The United States Department of State has initiated a “review” of the 53 consulates that Mexico has in the country, according to CBS News. The network reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is even considering the closure of some diplomatic offices. So far, the Mexican Government has not commented on this investigation, the scope of which has also not been disclosed. The news comes amid escalating tension between the two countries, following the death of two CIA agents in a traffic accident in Chihuahua and the Department of Justice’s accusation against the governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha, and nine other officials.
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Mexico has its largest consular network in the United States, with 53 offices, in addition to the Embassy located in Washington, for the more than 38 million Mexican citizens living in the country. The MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement, led in this battle by writer Peter Schweizer, has been pointing to the diplomatic offices for months as the spearhead of an offensive aimed at influencing the US midterm elections, which will be held this November. “The Mexican Government blatantly interferes in our domestic politics, collaborating with American political advisors to turn migrants, both legal and illegal, within the country into a political force they can use for their own benefit,” the far-right author has claimed.
The Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has repeatedly denied this accusation and reaffirmed that Mexico’s consular work is limited to providing assistance to Mexican citizens, as well as promoting economic and cultural relations between the two countries. “There is nothing political in consular work, only the commitment to ensure that people’s rights are respected,” the Foreign Ministry said this Wednesday in response to Schweizer, who again denounced that Claudia Sheinbaum was “interfering in the elections” through the consulates and Morena officials, the ruling party, living in the US.
On January 20, 2026, exactly one year after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, political analyst Peter Schweizer published The Invisible Coup, an alleged investigation into how migrants were being used as a “weapon” by foreign powers. The book’s fanciful thesis — at a time when the Republican president has established a regime of terror for foreigners — included that Mexico was using “mass migration as a way to reclaim portions” of the country. The author attacked public channels like TV Migrante and even the books of the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP), but above all pointed to the consular network as leading the interference.
A State Department official told CBS that the review of the Mexican consulates is part of a broader effort to “align US foreign policy with Trump’s priorities.” This was confirmed by Dylan Johnson, Under Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs, who told the US network that “the State Department constantly reviews all aspects of foreign relations to ensure they align with the president’s America First policy agenda.”
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Since his return to the White House, Trump has pressured Mexico, through threats of tariffs or military interventions, to shape a bilateral relationship to his liking. President Claudia Sheinbaum has been dealing with her counterpart’s outbursts with tact for over a year; however, this exchange became unbalanced on April 19, when a brutal accident revealed the presence of two CIA agents in an operation in the Sierra of Chihuahua.
The president, who had tolerated, for example, the two versions about the arrest of Ryan Wedding (in which the US maintained he had been detained in a secret FBI operation in the country), stood firm with the CIA members. “There cannot be people from the United States working in the field, that is clear,” she said and ordered an investigation into their presence in Chihuahua, one of the few opposition governments. Her reaction was heavily criticized by the White House, whose spokesperson reproached her for “lack of compassion” towards the workers.
After that disagreement, the United States launched its accusation against Rocha and a trail of Sinaloa authorities, including a senator and the mayor of Culiacán, all from Morena, as well as current and former Security and Prosecutor’s Office officials. The Department of Justice sought to arrest and extradite them north. Sheinbaum and her government have so far refused, citing “lack of evidence,” but the timing left no doubt that it was a political move, just beginning. Just one day after the acting prosecutor warned that he was preparing new charges against Mexican politicians for their links to organized crime, this investigation into the consulates was made public.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has listened to Schweizer’s accusations, whose work has been described as of “vital importance” by the president himself, who even posted on his social network Truth: “BUY THIS BOOK!”. Just weeks ago, the writer celebrated that ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service, was going to review pregnant women about to give birth in the US as he had proposed, regarding what he defined as “birth tourism schemes” in the country.
