Sheinbaum Slams Calderón's Security Strategy as a Failure

Well, today, it’s Mexico that’s brought the popcorn-worthy headlines, and it’s Claudia Sheinbaum who’s starring in the role of political ringmaster. This morning's press conference wasn’t your average mumble-fest of policy jargon, but rather a grand tour through corruption’s hall of shame, starring none other than Genaro García Luna and Felipe Calderón—the dynamic duo of yesteryear’s so-called "war on drugs." Now, if this were a Netflix special, you'd already be queuing it up.

Sheinbaum came out guns blazing with a proclamation that was half eulogy, half sledgehammer. The verdict on Calderón’s former security chief, García Luna, was announced yesterday—38.8 years behind bars, no less. And if you thought Sheinbaum was going to let that slide by with a few muted comments about justice, you'd be mistaken. She went straight for the jugular, declaring Calderón’s much-ballyhooed security strategy—a "war on drugs," they called it—a spectacular, unqualified failure.

In true Sheinbaum fashion, she didn’t mince her words: Calderón’s plan, the one that left the streets of Mexico awash in collateral damage and bloodshed, wasn’t just a policy misfire. It was a full-blown disaster. Imagine trying to extinguish a house fire with a tank of gasoline. That, according to Sheinbaum, was essentially the strategy.

And as if to hammer the point home, she reminded everyone that the person responsible for running that operation—García Luna—has just been convicted of running his own side hustle with the drug cartels. She practically asked, “Would Calderón put this guy back in office, knowing what we all know now?” It's the political equivalent of saying, “Really? You’re still standing by that?”

Now, it would be bad enough if the legacy of this failed war was just bad memories and lost elections. But no, Sheinbaum points out that kidnappings skyrocketed, “collateral damage” became a grossly understated term, and people paid for this war with their lives. And all the while, García Luna was apparently hanging out with the very people Calderón claimed to be fighting. It’s like hiring a fox to run your henhouse, only to find out the fox has been moonlighting as Colonel Sanders.

Calderón’s Turn to Play Dumb

But don’t worry, dear readers, Calderón’s response was swift and predictable. The former president, whose war-time rhetoric feels rather hollow these days, took to social media—because where else would you fight your battles in 2024? He essentially gave us the classic “I had no idea” defense, claiming he knew nothing about García Luna’s extracurricular activities.

Well, pull the other one, Felipe, it’s got bells on it.

Calderón did his best impression of someone caught with their hand in the cookie jar, furiously denying that he ever tasted the cookies. "I’ve not seen the evidence, and I respect the courts," he wrote. Translation: I’m going to pretend none of this concerns me and hope everyone else forgets too. Sure, Felipe, because that’s how we should all respond when the guy running the biggest national security operation turns out to be on the cartel payroll—just casually ignore the evidence and move on.

Sheinbaum wasn’t having any of it. She posed a simple question to the public: How can you not remember what happened during Calderón’s six-year reign of terror? It was a period that saw kidnappings shoot up like they were on steroids, and mass violence became a permanent fixture of life in Mexico. Now, with García Luna effectively branded as no different from El Chapo himself, Calderón’s denial rings more hollow than a cheap piñata.

You’d think, with all this scandal hanging in the air like the lingering smell of tequila after a long night out, someone would be dragging Calderón in for questioning. But no, Sheinbaum made it clear that her administration won’t be launching an investigation. That, she said, is a job for the Prosecutor’s Office. Clever move—one part diplomacy, two parts "not my problem."

So, Calderón gets to rest easy for now, but one can’t help wondering how long that will last. Sheinbaum knows better than to step directly into that hornet’s nest—there’s no need when the headlines are doing the work for her. The sheer spectacle of it all, the circus of corruption laid bare, is doing enough damage to Calderón’s legacy without Sheinbaum having to lift a finger.

New Name, Same Mission

And speaking of lifting fingers, Raquel Buenrostro, head of what is now the rebranded “Anti-Corruption and Good Government Secretariat,” gave us a taste of what the future holds for Mexico’s public service. In case you missed it, they’ve ditched the old name like a pair of out-of-fashion shoes. The new title is meant to signal a shift in focus: away from simply slapping wrists after the fact, and towards preventing corruption from happening in the first place.

Sounds noble enough, doesn’t it? But don’t get too carried away. Buenrostro was quick to remind everyone that corruption isn’t a one-man job—it’s a tango, a sordid little dance between those who corrupt and those who allow themselves to be corrupted. And for Mexico, that’s been a pretty crowded dance floor for quite some time.

She promised to work hand in hand with the private sector and public servants alike, so we’ll see how that pans out. Because if we’ve learned anything from García Luna, it’s that the people you trust to uphold the law can just as easily be the ones breaking it. At this point, Mexico’s anti-corruption agencies might as well come with a warning label: Trust, but verify.

In the end, it’s clear that Sheinbaum is positioning herself as the anti-Calderón—cool, collected, and utterly untainted by the mess her predecessor left behind. The message of today’s conference was simple: Calderón’s war on drugs was a disaster, his right-hand man was a criminal, and she’s here to make sure Mexico doesn’t go down that road again.

But what really makes this press conference stand out is Sheinbaum’s refusal to let the past slip into obscurity. By invoking García Luna’s downfall, she’s holding a mirror up to Calderón’s legacy and asking the public to decide—was this the leadership you wanted? And more importantly, is it what Mexico deserves moving forward?

One thing’s for sure: the fallout from García Luna’s conviction will reverberate for a long time, and Sheinbaum is banking on it helping her rewrite the narrative of Mexican politics. Let’s see if her gamble pays off. Until then, Mexico’s political circus rolls on, and we’re all just here for the show.