The revocation of the Baja California governor’s U.S. tourist visa and a robbery on the Puebla-Mexico City highway that affected one of Mexico’s most successful bands were among the issues President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about at her Tuesday morning press conference.
Sheinbaum also fielded a question about the economic impact of the temporary ban on Mexican cattle exports to the United States, a measure aimed at preventing the spread of the New World screwworm.
Still no clarity on why Baja California governor’s US visa was revoked
A reporter asked the president whether the United States government had provided information to her government about the reasons why the U.S. tourist visas of Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila and her husband Carlos Torres Torres were revoked.
“The only thing they informed was what they publicly informed — that it was a private matter, that it was a personal matter. That’s what the United States Embassy in Mexico said and we haven’t received more information,” Sheinbaum said.
“So we can’t comment further until we receive more information,” she said.
“I do want to make a clarification because some media outlets reported yesterday that there was a freezing of [bank] accounts. We spoke to the governor and the governor told us that she doesn’t have accounts abroad. That is the information from the governor,” Sheinbaum added.
“No le busquen, no hay nada que esconder, no hay nada que averiguar para dañar mi imagen o la de mi persona”, palabras de la gobernadora de Baja California, Marina del Pilar, durante una conferencia de prensa, luego de que se le retiró la visa para entrar a Estados Unidos.… pic.twitter.com/94TzYBH4AT
— Grupo Fórmula (@Radio_Formula) May 12, 2025
Ávila, governor of Baja California since late 2021, announced last weekend that the United States had revoked tourist visas for her and Torres, who, like his wife, is a Morena party-affiliated politician.
She said on Monday that the revocation of her visa “doesn’t mean I’ve done something wrong.”
“It’s an administrative decision, not an accusation,” Ávila said. “There is no crime, there is no offense.”
Luis Chaparro — a journalist who revealed on Monday that 17 members of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s family had crossed the Mexico-U.S. border and handed themselves over to the FBI — asserted on Tuesday that Ávila and her husband are under investigation in the United States “for being part of a money laundering network formed by businesspeople from the region [of Baja California].”
“In other words, Marina del Pilar probably says it’s a personal issue due to her relationship with Carlos Torres Torres, her husband, someone who has a direct relation with this money laundering network,” Chaparro said.
In a social media post on Tuesday, the governor declared that she didn’t have any bank accounts revoked in the United States “simply because they don’t exist.”
“I don’t have any bank account abroad. Since yesterday, journalists and media outlets have disseminated a lie. I reiterate for them and the people, THERE ARE NO ACCOUNTS ABROAD. I will continue walking on the right side of history, with my head held high and my heart forward, serving where it is most needed,” Ávila wrote.
Sheinbaum responds to robbery of vehicle transporting instruments and audio equipment of famous musical group
A reporter mentioned to the president that the Los Ángeles Azules cumbia group had reported that they were victims of a robbery on the highway between Puebla and Mexico City.
In a statement, the Mexico City-based band said that a vehicle transporting their instruments and audio equipment was stolen at a “fake checkpoint” on the Puebla-Mexico City highway last Friday. The vehicle was returning to the capital after a Los Ángeles Azules concert in Tabasco.
“We’re in the process of filing the corresponding complaint with the appropriate authorities, and for the same reason we call on state and federal authorities to take urgent measures and guarantee safe passage on our highways,” said the Los Ángeles Azules, which says on its website that it was the first Mexican group to reach 1 billion views on YouTube.
Sheinbaum told reporters that she had asked General Hernán Cortés, the commander of the National Guard, to get in touch with a representative of the Los Ángeles Azules or a member of the group to find out “exactly” what happened.
She said that authorities would seek a range of information about the robbery, including details about “the modus operandi” of the thieves, as part of the efforts to detain “the culprits.”
Sheinbaum noted that the National Guard is in charge of “highway surveillance” and would carry out “all the preventive actions” required on the section of the Mexico City-Puebla highway where the robbery occurred.
“A lot of progress has been made, but there are still robberies on highways,” she said.
Sheinbaum downplays economic impact of US suspension of livestock imports from Mexico
A reporter asked the president about the economic impact of the United States’ decision to suspend imports of livestock through the southern U.S. border to prevent the spread of New World screwworm, which has been detected in cattle in southern Mexico.
The suspension took effect on Sunday and is scheduled to last 15 days. The United States Department of Agriculture acknowledged that the suspension on imports would have an economic impact on both Mexico and the U.S., but made the decision after the screwworm was detected in Mexican states, including Oaxaca and Veracruz.
Sheinbaum highlighted that “the exportation of cattle” from Mexico to the United States is scheduled to resume in 15 days.
Therefore, export revenue that is lost during this period will be recouped after the suspension ends, she said.
“That’s the objective,” Sheinbaum added.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
