Mexico’s second-highest official became the butt of jokes after her late arrival to a top-level cabinet meeting, where she was seen struggling to get off the back of a motorcycle, remove a pink helmet, and run inside.
Videos of the incident went viral in Mexico and were shown on most newscasts, where Mexico’s Secretary of the Interior, Rosa Icela Rodriguez, is seen rushing to the meeting in a unique way.
The meeting was due to the arrival of U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who had arrived in Mexico to meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to discuss the ongoing tensions between the two governments over the southern country’s performance in following Trump’s mandate to eradicate drug cartels.
Publicly, Sheinbaum claimed the meeting was productive and strengthened the binational relationship.
However, the meeting came at a time when tensions continued to escalate over Sheinbaum protecting Sinaloa’s Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and his closest allies, who are wanted in the U.S. on drug trafficking conspiracy charges. As Breitbart Texas has reported, Sheinbaum has claimed that there is no proof of wrongdoing from Rocha Moya and is actively working to prevent his arrest and extradition, even though two of his allies have already surrendered to U.S. authorities.
There is much speculation about the U.S. government moving to prosecute other cartel-connected Mexican politicians, including various governors, mainly from Sheinbaum’s MORENA party. This notion has sparked even more tension, with Sheinbaum making a scandal about U.S. agents working in Mexico and publicly going after Mexican officials who work with them.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.