Justice should not happen in another country, even without evidence
En Veracruz, la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum trazó una frontera simbólica entre la soberanía judicial de México y las presiones del Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos, que acusó a diez funcionarios mexicanos, entre ellos al gobernador con licencia de Sinaloa. Su respuesta no fue solo defensiva: fue una declaración de principio sobre el derecho de una nación a juzgarse a sí misma. Al mismo tiempo, rechazó distanciarse de su predecesor López Obrador, afirmando que su gobierno es el segundo piso de un proyecto político con cimientos propios, en un momento que ella misma describió como decisivo para la historia de México.
- El Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos acusó a diez funcionarios mexicanos, encendiendo una disputa sobre quién tiene autoridad para impartir justicia en suelo mexicano.
- Sheinbaum advirtió que se avecina una ofensiva 'muy fuerte' para obligar a México a subordinar sus tribunales a decisiones extranjeras, sin que existan pruebas presentadas ante la justicia mexicana.
- La presión política incluye el intento de separar a Sheinbaum de López Obrador, una maniobra que la presidenta rechazó abiertamente al reafirmar la continuidad de la Cuarta Transformación.
- Anticipó una campaña intensa contra su predecesor tras la carta que él publicó en su defensa, señalando que la tormenta política apenas comienza.
- Frente a la turbulencia, Sheinbaum apostó por la gobernanza cotidiana como respuesta: inaugurar obras, estar con el pueblo y dejar que los resultados hablen por sí mismos.
Desde Veracruz, la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum respondió con firmeza a las acusaciones del Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos contra diez funcionarios mexicanos, incluido el gobernador con licencia de Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya. Para Sheinbaum, el asunto va más allá de los nombres involucrados: se trata de si México conserva el derecho de administrar su propia justicia. "Quieren que aceptemos que la justicia no debe ocurrir en México sino en otro país, incluso cuando no hay evidencia", advirtió, dejando claro que sus tribunales, no los extranjeros, determinarán culpas en territorio nacional.
El contexto político añadió peso al momento. Días antes, López Obrador había publicado una carta en defensa del gobierno de Sheinbaum, invocando la soberanía nacional. Lejos de tomar distancia de su predecesor, la presidenta lo reivindicó: "Somos el segundo piso de la Cuarta Transformación, y tiene los cimientos de López Obrador". Defendió su legado con cifras concretas: 13.5 millones de mexicanos salidos de la pobreza y una vasta obra de infraestructura en seis años de gobierno.
Sheinbaum no se mostró ingenua ante lo que viene. Anticipó una campaña "tremenda" contra López Obrador a raíz de su carta, y reconoció que la presión externa buscará intensificarse. Pero su respuesta no fue de repliegue sino de convicción: México no cederá su soberanía judicial, y su gobierno no traicionará el proyecto político que la llevó al poder. La mejor respuesta a las campañas, concluyó, es seguir gobernando: inaugurar obras, estar con la gente, y dejar que el trabajo diario hable por sí mismo.
President Claudia Sheinbaum stood in Veracruz and drew a line. The United States Department of Justice had just leveled accusations against ten Mexican officials and former officials, including Sinaloa's governor on leave, Rubén Rocha Moya. But Sheinbaum was not interested in accepting those charges at face value. She was interested in defending something larger: Mexico's right to judge itself.
"We're facing a very strong, very strong offensive," she said, "because they want us to accept that justice should not happen in Mexico but in another country, even when there is no evidence for what the Department of Justice says." The words were measured but firm. This was not a casual complaint. This was a president asserting that her nation's courts, not foreign ones, would determine guilt or innocence on Mexican soil.
The timing mattered. Just days earlier, her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador had published a letter defending Sheinbaum's administration and invoking national sovereignty. The former president's gesture had opened a door—and now, Sheinbaum was walking through it. She was not going to distance herself from López Obrador, no matter what her critics wanted. "They want the president to separate herself from López Obrador, to say it's not the same thing," she said. "But they're going to be disappointed, because we are the second floor of the Fourth Transformation, and it has López Obrador's foundations."
Sheinbaum reframed the stakes as historical. If Mexico allowed foreign courts to dictate its judicial outcomes, she argued, the country would lose something fundamental. "Imagine if the United States Department of Justice now decides for Mexico. No. Imagine if we no longer have a Judicial Power but instead follow everything that comes from outside. This is an important moment for Mexico's history." She acknowledged that corruption among officials could exist, but insisted that Mexican justice—not American justice—must address it.
She also defended her predecessor's record. López Obrador had governed for six years, she noted, and his administration had lifted 13.5 million Mexicans out of poverty while building infrastructure across the country. The people knew who he was, she said. They understood what he had done. And they continued to support him.
But Sheinbaum also anticipated what was coming. "There's going to be a campaign against López Obrador after that letter," she warned. "A tremendous one, tremendous." She seemed to expect the pressure to intensify, the criticism to sharpen. Yet her response was not defensive posturing. It was a statement of principle: Mexico would preserve its sovereignty, and her government would not be moved by external pressure to betray the political project that had brought her to power.
In the end, she offered a simple answer to the noise. "The best response to these campaigns is to be with the people, to be with the pueblo, to inaugurate works, to keep working every day." It was a return to ground level—away from the abstractions of judicial sovereignty and toward the concrete reality of governance. The works would speak. The programs would speak. And the people, she believed, would listen.
Notable Quotes
They want us to accept that justice should not happen in Mexico but in another country, even when there is no evidence— President Claudia Sheinbaum
We are the second floor of the Fourth Transformation, and it has López Obrador's foundations— President Claudia Sheinbaum
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Sheinbaum keep invoking López Obrador's name when she's the president now? Shouldn't she be standing on her own?
Because she's not trying to erase what came before—she's saying it's continuous. The Fourth Transformation didn't end when he left office. It's her job to build on it. Distancing herself would signal that the whole project was fragile, that it depended on one person. She's saying it doesn't.
But the US is making specific accusations against specific officials. Doesn't Mexico have to respond to that?
Of course. But she's drawing a distinction between responding and capitulating. She's saying: we'll investigate with our own courts, on our own terms, with our own evidence. Not because the US told us to.
Is she worried about the campaign against López Obrador that she mentioned?
Absolutely. She sees it coming. But she's betting that if she stays close to him, stays visible, keeps delivering on programs, the criticism won't stick. The people know him, she said. That's her shield.
What happens if Mexico's courts find the same thing the US is alleging?
Then she can say: we investigated independently and reached our own conclusion. That's sovereignty. That's the point she's making.
Is this about judicial independence or political loyalty?
Both. And she's arguing they're the same thing. A truly independent Mexican court shouldn't take orders from Washington. It should take evidence and law. If those lead to the same place, fine. But the decision has to be Mexico's.