- 🚨 García Harfuch meets Chihuahua governor over unauthorized CIA drug lab raid: Sheinbaum said Security Minister García Harfuch met with Gov. Maru Campos to request information on last weekend’s drug lab operation, in which CIA officers allegedly participated without federal authorization. Campos agreed to provide details, Sheinbaum said.
- 🇺🇸 Sheinbaum brushes off U.S. ambassador’s corruption comments: Asked about Ambassador Ron Johnson’s remarks in Sinaloa calling for “certainty, security and an environment free of corruption” for investment to prosper, Sheinbaum laughed before responding that her government is already doing exactly that. She pointedly noted that the U.S. could stand to do the same.
- 🔺Teotihuacán reopens to large crowds after Monday’s shooting: The archaeological site drew long lines of visitors on Wednesday, two days after a gunman killed a Canadian woman and wounded several others at the Pyramid of the Moon. Sheinbaum said most of the injured have returned to their home countries and those still hospitalized are out of danger.
Why today’s mañanera matters
The most noteworthy item out of today’s mañanera was President Sheinbaum’s revelation that Security Minister Omar García Harfuch essentially read the riot act to Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos at a meeting in Mexico City on Thursday.
It has been a challenging week for the president as she has been forced to respond to allegations that CIA officers participated in a security operation in Chihuahua without the knowledge or consent of her government. Sheinbaum — a staunch defender of Mexican sovereignty and ardent opponent of U.S. interventionism — has accepted that the CIA did indeed participate in a drug lab raid in the northern state.
Also of note at today’s mañanera was Sheinbaum’s blunt response to remarks made by the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. The president also commented on the reopening of the Teotihuacán archaeological site, where an unprecedented armed attack occurred on Monday.
Security minister meets with Chihuahua governor after CIA involvement in drug lab operation
Sheinbaum told reporters that García Harfuch requested information from Governor Campos about a drug lab raid in the northern state last weekend in which U.S. Central Intelligence Agency officers allegedly participated without the knowledge or authorization of the federal government.
“She agreed to provide the information,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that García Harfuch outlined to the governor “all the principles that have to be followed” and “all the laws that have to be followed in order to collaborate with a foreign government.”
“In this case, this process wasn’t followed,” she said.
“… It was a cordial conversation and it is now up to the governor [to respond],” Sheinbaum said.
On Thursday, Sheinbaum assigned most of the blame for the apparently secret, allegedly illegal security collaboration between Chihuahua and the United States to the Chihuahua government, although she also stressed that U.S. authorities have questions to answer.
Sheinbaum turns the tables on US ambassador
A reporter asked the president her opinion on U.S. Ambassador Ron Johnson’s declaration in Sinaloa on Thursday that the private sector “needs certainty, security and an environment free of corruption” in order for investment in Mexico to “prosper.”
Sheinbaum’s first reaction was to laugh at the reporter’s question.
“Let’s say, that’s what we’re doing,” she subsequently said, asserting that her government is working to provide the conditions needed for investment in Mexico to succeed.
“Them there and us here, because in the United States it is also important that there be a [favorable] environment for companies and investment, free of corruption, with legal certainty. And in Mexico too. That’s it,” Sheinbaum said.
Visitors return to Teotihuacán
Sheinbaum said that people returned to Teotihuacán in large numbers when the archaeological site reopened on Wednesday, two days after a gunman killed a Canadian woman and wounded several other foreigners before turning his gun on himself.
“There were a lot of visitors, there were lines to get in,” she said.
“People were waiting before the door opened. There are a lot of videos on social media,” Sheinbaum said.
She also said that “a lot” of the people injured at Teotihuacán on Monday “already returned to their countries.”
“They were given support so that they could return. There are still some people in hospital. They are out of danger,” Sheinbaum said.
The gunman — who was allegedly inspired by the 1999 Columbine High School massacre — shot eight people, including the Canadian woman he killed, before committing suicide. Several other people were injured when they fell while escaping the attack, perpetrated on the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacán, a pre-Columbian city located approximately 50 kilometers northeast of downtown Mexico City.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
