Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has filed a defamation lawsuit against Jeffrey Lichtman after the U.S. attorney made derogatory comments following a court hearing in Chicago.
Sheinbaum is accusing the New York-based criminal lawyer of defamation after Lichtman said last Friday that the Mexican president was acting like a public relations arm for drug traffickers.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Arturo Ángel, winner of Mexico’s National Journalism Award in 2017, reported that Mexico’s Office of Legal Counsel (CJEF) had filed a lawsuit against Lichtman. A day earlier, Ángel had broken the news that Sheinbaum intended to formalize the defamation accusation.
Lichtman’s controversial comments came after his client, Ovidio Guzmán, son of jailed Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and organized crime charges in U.S. federal court.
On Friday, Sheinbaum complained of a lack of communication from the United States about Ovidio’s plea deal. “It should be very clear that we do not defend [cartel members]. What we want is clarification,” she said during her July 11 press conference.
After his client’s hearing, Lichtman responded to Sheinbaum’s criticism, calling the idea that he would seek Mexico’s cooperation in the case “absurd.”
Lichtman questioned the wisdom of involving the Mexican government in drug trafficking cases, citing Mexico’s decision in 2021 to release former Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos after he was indicted in the U.S. on drug charges.
He also compared Mexico’s inability to capture highly sought-after drug lord Ismael Zambada to Pakistan’s inability to capture Osama bin Laden while the Saudi terrorist hid out in Abbottabad, implying that Mexican officials are protecting criminals.
🗳📌 SHEINBAUM RESPONDE AL ABOGADO DE OVIDIO GUZMÁN: “FUE IRRESPETUOSO”
La presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum respondió al abogado de Ovidio Guzmán, Jeffrey Lichtman, quien calificó de “absurda” la idea de que México debía participar en el acuerdo de culpabilidad firmado en EU.
Dijo… pic.twitter.com/UTeiHoKsoz
— Juan Ortiz 🗳️👁🗨 (@Juan_OrtizMX) July 11, 2025
From Sinaloa on Friday afternoon, Sheinbaum quickly held a press conference on the quarrel, where she called Lichtman “disrespectful.” Shortly after, the Federal Attorney General’s Office released a statement demanding that the attorney submit documentation to prove his allegations that Mexican officials are colluding with drug traffickers.
In response, Lichtman referred to Sheinbaum as a cartel spokesperson in a social media post:
“Apparently the president of Mexico is displeased with my truthful comments about her corrupt office and government. She can call as many hastily convened press conferences as she likes, but the people of Mexico (and myself), know she acts more as the public relations arm of a drug trafficking organization than as the honest leader the Mexican people deserve.”
When asked on Monday to respond, Sheinbaum declined, saying she would not engage in a tit-for-tat with an attorney who defends drug traffickers. Instead, she said, the CJEF would file a lawsuit in Mexico, “because we can not allow such slander.”
And there you go. According to Jeffrey Lichtman, Ovidio Guzman’s lawyer, the reason USA doesn’t trust #Mexico when it comes to coordinating against the cartels is because of the Cienfuegos debacle.
Hard slap to the #morena socialist narcoregime. https://t.co/Rcav3RQWpf pic.twitter.com/3wk6iOwa22
— David Wolf (@DavidWolf777) July 11, 2025
Sheinbaum also said her administration was reviewing the Cienfuegos case and Lichtman’s involvement in it, insisting that Cienfuegos is innocent.
For his part, Lichtman has declined to comment further.
During Friday’s court hearing, it was confirmed that Lichtman, who served on El Chapo’s defense team, would be defending brothers Iván and Alfredo Guzmán in addition to Ovidio. Lichtman was already serving as defense attorney for another Guzmán sibling, Joaquín, who turned himself into U.S. authorities in July 2024.
With reports from Milenio, El Financiero and Border Report
