U.S. scrutiny of Mexican politicians continues to tighten around state governors. The latest to be affected is Durango Governor Esteban Villegas, who has acknowledged that U.S. authorities placed a “yellow alert” on his visa. “I went directly to the consulate because of the issue I encountered. They took my visa and brought me into a small room to ask me a few questions.
They told me—in so many words—’Here is your visa; we aren’t going to revoke it, but there is an issue that needs to be resolved. I don’t know what it is,'” the PRI politician recounted during a meeting with journalists, asserting that it is a misunderstanding currently being sorted out.
Villegas clarified to reporters that he still holds a valid document for travel to the United States. “I do have a visa; they are reviewing why a yellow alert was triggered the last time I crossed,” he explained. The politician noted that such cases often stem from a name match with an individual wanted by authorities. “I’ve never been told I couldn’t enter, and I haven’t needed to travel to the U.S. in recent months,” he added. Yellow alerts signal to border authorities that additional checks are required before allowing a visitor to enter the United States.
The incident involving the Durango governor’s travel documents comes amidst heightened tension with the United States over investigations linking various high-ranking government officials to drug trafficking. Consequently, the Trump administration has already revoked the visas of several politicians—most recently the Morena governors of Sonora, Alfonso Durazo, and Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal—according to an exclusive report by the *Los Angeles Times* and Puente News citing sources familiar with the matter.
Immigration authorities also placed a hold on the visas of Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar and her husband, Carlos Torres, a year ago. The Morena governor has stated that she is in talks with U.S. representatives to have her border-crossing privileges restored. At the time, Sheinbaum stated that she was unaware of the measure Washington had taken regarding the governor.
“We will request information to find out the reasons—why these visas are being revoked. Let’s not jump to conclusions; we will wait for the information. And no, we were not notified,” she asserted. When the issue arose concerning governors from her own party—with officials from Sinaloa also facing scrutiny over alleged ties to organized crime—she distanced herself from the matter, declaring that the individuals affected would have to come forward to explain the incident regarding their visas.
