The current situation of two Mexican banks that are accused by the U.S. government of money laundering and the deaths of two members of the Mexican Navy were among the issues discussed at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Wednesday morning press conference.
Here is a recap of the president’s Sept. 10 mañanera.
Intercam and CIBanco are ‘operating normally,’ says finance minister
Finance Minister Edgar Amador told reporters that Kapital Bank has purchased “all the divisions” of Intercam, one of three Mexican financial institutions that the United States government accuses of laundering millions of dollars for drug cartels.
The other alleged money launderers are CIBanco and Vector, a brokerage firm.
Amador said that the trust division of CIBanco has been transferred to “another institution,” namely Multiva.
In June, just after the United States publicly leveled its accusations against Intercam, CIBanco and Vector, the Mexican government took temporary control of the three entities.
Amador said that the “intervention” at Vector is proceeding “normally.”
“… Everything is proceeding normally, the payment system, the banks are operating normally,” he said.
“… We’re even about to analyze [the possibility of] ending the interventions, but everything is proceeding normally,” Amador said.
Mexico fines US-sanctioned banks US $10M for compliance failures
In contrast to the finance minister’s assertion, many Intercam and CIBanco customers have reported having trouble making international transfers to and from their accounts, even though a U.S. prohibition on transactions between banks in the U.S. and the Mexican banks has not yet taken effect.
More than 70% of Intercam and CIBanco customers who responded to a Mexico News Daily poll last month said they weren’t able to use their accounts normally.
Sheinbaum said that her government hasn’t received anything from U.S. authorities to support their accusation against Intercam, CIBanco and Vector.
Amador said that there is no “reliable evidence” supporting the claim that the three financial institutions were involved in money laundering for cartels.
Sheinbaum rebukes reporter after question about the death of a marine
A reporter from the newspaper El Universal asked the president whether it was a “coincidence” that a “marine allegedly linked to fuel theft” was killed during a live fire exercise on Tuesday.
The death of the marine in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, came a day after a navy captain was found dead in Altamira, Tamaulipas. The cause of the navy captain’s death was suicide, authorities said.
The deaths of the two navy personnel came shortly after a vice admiral and other members of the Mexican Navy were arrested in a major crackdown on the illegal fuel trade in Mexico. The deceased navy captain reportedly benefited from an illicit fuel scheme, although Sheinbaum said Tuesday there was no “certainty” he was involved in criminal activity.
On Wednesday morning, the president scolded the El Universal reporter for the way he framed his question.
“With all respect to you and the media outlet you represent, the way you’re asking that question doesn’t seem right to me, not for the victim nor for what happened,” Sheinbaum said.
“Don’t you think it’s a coincidence?” she said, paraphrasing the reporter and pointing out the part of his question that she didn’t agree with.
“An investigation has to be conducted. So far, it appears to have been an accident, but an investigation has to be conducted,” Sheinbaum said.
“… The first case was a regrettable suicide,” she said, adding that Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said Tuesday that the navy captain “wasn’t even linked to investigations” into a fuel smuggling scheme in Tamaulipas.
“His name appeared in the media and this person decided to take his life. Obviously, an investigation has to be conducted,” Sheinbaum said.
“What happened yesterday, until now, appears [to have been] an accident,” she reiterated, before telling the reporter that she wouldn’t respond to any further questions on the matter.
“I’m not going to answer you out of respect for the victims and the investigation. I already responded, but insisting on [asking about] such a regrettable and sensitive issue doesn’t seem right to me,” Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum: 2026 FIFA World Cup not considered when calculating economic growth forecast
A reporter asked the president whether projected revenue from the 2026 FIFA World Cup was considered in the Finance Ministry’s forecast of economic growth in the range of 1.8% to 2.8% in 2026.
Mexico will co-host next year’s men’s World Cup with the United States and Canada.
Sheinbaum said that the projected economic stimulus of the World Cup “wasn’t incorporated” into the Finance Ministry’s growth forecast, which was included in its 2026 budget proposal.
“We didn’t want to be, let’s say, excessively optimistic,” she said.
The growth forecast “essentially has to do with Plan México, with public and private investment,” Sheinbaum said, referring to her government’s ambitious industrial policy.
She said that a “very significant” increase in tourism is expected in 2026 due to the World Cup, but reiterated that the projected economic spillover of the event “wasn’t considered as such in the growth [forecast] for next year.”
“We hope that it gives us more [growth], right?” Sheinbaum said.
Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey will host matches in the 2026 World Cup, which will be the third men’s World Cup played on Mexican pitches.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
