Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
- 🧪 Record meth bust in Sinaloa: Federal authorities seized 24,400 liters of liquid methamphetamine in Los Mochis — the largest such confiscation of the current government’s term and the second largest on record. One person was detained. Sheinbaum called it “a good seizure” and framed it as routine Security Cabinet work.
- 🔫 Ammo seized at the U.S. border: A reporter raised the recent Nogales, Arizona, interception of 43,000 rounds of ammunition bound for Mexico. Sheinbaum acknowledged the seizure and highlighted her government’s call for U.S. authorities to do more to stem the southward flow of weapons.
- 🔎 Sheinbaum pushes back on madres buscadoras criticism: After a reporter contrasted Monday’s lighthearted welcome of the “World Cup duck” with an alleged failure to meet the mothers of missing persons, Sheinbaum said she meets with many madres buscadoras — during both travel and time at the National Palace — but does not publicize the encounters. She said she personally handles “very difficult” cases, attends to sexual abuse victims and gives people she meets with her personal cell number. Sheinbaum also said she monitors the Ayotzinapa case directly and meets the families of the 43 disappeared students every two to three months.
- 🛣️ Highway C5 command center in the works: Sheinbaum revealed that her government is developing a dedicated command-and-control center to monitor highway security in real time, as part of broader efforts to tackle road robberies that cost the economy billions of pesos annually.
Why today’s mañanera matters
Today’s mañanera was important as President Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged security operations that resulted in the seizure of large quantities of methamphetamine and ammunition. She framed the meth bust as part of the day-to-day work of Mexican security authorities, which have seized almost 400 tonnes of drugs during the term of the current government, according to data presented last week.
At her Tuesday morning press conference, Sheinbaum also rebutted claims that she hasn’t taken the time to meet with Mexico’s madres buscadoras — mothers searching for their missing children. The missing persons issue is, of course, a sensitive one, and has received significant international attention this month as Mexico co-hosts the FIFA men’s World Cup. Sheinbaum’s remarks about her meetings with madres buscadoras were both notable and poignant. While she is known for her cabeza fría — her cool head under pressure — the president this morning sought to show her caring side and her empathy with mothers who have endured the devastating loss of a son or daughter.
Sheinbaum acknowledges large seizures of meth and ammunition
A reporter noted that federal authorities announced the seizure of more than 24,000 liters of liquid amphetamine in Sinaloa and asked the president how “this blow” would affect organized crime groups.
“It was a good seizure,” Sheinbaum said.
“… It’s part of the daily work of the [government’s] Security Cabinet,” she said.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said on social media that the confiscation of 24,400 liters of liquid methamphetamine in the city of Los Mochis was the largest seizure of its kind during the term of the current government and the second largest on record. One person was detained in connection with the bust.
The aforesaid reporter also asked Sheinbaum about the recent seizure in Nogales, Arizona, of 43,000 rounds of ammunition headed to Mexico.
US authorities seize 43,000 rounds of ammunition headed for Mexico
After acknowledging the seizure, the president noted that her government has “insisted” that U.S. authorities do more to stop the flow of weapons to Mexico, where guns and ammunition smuggled from the U.S. are used to commit high-impact crimes including homicides.
“There have been important actions [by U.S. authorities],” Sheinbaum said. “One of those is the one you’re mentioning,” she told the reporter.
Sheinbaum: ‘I meet with many madres buscadoras‘
A reporter highlighted that the president welcomed Merlin, the “World Cup duck,” to her mañanera on Monday, but asserted that Sheinbaum hasn’t met with madres buscadoras.
“I meet with many madres buscadoras,” Sheinbaum retorted.
“I just don’t promote it,” she added.
Sheinbaum said she meets with individual mothers, rather than various members of search collectives, when she is traveling outside Mexico City and also when she is working at the National Palace in the capital.
She said that Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Deputy Interior Minister Arturo Medina and the head of the National Search Commission, Martha Lidia Pérez Gumecindo, meet with members of search collectives on a regular basis.
Rodríguez does a “very good” job attending to search collectives, Sheinbaum said, adding that she personally deals with “very difficult” and “very painful” missing persons cases.
“But I don’t like turning this into a media spectacle because I don’t believe it’s necessary,” she said.
Sheinbaum noted that she personally monitors developments in the Ayotzinapa case and meets with the parents of the 43 abducted and presumably murdered teaching students every two to three months.
She said there are people who want to portray her as not being a “humanist” who attends to “serious or delicate situations.”
“I even personally attend to victims of sexual abuse, ” Sheinbaum said.
“… But I don’t like taking a photo of that because it’s a matter of direct attention to the person, to victims,” she said.
“I give them my personal cell phone number,” added the president, who last year said that “attending to the problem of missing persons” in Mexico — there are more than 130,000 — was a “national priority” for her government.
Government developing a command center to monitor highways
Sheinbaum told reporters that in Security Cabinet meetings, officials review the problem of robberies on highways at least once a month. She said that the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport works closely with the National Guard to combat the problem, which costs the economy billions of pesos annually, according to the Confederation of Industrial Chambers.
“We’re going to present new things for highways,” Sheinbaum said, referring to initiatives aimed at improving security for truck drivers and motorists in general.
“I can disclose that we’re working on a kind of C5 for highways,” revealed the president, who said late last year that her government wants there to be “zero robberies on all of Mexico’s highways.”
In Mexico, a C5 is a command center from where officials monitor security conditions in real time. In the case of Mexico City’s C5, the five “Cs” stand for comando (command), control (control), cómputo (computation), comunicaciones (communication) and contacto ciudadano (contact with citizens).
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
