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President Sheinbaum said Mexico has nary probe nether mode into whether Maduro is linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, arsenic the US has claimed.
Published On 8 Aug 2025
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, has denied that her authorities has immoderate grounds linking Venezuelan person Nicolas Maduro to the Sinaloa Cartel, a transgression web based successful her country.
Sheinbaum’s statements connected Friday were prompted by an announcement 1 time earlier that the United States would treble its reward for accusation starring to Maduro’s arrest, putting the existent reward astatine $50m.
The medication of US President Donald Trump claimed Maduro was “one of the largest narco-traffickers successful the world” and that helium had nonstop ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, arsenic good arsenic 2 different Venezuelan gangs.
Sheinbaum was asked astir those allegations successful her greeting quality league connected Friday. She answered that this week was the archetypal clip she had heard of specified accusations.
“On Mexico’s part, determination is nary probe that has to bash with that,” Sheinbaum said. “As we ever say, if they person immoderate evidence, amusement it. We bash not person immoderate proof.”
A past of ‘maximum pressure’
Mexico has agelong maintained diplomatic relations with Venezuela, portion the US has breached its ties with the authorities successful Caracas implicit questions astir the legitimacy of Maduro’s presidency.
Instead, the US has recognised candidates from Venezuela’s absorption conjugation arsenic the country’s rightful leaders, and it has besides heavy sanctioned Maduro and his allies.
Trump, successful particular, has had a rocky narration with Maduro implicit his years arsenic president. During his archetypal term, from 2017 to 2021, Trump pursued a run of “maximum pressure” against Maduro, which included an archetypal reward of $15m.
That magnitude was aboriginal raised to $25m during the last weeks of President Joe Biden’s presidency, successful absorption to Maduro’s hotly contested re-election to a 3rd word successful 2024.
Election observers said that the ballot had not been “democratic“, and the absorption conjugation published earthy ballot tallies that appeared to contradict the government’s authoritative results.
But arsenic Trump began his 2nd word connected January 20, critics speculated that the Republican person would soften his attack to Maduro successful bid to question assistance with his run of wide deportation.
Venezuela has a past of refusing to judge deportees from the US.
Since then, Trump has sent envoy Richard Grenell to the Venezuelan superior of Caracas and secured deals that saw US citizens released from Venezuelan custody. Venezuela has besides accepted to person deportation flights from the US successful caller months.
But the Trump medication has maintained it has nary volition of recognising Maduro’s government.
Legitimising claims of an ‘invasion’
The accusations against Maduro further different Trump goal: legitimising his sweeping claims to enforcement power.
Since returning to bureau successful January, Trump has invoked exigency measures, including the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, to facilitate his argumentation goals, including his run of wide deportation.
Trump was re-elected connected a hardline level that conflated migration with criminality.
But successful bid to usage the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law, Trump had to amusement that either the state was engaged successful a “declared war” oregon that it faced an “invasion oregon predatory incursion” from a overseas nation.
To conscionable that requirement, Trump has blamed Venezuela for masterminding a transgression “invasion” of the US.
On Thursday, Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi besides accused Maduro of moving manus successful manus with the cartels to nett from their drug-smuggling enterprises.
“Maduro uses overseas violent organisations similar TdA [Tren de Aragua], Sinaloa and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and unit into our country,” Bondi said successful a video.
“To date, the DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] has seized 30 tonnes of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, with astir 7 tonnes linked to Maduro himself, which represents a superior root of income for the deadly cartels based successful Venezuela and Mexico.”
But successful May, a declassified quality memo from the US authorities formed uncertainty connected the allegation that Maduro is puppeteering pack enactment successful the US.
“While Venezuela’s permissive situation enables TDA to operate, the Maduro authorities astir apt does not person a argumentation of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA question to and operations successful the United States,” the memo said.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil responded to Bondi’s claims connected Thursday by calling them “the astir ridiculous smokescreen ever seen”.
Source:
Al Jazeera and quality agencies
English (US) ·