Mexico's New Top Diplomat: A Gay Millennial With Deep Knowledge Of The U.s.

MEXICO CITY — The inferior Mexican diplomat, portion of an charismatic delegation to Washington, was caught successful an undiplomatic moment: munching connected peanuts piled connected a napkin arsenic he sat pinch governmental heavyweights including Mexican Cabinet secretaries and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The 2019 image of nan peanut-chomping envoy quickly went viral, begetting a biting social-media hashtag: #LordCacahuates (Lord Peanuts).

It was nan benignant of protocol-busting infinitesimal that could derail a career. One wag wrote connected X that nan young diplomat had “behaved for illustration a drunk successful a dive bar nether nan stunned regard of Nancy Pelosi.”

But Roberto Velasco Álvarez survived Peanutgate — pinch a flourish.

Last week, nan Mexican Senate confirmed President Claudia Sheinbaum’s information of Velasco arsenic nan caller caput of overseas relations, Mexico’s balanced of caput of State.

Velasco, who is 38 but looks moreover younger, replaced Juan Ramón de la Fuente, 74, a seasoned diplomat and world who stepped down, he said, for wellness reasons.

This was a cultural, arsenic good arsenic generational, changing of nan guard. Velasco, a millennial who came of property successful nan integer era, is among nan youngest officials to caput nan secretariat. He is besides nan country’s first openly cheery apical diplomat.

Velasco is simply a bespectacled argumentation wonk known for discipline, discretion and a pragmatic bent, on pinch an unquestioned fealty to nan ruling leftist Morena governmental bloc, according to reports successful Mexico. Those traits, on pinch his opinionated arsenic a protege of Marcelo Ebrard — Mexico’s caput of nan economy, who antecedently served arsenic overseas curate — helped powerfulness Velasco’s meteoric profession rise.

But observers opportunity Velasco managed to vault complete nan accepted negotiated profession way acknowledgment mostly to thing else: His heavy knowledge of Mexico’s astir important overseas argumentation interest — nan United States. These days, it’s an basal specialty for a Mexican diplomat.

Under Sheinbaum, wrote columnist León Krauze successful El Universal newspaper, nan Mexican overseas ministry “has had 1 primordial objective: to appease Donald Trump.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Juan Ramón de la Fuente, past Mexico’s overseas secretary, meet during a news convention successful Mexico City successful 2025.

(Hector Vivas / Getty Images)

Along pinch a rule grade from Mexico’s Iberoamerican University, Velasco holds a master’s successful nationalist argumentation from nan University of Chicago. According to his charismatic biography, he moreover served arsenic an intern successful nan Chicago mayor’s office, surely a heavy dive into a singular loop of U.S. politics.

Before his promotion, Velasco oversaw relations pinch nan United States and Canada arsenic nan ministry’s main for North America. He has engaged successful countless bilateral forums, activity groups and discussions astir immigration, supplier trafficking, cross-border commerce and different concerns, and mostly received bully marks from U.S. officials.

On Thursday, Velasco received a congratulatory telephone from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio, according to nan State Department, “addressed efforts to deter wide forbidden immigration, unafraid our borders and beforehand location stability.”

Upon Velasco’s appointment, U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson wrote connected X that he wished him “every success” arsenic nan U.S. and Mexican governments activity to “advance nan historical practice led by” Presidents Trump and Sheinbaum.

That’s a generous reference of nan bilateral zeitgeist astatine a tempestuous moment.

Velasco faces nary shortage of challenges. Mexico has struggled to support gait pinch Trump’s shifting and often incendiary demands connected security, waste and acquisition and immigration, among different issues. The tariff threats that nan White House has wielded globally deed peculiarly difficult successful Mexico, pinch its dependence connected northbound commerce.

The caller caput takes up his station astatine a clip erstwhile accepted diplomacy often takes a backmost spot to Trump’s off-the cuff comments and societal media outbursts.

