Sheinbaum Rebukes Kuri Over Unapproved U.S.-Backed Police Academy

President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly rebuked Querétaro Governor Mauricio Kuri and U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson on Tuesday, saying the new International Police Training Academy unveiled in Querétaro had not received the federal authorization required for security cooperation with a foreign government.

Sheinbaum said projects involving foreign law-enforcement agencies must be reviewed by the Grupo de Alto Nivel de Seguridad, or GANSEG, and Mexico’s Foreign Ministry. Her government identified nine U.S.-Querétaro security-cooperation projects approved since December 2021. The academy was not among them, La Jornada reported.

The dispute is sharper because Kuri did notify the Foreign Ministry that Johnson would visit Querétaro. His September 23 letter, received two days later, described the trip as protocol and explicitly said it would not establish direct international security cooperation or allow foreign agents to perform functions reserved for Mexican authorities. The letter was reported by La Jornada.

At the October 2 groundbreaking, however, Johnson said the United States and Querétaro were expanding security cooperation. He said Washington had invested more than $10 million in training and equipment in the state over the past decade. The academy, inside the RHINO security complex, is intended to train personnel to detect and intercept drugs, weapons, illicit cash and other contraband. La Jornada and CódigoQro reported on the ceremony.

The contradiction at the center of the dispute

Sheinbaum’s argument is not that Querétaro can never receive international security assistance. She said the problem is that the legal approval process comes first: GANSEG reviews the project, the Foreign Ministry issues a determination, and the state then reports on implementation.

Sheinbaum cited Articles 89 and 117 of the Mexican Constitution, pointing to the federal government’s authority over foreign policy and the restriction on states entering alliances, treaties or coalitions with foreign powers. Her demand to Kuri and Johnson was simple: foreign security cooperation must comply with Mexican law. Read the full account from La Jornada.

Kuri’s side can point to the letter showing that the ambassador’s visit was formally disclosed. But that filing also said the visit would not create direct security cooperation. The federal government’s position is that notifying it about an ambassadorial visit did not amount to authorization for the academy itself.

Kuri’s Israel ties

The quarrel also puts renewed attention on Kuri’s record of cultivating close state-level relations with Israel.

In October 2022, Kuri and then-Israeli ambassador Zvi Tal signed a memorandum of understanding covering cooperation in the economy, agriculture, education, water, mobility, urban planning, information technology and security. Quadratín Querétaro documented the agreement.

In July 2023, Kuri appeared with Tal at the naming of a road in Querétaro as Circuito Estado de Israel. Kuri said there was much Querétaro could learn from Israel in water, innovation and technology and called for the relationship to continue. CódigoQro reported the ceremony.

After the October 7 attacks later that year, the Querétaro government projected the Israeli flag across the Government Palace and publicly expressed support. The display also drew criticism from residents who accused the state government of ignoring Palestinian deaths. Publimetro reported the reaction.

Those episodes do not establish any Israeli role in the new police academy. The academy dispute concerns U.S. participation. They do, however, show that Kuri’s administration has repeatedly cultivated relationships with foreign governments at the state level while Mexico City insists that foreign security cooperation remain under federal authorization.

That divide is increasingly visible as Mexico’s federal government takes positions on Palestine that differ sharply from Kuri’s public record. Pamphlets recently reported on Palestine’s request that Mexico review companies tied to Israeli settlements.

Who controls foreign security cooperation?

The core fight is about authority. Querétaro may seek U.S. training, and it has received U.S. support for years. But Sheinbaum’s government says a state cannot present a foreign-backed security project as a fait accompli and obtain the required approval afterward.

Kuri can say he notified the Foreign Ministry that Johnson was coming. The document shows that he did. It also says the visit would not establish direct security cooperation.

Then, standing beside Kuri at the academy groundbreaking, the U.S. ambassador publicly described exactly that: an expansion of U.S.-Querétaro security cooperation.

That gap is why Sheinbaum’s rebuke lands. The paperwork described protocol. The public ceremony described something much larger.