Mexico’s calculations change after “narco-politicians” surrender to US
High-level politicians are now willing collaborators with the Trump administration.
The Big News Breakdown. Unpacking this week’s most important news.
Two of the Mexican politicians indicted by the US for allegedly working for the Sinaloa cartel have voluntarily handed themselves over. Former Sinaloa security secretary Gerardo Mérida Sánchez and finance secretary Enrique Díaz surrendered to US authorities to collaborate in their investigations against close to a dozen Mexican politicians including Rubén Rocha Moya—until recently the governor of the state of Sinaloa.
They have been accused of facilitating the criminal enterprise of the family of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán—who is also cooperating with US authorities from his cell in New York. By walking into US custody, both the accused seem to be betting on softer sentences in exchange for information.
The turn of events changes things dramatically for the government of president Claudia Sheinbaum.
The debates around extradition and whether Sheinbaum has the political will to go through with handing over her own party members are moot as the accused willingly crossed the border. The question that now emerges is how the president will react as the evidence against the rest of the accused piles up.
