Ronald Johnson, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, was prevented by local residents from participating in the inauguration ceremony for the Mexinol methanol plant in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, on April 23, 2026. He seized the opportunity to deliver a direct message to Governor Rubén Rocha Moya: without legal certainty, security, and a crackdown on corruption, private investment in Mexico will not prosper.
The diplomat warned that the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) already obliges the three signatory governments to criminalize bribery and corruption and to enforce codes of conduct for public officials. “The USMCA requires our governments to criminalize bribery and corruption and to enforce codes of conduct for public officials,” Johnson declared to those in attendance.
His remarks came against the backdrop of the formal review of the USMCA—the deadline for which is set for July 1, 2026, pursuant to Article 34.7 of the treaty itself—and within which framework the U.S. government has raised 54 issues it deems to be non-tariff barriers affecting strategic sectors of the Mexican economy. This message carried particular weight in the state of Sinaloa, which is currently grappling with a security crisis stemming from the fragmentation of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The ambassador asserted that no company would commit capital in environments where the rules are opaque or where accountability is optional. “Investment flows to where it is respected, protected, and where it can thrive. No company will commit resources where the rules are unclear, where there is no transparency, or where accountability is optional,” he noted. He added that the message was crystal clear: where institutional integrity is robust, investment grows; where it is lacking, opportunities are lost.
Johnson was emphatic in describing corruption as a direct impediment to economic development. “If we want projects like this to succeed, there must be no room for corruption or extortion. Corruption not only slows down progress, it distorts it. It drives up costs, weakens competition, and erodes the trust upon which markets depend,” the diplomat underscored.
