Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
- 🔎 Sheinbaum asks Security Cabinet for information on Zuany: Responding to a Thursday New York Times report that former Chihuahua special prosecutor Guillermo Zuany Portillo has fled to the U.S. and is under U.S. government protection, Sheinbaum said “the story about this character is long” and that she didn’t want to discuss it. However, she said his alleged collaboration with U.S. authorities is “very significant, even for the bilateral relationship” and that she will ask the Security Cabinet for all the information it has on him, including his whereabouts.
- 🇲🇽 🇺🇸 No friction expected with U.S.: Asked whether the Zuany situation could strain bilateral ties, Sheinbaum said it wouldn’t.
- 📊 Gap between INEGI and SESNSP homicide data under review: Sheinbaum said a working group is looking into why INEGI’s 2025 homicide total (29,488) is well above the SESNSP’s (24,348), a difference of 5,140. She noted that the monthly figures presented at her press conference come from state Attorney General’s Offices, while INEGI uses death certificates and other records. INEGI data shows a 12.1% drop in homicides in 2025, compared to 21.2% per the SESNSP’s numbers.
- 🏍️ Drug lord’s motorbikes fetch 71 million pesos: INDEP director Mónica Fernández said the auction of Ryan Wedding’s luxury motorcycles raised 70.91 million pesos (US $3.8 million), about 11 million pesos above expectations. Fifty-seven of the 62 motorcycles were sold, and the remaining five will go up for auction in late November. Proceeds will go to the Office of the Presidency to fund social justice projects, including for the widows of the 2006 Pasta de Conchos mine disaster and for Indigenous Raramuri and Amuzgo communities.
Why today’s mañanera matters
The New York Times’ reporting on Guillermo Zuany Portillo, a former special prosecutor in Chihuahua, was once again a topic of discussion at President Sheinbaum’s morning press conference.
The Times reported on Tuesday that Zuany had facilitated the operation of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in Chihuahua and, in exchange, his U.S. visa — reportedly revoked “because of his suspected ties to the very cartels the C.I.A. wanted to root out” — was reinstated. At her Wednesday morning press conference, Sheinbaum described the report as “very interesting,” and said that it was “worth learning about” who Zuany is “and how he collaborated with one of the U.S. agencies.”
On Thursday, the Times reported that Zuany — who is wanted by Mexican authorities — had fled to the United States.
The former prosecutor’s alleged cooperation with the CIA is part of a larger story that has remained in the headlines in Mexico for much of 2026. In April, CIA officers allegedly participated in a drug lab raid alongside Chihuahua state forces without the authorization or knowledge of the federal government. Two CIA agents and two Chihuahua police officials were killed in a car accident after the raid.
The CIA’s alleged participation in the operation has strained relations between the federal government and the Chihuahua government, which is led by Governor Maru Campos of the National Action Party, Mexico’s main opposition party. It also led Sheinbaum to accuse the U.S. government of interference in Mexico. The former attorney general of Chihuahua, César Jáuregui, was taken into federal custody last month on a charge of treason related to the CIA’s alleged involvement in the drug lab raid.
Beyond the case involving Zuany and the CIA, another notable topic at today’s mañanera was homicide statistics.
A range of experts have expressed skepticism about the accuracy of the Sheinbaum administration’s homicide statistics, with claims that state-based Attorney General’s offices — which provide homicide data to the federal government — are fudging the numbers. There has been renewed focus on the accuracy of the data this week after the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported over 5,000 more homicides in 2025 than the federal government’s Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP), the largest gap in more than a decade.
Sheinbaum: US collaboration with former Chihuahua prosecutor won’t cause friction in bilateral ties
A reporter asked the president about a report published by The New York Times on Thursday that states that Zuany “has fled to the United States and is now under the U.S. government’s protection, according to U.S. and Mexican officials.”
“The story about this character is long,” Sheinbaum said.
“I don’t want to talk about it here at this time,” she added.
