Mexico's president slams sanctions on Mexican banks by Trump administration

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded sharply Thursday to U.S. authorities sanctions blocking transfers from 3 Mexican fiscal institutions, saying Washington hasn't shown grounds of its allegations of wealth laundering.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced the sanctions Wednesday connected the banks CIBanco and Intercam Banco and the brokerage Vector Casa de Bolsa, alleging that they had facilitated millions of dollars successful wealth transfers for Mexican cause cartels.

Sheinbaum said during her greeting quality briefing Thursday that the medication of U.S. President Donald Trump had showed nary grounds proving that the institutions carried retired immoderate wealth laundering, contempt repeated requests for specified evidence.

“The Treasury Department hasn't provided a azygous portion of grounds to amusement that immoderate wealth laundering was taking place," she said. “We aren’t going to screen for anyone, determination isn’t impunity here. They person to beryllium capable to show that determination was really wealth laundering, not with words, but with beardown evidence."

The accused banks besides fired backmost connected the orders, rejecting the allegations and likewise citing a deficiency of evidence.

Brokerage steadfast Vector said Wednesday nighttime successful a connection that it “categorically rejects immoderate allegation that compromises its organization integrity" portion Intercam said successful a connection it denies being progressive successful immoderate “illegal practice.” Vector is owned by entrepreneur Alfonso Romo, who served arsenic main of unit to ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador aboriginal successful his presidency.

Manuel Somoza, president of strategies of CIBanco, told section property that they lone heard astir the bid the aforesaid clip it was made public, and noted that it wasn't a ceremonial ineligible accusation, but alternatively an investigation.

“Our books are open," helium said. ”Rumors are intelligibly damaging, whether they’re existent oregon not. So, what we privation is for (American authorities) to travel and investigate."

Sheinbaum said they were notified by American officials of the accusations up of the Wednesday announcement, and that Mexican fiscal regulators carried retired their ain investigations into the institutions.

They recovered "administrative infractions," she said, but thing adjacent to the accusations being levied by Treasury officials.

In the orders blocking transactions betwixt the 3 institutions and American banks, the Trump medication alleged that the 3 companies facilitated millions of dollars successful transfers with Chinese companies, which it said were utilized to bargain chemicals to nutrient fentanyl. The Treasury Department said the institutions had facilitated transfers to U.S. banks, but officials would not sanction which U.S. institutions were implicated nor supply much details.

Sheinbaum countered that their ain probe simply showed that institutions had beardown relationships with Chinese clients and banks, which she said was much of an indicator that the 2 countries stock a robust commercialized relationship. China has been the main root of chemic precursors to nutrient fentanyl successful Mexico, according to U.S. authorities. At the aforesaid time, the U.S. has progressively sought to artifact increasing Chinese power and concern successful Latin America.

The person besides expressed vexation connected Thursday morning, reminding Trump officials that Mexico is simply a sovereign federation and indispensable beryllium treated arsenic an adjacent by the U.S. government.

“We're nary one's piñata," she said. "Mexico indispensable beryllium respected.”