AMLO's brother: U.S. visa cancellation targets ex-president, not his son

José Ramiro López Obrador, the government secretary of Tabasco and brother of former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, asserted that the U.S. cancellation of his nephew Andy López Beltrán's visa was not aimed at the younger López Beltrán but at the former president himself. He characterized the action as a political maneuver by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

"They don't want the boy, they want the big one. That's what the neighbors are thinking," López Obrador told local media, implying the U.S. government's true target was the former president. He suggested the visa revocation was intended to harm the reputation of those affected and questioned the timing of the U.S. action.

López Obrador contrasted the current situation with previous U.S. administrations, asking why visas were not revoked from politicians who supported neoliberalism. "When did you see them withdraw a visa from one of the politicians who were supporting neoliberalism? They didn't do that. Why? Because they were governments, sell-outs, who did exactly as they were ordered from the United States," he stated.

He emphasized that for a good relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, cooperation, not subordination, should be the guiding principle. López Obrador confirmed he had not spoken with his nephew or his brother recently, noting that Andy López Beltrán was currently traveling.