer in that category.
And if anything confirms it, this does: Mexico was excluded from the Coalition of the Americas Against Terrorism, alongside Brazil and Colombia. Three countries, three governments that have not offered sufficient guarantees of cooperation on security.
The difference is that Brazil and Colombia have elections coming up. The right is gaining in both. With their victories, Mexico will become the most isolated country on the continent. The uncomfortable neighbor. The one that refused to cooperate.
While everyone else lines up as a good partner of the United States, we are shielding Rubén Rocha.
What Mullin demanded — and Sheinbaum refused to give
There are strong rumors that the meeting between Claudia Sheinbaum and Senator Markwayne Mullin, chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, did not go well. There is plenty of reason to think so.
Mullin reportedly demanded outright the extradition of Rocha, Américo Villarreal, Alfonso Durazo, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, and Marina del Pilar Ávila.
Sheinbaum refused flatly. And she understands why: extraditing those five would not mean handing over rotten branches. It would mean admitting that the whole tree is rotten. And that tree is named Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Doing so would be the political end of Morena. That is why she cannot give in, even if the bilateral relationship tanks.
USMCA: Ebrard already said it — get used to the tariffs
Washington is running a cold “take it or leave it” strategy. And Ebrard has already admitted it without meaning to: we have to get used to the tariffs.
Mexico is not in a position to negotiate. It can only accept terms and conditions so the economy does not slide further than it already has. Sheinbaum is not treated as a negotiating partner — she is a mere administrative formality for a power that has already made its decisions.
The USMCA rounds are a countdown engineered to exploit our vulnerabilities:
Late May: Pressure from S&P to extract immediate concessions.
June: Strangulation on manufacturing, energy, and rules of origin.
July 20: The climax — right when domestic energy inventory will be at its most critical point.
This is not an agenda. It is pressure engineering. And Mexico arrives with no cards.
Sovereignty is not impunity
The government calls all of this sovereignty. It says Mexico no longer bows its head.
But there is an enormous difference between sovereignty and impunity at an obscene level never before seen in this country.
The price of shielding the narcobradoristas will not be paid by Morena. It will be paid by the Mexicans who export, who work, who depend on the peso, who pay taxes.
The innocent will pay for the guilty.
With the right poised to win in Brazil and Colombia, we will be the most isolated country on the continent. While everyone else turns into a good partner of the United States, we will be the uncomfortable neighbor hiding its criminals behind a flag.
That is not sovereignty.
It is impunity. At an obscene level. Never before seen.
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