US Revokes Visas of AMLO’s Three Sons

Mexico City — The United States has revoked the U.S. visas of all three sons of former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a direct hit on the ex-leader’s family that signals a significant escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against Mexico’s political class.

Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, known as Andy, made the decision public in an open letter to President Donald Trump. His older brother José Ramón López Beltrán and younger brother Gonzalo López Beltrán were also notified that their visas had been revoked, although U.S. officials gave no explanation, according to U.S. sources.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, personally sent the notifications. The cancellations reportedly took effect on May 24 but were only communicated to the brothers recently.

In his letter, López Beltrán accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Landau of being “Hitlerian” and “gang leaders,” and demanded Landau’s removal. Journalist Ramón Alberto Garza said the letter bore the stylistic hallmarks of the former president and claimed López Obrador had already left his ranch in Palenque, La Chingada, and returned to Mexico City.

“Touching Andy is touching his father,” Garza said in an interview. “They are sending him a message: either do what we tell you, or you will share Maduro’s fate.”

Landau responded on social media with a sarcastic message. “Are you enjoying the show? Refill your popcorn. You’ll love the next part,” he wrote, referring to himself as “El Quitavisas.”

President Claudia Sheinbaum said the visa cancellations were politically motivated. “This visa cancellation, which they apply to politically exposed persons, has a fundamentally political meaning,” she said at her morning press conference. “It is an act of interference in Mexican politics.”

Sheinbaum also defended her decision to allow Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch to attend a Drug Enforcement Administration conference in Argentina, saying the cabinet unanimously backed the trip. “Our relationship with the United States is one of coordination without subordination,” she said. Analysts saw her lengthy explanation as an attempt to reassure López Obrador, whose inner circle has referred to García Harfuch as “the United States’ man in the cabinet.”

The action against the former president’s family follows a series of U.S. visa revocations targeting politicians linked to López Obrador’s movement. Among those previously affected, according to reports, are Morena governors Rubén Rocha Moya, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, Alfonso Durazo and Américo Villarreal, as well as former Interior Secretary Adán Augusto López, who faces scrutiny over fuel theft.

The decision to hit the former president’s family directly breaks a barrier that Washington had not previously crossed, analysts say. With further escalation expected in September and October, some on both sides of the border have begun describing the situation as “the beginning of the end” of the political movement known as obradorato.