The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, has denied that her government has any evidence linking Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to the Sinaloa Cartel, a criminal network based in her country.
Sheinbaum’s statements on Friday were prompted by an announcement one day earlier that the United States would double its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, putting the current reward at $50m.
The administration of US President Donald Trump claimed Maduro was “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world” and that he had direct ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as two other Venezuelan gangs.
Sheinbaum was asked about those allegations in her morning news conference on Friday. She answered that this week was the first time she had heard of such accusations.
“On Mexico’s part, there is no investigation that has to do with that,” Sheinbaum said. “As we always say, if they have some evidence, show it. We do not have any proof.”
Mexico has long maintained diplomatic relations with Venezuela, while the US has broken its ties with the government in Caracas over questions about the legitimacy of Maduro’s presidency.
Instead, the US has recognised candidates from Venezuela’s opposition coalition as the country’s rightful leaders, and it has also heavily sanctioned Maduro and his allies.
Trump, in particular, has had a rocky relationship with Maduro over his years as president. During his first term, from 2017 to 2021, Trump pursued a campaign of “maximum pressure” against Maduro, which included an initial reward of $15m.
That amount was later raised to $25m during the final weeks of President Joe Biden’s presidency, in reaction to Maduro’s hotly contested re-election to a third term in 2024.
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