Sheinbaum said that Zuany’s collaboration with U.S. authorities is “very significant, even for the bilateral relationship” between Mexico and the United States.
She said she would ask the federal government’s Security Cabinet to provide all the information it has about Zuany, including anything it knows about his current whereabouts.
🚨Claudia Sheinbaum considera que el caso de Guillermo Zuany, exvicefiscal de Chihuahua señalado por presunta corrupción y vínculos con el crimen organizado, es relevante para la relación entre México y Estados Unidos.
La presidenta pidió al Gabinete de Seguridad informar sobre el caso de Zuany, quien se encuentra en territorio estadounidense.
🗞️Israel Aldave | @Radio_Formula
— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) November 13, 2026
“Hopefully the federal Attorney General’s Office or the Security Cabinet can provide information,” Sheinbaum said.
Asked whether “the situation” with Zuany could create “friction” between Mexico and the United States, the president responded:
“No, because it’s been spoken about with the U.S. government.”
Sheinbaum said in April that the U.S. government had agreed to comply with the Mexican Constitution and Mexican laws in bilateral security cooperation. She also expressed confidence that U.S. participation in a security operation on Mexican soil wouldn’t be repeated.
Sheinbaum says government is reviewing discrepancy between INEGI and SESNSP homicide numbers
A reporter asked the president about the discrepancy between INEGI’s 2025 homicide statistics and those of the SESNSP.
Sheinbaum said that the gap between INEGI’s 2025 homicide total (29,488) and that of the SESNSP (24,348) is “something we’re reviewing with INEGI.”
She stressed that the homicide statistics presented at her press conference on a monthly basis come from the country’s Attorney General’s Offices. Sheinbaum noted that INEGI looks at death certificates and records (among other information) when classifying deaths as homicides. She also noted that INEGI publishes preliminary and final data on homicides. Sheinbaum said that the upward revision in INEGI’s 2025 homicide count between its preliminary and final figures was larger than in previous years.
“We have a working group to look at why this situation occurred,” she said.
“And we’re also looking at the difference in each state between what the Attorney General’s Offices reported and what the civil registry later reported. This revision is done with INEGI,” Sheinbaum said.
The Security Ministry said in August that the difference between INEGI’s homicide numbers and those of the SESNSP is “expected” as “each institution performs different functions, uses different [data] integration procedures, has different collection, validation, and publication periods, and generates information for specific purposes.”
However, “both sources show the same trend with respect to the evolution of intentional homicide,” the ministry said.
INEGI’s final data shows that homicides declined 12.1% in 2025 compared to the previous year, whereas the SESNSP reported a significantly larger reduction of 21.2%.
Auction of drug trafficker’s motorbikes raises 71 million pesos
Mónica Fernández, director of the Institute to Return Stolen Goods to the People (INDEP), reported early in the press conference that the auction this week of a collection of luxury motorcycles formerly owned by Canadian drug lord Ryan Wedding raised 70.91 million pesos (US $3.8 million). That amount was around 11 million pesos above expectations.
“We sold 57 of 62 motorcycles,” Fernández said, noting that the motorbikes were seized by authorities and subsequently handed over to INDEP in July.
Wedding’s motorcycles were seized last December after authorities raided four properties in Mexico City and México state linked to the former Olympic athlete known as The King of Cocaine. Wedding turned himself into Mexican authorities in January after more than a decade on the run.
Fernández noted that there was a large turnout at the auction of the drug trafficker’s motorbikes, which was held in Mexico City.
She said that the five motorcycles that weren’t sold will be put on the block at another INDEP auction to be held in late November.
The resources obtained from this week’s sale of Wedding’s motorbikes and other seized assets will be allocated to the Office of the Presidency, and will be used to finance social justice projects, including actions benefiting the widows of the 2006 Pasta de Conchos mine disaster and communities of the Indigenous Raramuri and Amuzgo peoples.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
