Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
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⚽ El Tri’s World Cup run ends: Sheinbaum reflected on Mexico’s 3-2 round of 16 loss to England on Sunday at Estadio Azteca, calling it “the best performance of any Mexican team in the World Cup” and urging the country to feel proud rather than disappointed.
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🇺🇸❓Report on “El Mayo” capture coming Tuesday: Sheinbaum announced that Federal Attorney General’s Office officials will present a report Tuesday on the 2024 capture of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, reiterating her view — shared with her predecessor AMLO — that the U.S. was involved in the operation, which Washington denies.
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🇲🇽 Sovereignty over “interference”: Citing journalist Luis Chaparro’s reporting that the U.S. has acknowledged an FBI role in Zambada’s capture, Sheinbaum said Mexico must “defend sovereignty” and put U.S. “interference or even intervention in its proper perspective.”
Why today’s mañanera matters
It’s a somber Monday for many Mexicans after the national men’s soccer team, El Tri, lost its round of 16 World Cup clash 3-2 against England at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca on Sunday night.
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At her Monday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum focused on the positive, highlighting the strong performance of the Mexican team in the tournament. Indeed, Mexico won all three of its group stage matches, and defeated Ecuador in the round of 32 — its first knockout game victory in 40 years — before the loss to England in a highly competitive match on Sunday.
Today’s mañanera was important as it gave the president the opportunity to attempt to influence the national mood in a country where soccer is much more than a game for millions of people. Like Sheinbaum, and despite the inevitable disappointment, Mexicans across the country are rightfully proud of El Tri’s World Cup performance.
Also of note at today’s mañanera was Sheinbaum’s announcement that Mexican authorities on Tuesday will present a report on the 2024 capture of Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who was arrested in the United States following an operation in which the U.S. government was involved, according to the current president and her predecessor.
Sheinbaum: ‘We all have to be proud of the Mexican team’
At the start of her press conference, Sheinbaum said that Mexico “played very well” in its match against England.
Despite the loss, she congratulated El Tri, saying that the team “gave us a lot of joy.”
“The final goal [needed to force the match into extra time] didn’t come, but they gave a lot of joy to Mexicans,” said Sheinbaum, who watched the game with México state Governor Delfina Gómez at a fan festival in the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl, located just east of Mexico City in México state.
Later in the press conference, the president said she believed that “we all have to be proud of the Mexican team.”
“I’m getting on in years, it’s not that I’m a soccer expert, but the truth is I think it has been the best performance of any Mexican team in the World Cup,” she said.
“… So we have to feel very proud of the performance of the Mexican team and of how the people of Mexico welcomed the fans who came to visit us,” Sheinbaum said.
Asked whether she had a message for people who are feeling sad or disappointed, she responded:
“Not disappointed. Obviously, we would have liked the Mexican team to have won, but we have to stay positive, recognize the effort and move forward.”
Sheinbaum conveyed a similar message in a social media post on Sunday night.
“Cheer up! Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. The important thing is to keep moving forward and represent Mexico with pride. What the young men of the Mexican team achieved will live on forever in Mexicans’ hearts. We showed everyone that Mexico is the best host in the world, with happy and united people. Let’s go Mexico, always!” she wrote.
Authorities to present a report on the capture of ‘El Mayo’
Sheinbaum told reporters that on Tuesday, the government would “bring to the mañanera” a report on the 2024 capture of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who was arrested at a New Mexico airport after he was kidnapped by a son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and forced onto a plane that flew him to the United States.
Like her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum has asserted that the United States was involved in an operation to capture Zambada, whose kidnapping triggered a major escalation of a long-running feud between the “Los Chapitos” and “Los Mayos” factions of the Sinaloa Cartel.
On Monday, she noted that a journalist, Luis Chaparro, had reported on the capture of Zambada. Chaparro reported that the U.S. government “has accepted” that a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) operation resulted in the capture of the septuagenarian cartel leader. He also said in a video report that he had obtained access to an “internal FBI report” on the plane that was used to fly Zambada to the United States.
Sheinbaum reiterated her view that the United States was involved in an operation aimed at taking Zambada into U.S. custody, although the U.S. government has denied that was the case.
🔴EXCLUSIVA: dentro del avión que secuestró al MAYO ZAMBADA. pic.twitter.com/rhk6SVeBAp
— Pie de Nota (@Piedenota) July 2, 2026
“It’s very important to talk about this issue,” she said.
“Because, obviously, everyone in our country acts against el narco and criminal organizations,” Sheinbaum said.
“But at the same time, we also defend [Mexico’s] sovereignty and the events [related to El Mayo’s capture] have to be clarified,” she said.
“… So tomorrow we’re going to speak about this issue,” said Sheinbaum, who recently railed against U.S. interference in Mexican affairs during a large rally in Mexico City.
“… We always have to defend sovereignty, and put [U.S.] interference or even intervention in its proper perspective,” she said.
Sheinbaum said she had asked officials from the Federal Attorney General’s Office to come to her mañanera on Tuesday to present information about the case involving Zambada, including details on what the U.S. government told its Mexican counterpart shortly after “El Mayo” was detained.
As president, López Obrador asserted that the United States carried out the “operation” that resulted in the arrest of Zambada in the United States. With his use of the word “operation,” he apparently meant a negotiation with Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of “El Chapo,” that he believed resulted in the delivery of Zambada to U.S. law enforcement authorities at a New Mexico airport near El Paso, Texas, on July 25, 2024.
Consequently, López Obrador also asserted that the United States was partly to blame for the escalation of violence between “Los Chapitos” and “Los Mayos,” whose bloody feud has claimed well over 2,000 lives and caused the disappearance of thousands more since September 2024. Sheinbaum has indicated that she shares that view.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