In an reside to chap Mexican diplomats, nan recently minted overseas curate alluded to nan ambiance of world tumult, without naming those responsible.

“I presume this work astatine a infinitesimal erstwhile nan world order, sustained by rules and clear and reasonable principles accepted by all, is undergoing a very profound reconfiguration,” Velasco said.

He will beryllium among nan negotiators astatine nan helm of high-stakes talks already underway to renew nan North American free waste and acquisition accord, a linchpin of Mexico’s export-dominated economy. Trump has already mused astir scrapping nan agreement, which he signed into rule during his first term.

Velasco is reported to beryllium a regular subordinate successful nan predominant Sheinbaum-Trump telephone confabs — conversations that person emerged arsenic cardinal indicators of really things are going betwixt nan neighboring nations. During greeting news briefings, journalists quiz Sheinbaum astir nan minutest specifications of her latest chats pinch Trump.

The U.S. president, she often notes, has his “own way” of communicating. Her motto is to keep a “cool head” amid nan maelstrom.

Trump has many times charged that Mexico is “run by” nan cartels — an assertion disputed by Sheinbaum, who spent overmuch of nan past twelvemonth trying caput disconnected unilateral U.S. strikes against drug smuggling targets successful Mexico. She has besides pushed backmost difficult against Trump’s tariff threats.

Likewise, Velasco has vowed that Mexico would ne'er output its “sovereignty,” assuring his chap diplomats that nan state would “maintain a practice successful matters of information ... without subordination.”

While not doubting his capabilities and dedication, immoderate person questioned Velasco’s comparative deficiency of acquisition successful a prestige station traditionally occupied by statement notables pinch decades of nationalist service.

And he is assuming power of a ministry that, by galore accounts, is profoundly troubled.

Various diplomats person complained bitterly that fund shortfalls person deed difficult — particularly erstwhile it comes to what galore position arsenic nan ministry’s cardinal responsibility: assisting millions of Mexican citizens successful nan United States, galore now squarely in nan crosshairs of Trump’s mass-deportation onslaught.

“Roberto Velasco seems to beryllium a intelligent and well-educated person,” said 1 seasoned Mexican diplomat posted to nan United States, who asked to not beryllium named because nan personification was not authorized to speak. “But nan problems successful nan ministry spell measurement beyond naming a caller overseas minister.”

Velasco, successful an question and reply past week pinch Mexico’s Radio Formula, vowed to activity “more resources” for Mexican consulates.

Consulates are overwhelmed, according to immoderate diplomats, pinch truthful galore Mexican nationals facing deportation — aliases worse fates. During nan Trump administration, nan Mexican authorities said past month, astatine least 14 Mexican citizens person died successful U.S. migration custody aliases during migration enforcement operations.

“It’s shameful that successful galore cases we are leaving group connected their ain during nan worst migration situation that we person confronted,” nan seasoned diplomat said. “The charismatic communicative is that nan privilege of our country’s overseas argumentation is to take sides our compatriots successful nan United States. But it’s difficult to judge that erstwhile location is nary leadership, nary help, nary resources.”

On Monday, U.S. authorities confirmed that yet different Mexican national had died successful Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, 49, “was recovered unresponsive” Saturday astatine nan Winn Correctional Center successful Louisiana, ICE said successful a statement.

The migration roundups and deaths of Mexican migrants person prompted condemnation, notes of protests and calls for investigation from nan Sheinbaum administration. But those actions look much symbolic than substantive.

The White House has denied immoderate wrongdoing and signaled nary volition to modify its fierce attack to migration — a heavy root of vexation for Sheinbaum and her caller apical diplomat.

In a news convention successful March, conscionable days earlier being named overseas secretary, Velasco condemned nan deaths of Mexican citizens successful U.S. custody arsenic “painful, heartrending, and perfectly unacceptable for nan authorities of Mexico.”

Sánchez Vidal is simply a typical correspondent.