Former Mexican President's Son Accuses US of Revoking His Visa
Al Jazeera Staff
Andres Manuel Lopez Beltran, son of former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, accused the US of politically motivated visa revocation in an open letter to President Trump. The State Department has not commented, and Mexican President Sheinbaum called it interference in national politics.
Andres Manuel Lopez Beltran, son of former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, publicly accused the US on June 19 (local time) of revoking his visa, calling it a politically motivated act. He made the allegation in an open letter to US President Donald Trump, posted on social media on the evening of June 18.
In the letter, Lopez Beltran directly named US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his deputy Christopher Landau as those who ordered the visa revocation. He stressed: "There is no reason to justify such an arrogant act. It should be emphasized that these officials have no evidence against me of any unethical or criminal behavior."
The US State Department has not publicly responded to Lopez Beltran's accusation. The move comes as the Trump administration is conducting a campaign to revoke visas of multiple Mexican officials across the political spectrum over alleged ties to drug cartels.
Who is Lopez Beltran?
Lopez Beltran, 39, is a prominent Mexican politician who recently stepped down as leader of the leftist Morena party. His father, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, founded the party in 2011 and served as Mexico's president from 2018 to 2024.
Currently, Morena politician Claudia Sheinbaum holds the presidency, and the party enjoys a majority in both houses of the Mexican Congress. Lopez Beltran is expected to run for a seat in the lower house next year.
For most of his father's presidency, Lopez Beltran focused on his chocolate business rather than politics. However, in September 2024, just weeks before his father left office, he was elected organizational secretary of Morena.
In his letter, he called the visa revocation a "brutal and wrong act," accusing US officials of targeting Mexican politicians by labeling them "communists," "threats to US security," or "drug terrorists."
President Sheinbaum's Reaction
On June 19, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had no information about any investigation by Mexican prosecutors into Lopez Beltran. At a morning press conference, she stressed: "This is interference in Mexican politics. I see no other reason for this."
Sheinbaum is treading a delicate line in relations with the Trump administration over cartels and cross-border crime, pledging cooperation while asserting national sovereignty. She has welcomed intelligence cooperation with the US but reportedly declined Trump's offer of US military action on Mexican soil.
Last month, she also rejected claims by the head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that her government had ties to organized crime—a narrative often echoed by Trump.
In April, she condemned the US decision to charge Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha—another Morena official—with drug trafficking and weapons-related charges. She argued that the indictment lacked evidence and that such investigations should be handled by Mexican prosecutors.
The Trump administration accuses Rocha's campaign of having links to the Sinaloa cartel, which Washington designates as a "foreign terrorist organization." Rocha announced a temporary leave from office in May to defend himself against the charges.
