President Sheinbaum: 'Felipe Calderón Protected the Sinaloa Cartel'

At her July 10, 2026 morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum directly accused former President Felipe Calderón and Vicente Fox of favoring the Sinaloa Cartel during their administrations, stating 'si hubo relación con este grupo delincuencial, con el Cártel de Sinaloa, fue con Fox y con Calderón' ('if there was a relationship with this criminal group, the Sinaloa Cartel, it was with Fox and with Calderón'). Responding to questions about US agency involvement in Mexican security operations, Sheinbaum argued that internal conflict within the Sinaloa Cartel — including violence linked to the capture of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, allegedly with US participation — stemmed from the door Calderón's government opened to foreign agencies, particularly through the Navy (SEMAR) and the Federal Police under Genaro García Luna. She cited García Luna's US conviction and imprisonment as evidence of a 'government-crime relationship' during the Fox and Calderón years, contrasting it with what she described as the AMLO government's more effective results. Calderón had defended his drug war record at a PAN event in late May, and Sheinbaum's July remarks continued a running political dispute between the current government and PAN over the drug war's legacy.