Mexico’s president says it will investigate SpaceX for doing salvage operations off its coast
Mexico to SpaceX: “Nice business you got here. Shame
if something happened to it.”
You can’t win with these people: First Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum complained loudly about the debris that landed or washed up on its beaches after several of SpaceX’s Starship/Superheavy test launches, demanding an investigation followed by sanctions against the company.
Now Sheinbaum is complaining and demanding a new investigation about SpaceX’s effort the last two weeks to salvage and remove that debris from the ocean off its coast.
During a passage of her daily press conference, Sheinbaum said the agencies are analyzing whether the company has to be sanctioned after its unit tasked with clearing debris from the Starship launch, located in the Gulf of Mexico, worked without proper authorization. “We are investigating but the Environment, Navy, Digital Transformation, Government and Foreign Relations secretariats are conducting their research. The study is practically done,” Sheinbaum said.
Navy Secretary Raymundo Pedro Morales Angeles said the company hired by SpaceX to retrieve debris from its Starship rocket was allowed to enter the country but didn’t fulfill the requirements to work and ended up leaving the country.
If this behavior doesn’t prove Sheinbaum’s lust for power and control, nothing will. She doesn’t really care about Mexico’s beaches or environment. If she did, she would celebrate SpaceX’s salvage operations. What she really doesn’t like is that someone is doing something without her permission. She is the boss, and SpaceX better remember that!
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Mexico to SpaceX: “Nice business you got here. Shame
if something happened to it.”
You can’t win with these people: First Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum complained loudly about the debris that landed or washed up on its beaches after several of SpaceX’s Starship/Superheavy test launches, demanding an investigation followed by sanctions against the company.
Now Sheinbaum is complaining and demanding a new investigation about SpaceX’s effort the last two weeks to salvage and remove that debris from the ocean off its coast.
During a passage of her daily press conference, Sheinbaum said the agencies are analyzing whether the company has to be sanctioned after its unit tasked with clearing debris from the Starship launch, located in the Gulf of Mexico, worked without proper authorization. “We are investigating but the Environment, Navy, Digital Transformation, Government and Foreign Relations secretariats are conducting their research. The study is practically done,” Sheinbaum said.
Navy Secretary Raymundo Pedro Morales Angeles said the company hired by SpaceX to retrieve debris from its Starship rocket was allowed to enter the country but didn’t fulfill the requirements to work and ended up leaving the country.
If this behavior doesn’t prove Sheinbaum’s lust for power and control, nothing will. She doesn’t really care about Mexico’s beaches or environment. If she did, she would celebrate SpaceX’s salvage operations. What she really doesn’t like is that someone is doing something without her permission. She is the boss, and SpaceX better remember that!
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Methinks she has her hand out, looking for some scratch. After all, to land vehicles at Starbase, they have to overfly Mexico. She’s just setting up for a big score down the line…
Maybe Sheinbaum should take a look at her Air Traffic Control system, and/or the quals of AeroMexico pilots?
She’s actually a climate “scientist”. The grift runs deep in this one.
Sheinbaum is also suing Smith & Wesson, because some of their product is making it into the hands of the cartels. Oh, and she has opinions about ICE in LA. And while it’s not unreasonable to be unhappy about taxing remittances (especially considering how much of her own tax base those are) being belligerent about it is unlikely to be helpful.
Two words: international waters
What is there to investigate? Mexico has no jurisdiction.
Proves her lust for power and control? Good God.
The original concern seems to be about debris and contamination on Mexican territory. If someone contaminated your property with debris, you’d be considering legal action as well. Nothing unreasonable about that.
It also appears the company that SpaceX hired didn’t obtain the proper permit(s) to retrieve debris from the bottom of the Gulf. I imagine there are fees that need to be paid as well. Nothing unusual about that, either.
You use that picture and caption far too often. It starts to lose its meaning after a while.
D.Messier – why do you need a permit to retrieve debris from the bottom of the ocean in international waters? Inside the twelve nautical mile limit, sure, you need permission from country who claims it.
Sheinbaum is a grifter. You have to be one to be a climate “scientist”, which was her previous job.
Boobah,
“Sheinbaum is also suing Smith & Wesson, because some of their product is making it into the hands of the cartels. ”
She was; SCOTUS tossed the lawsuit on PLCAA grounds.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/supreme-court/3432353/supreme-court-tosses-mexico-lawsuit-against-us-gunmakers/
Last time Mexico seriously messed with Texas it didn’t work out so well for Mexico. As they say in Texas, “Come and Take It.”
Sheinbaum’s lust for power and control
I think there’s also a LOT of virtue signaling here concerning Orange Man Bad and his assistant “Igor” Musk. It’s an excuse to rage about Trump and such and try to throw her weight around – all in the hopes of looking good to the sort of people she answers to (I’m guessing the Davos set).
She could have retrieved it herself and sold it back to Space X for cash.
But that would take initiative and work.
It’s the Gulf of America lady & how about stop pumping sewage into the the ocean.
Hey Mike: Are you sure all of this recovery work was in international waters? If so, then her objections on the recovery are invalid. If you’re wrong, then Mexico’s complaints are legitimate.
Hey GWB: Not everything is about Trump. What does he have to do with this?
Seawriter: So you’re invoking the Mexican-American War over some minor disputes over rocket wreckage and recovery? Mexico’s disputes are with SpaceX. SpaceX is in Texas. It’s not Texas.
You guys take some minor disputes and turn them into incidentes internacional.
SpaceX has lawyers. SpaceX’s retrieval contractor has lawyers. Mexico has lawyers. Let them work this out.
D. Messier
July 25, 2025 at 9:58 am
Hey GWB: Not everything is about Trump. What does he have to do with this?
Well, you tell me. She seems to be very upset about Trump. She also seems to be somewhat anti-American. So, maybe it’s just anti-U.S. virtue-signaling. Not really much difference for a lot of folks.
If I am reading this right, Mr Messier has a point of sorts: it looks like the recovery of the rocket debris took place in Mexican national waters, within the 12 mile off-shore limit, which is the only way to read the accompanying satellite photo marked with the recovery vessel’s track. Apparently the B13 booster “performed an offshore divert and remained floating for several hours before drifting south, potentially into Mexican waters, closely aligning with LB Jill’s recent activities.”
If permission was not granted for this activity by the Mexican government, then perhaps they have cause for concern and even investigation, though it is hard to see what the worst outcome should be beyond a small fine and a slap on the corporate wrist. My question is why President Sheinbaum repeatedly escalates episodes like this to presidential level discourse, when it’s nothing more than a minor marine salvage regulatory fracas. But she has domestic political constituencies to play to, too, and those constituencies obviously do not like the politics of SpaceX’s owner and CFO. To put it mildly.
I wondered how much China offered her for just one of those Raptor engines?!
There is a more detailed article in Spanish here. Chrome translated it into English for me or you can run it through Google Translate:
https://www.infobae.com/mexico/2025/07/23/gobierno-de-sheinbaum-analiza-sanciones-por-plataforma-de-space-x-en-tamaulipas-hubo-trabajos-sin-permisos/
As I thought, Mexican officials did say the cleanup contractor didn’t get the proper permit to do the work.
The president was asked about the cleanup effort during a daily press conference. She responded. The Secretary of the Navy also commented on the situation.
It’s hard to see all this as some power crazed Mexican president picking on poor Elon and his little rocket company.
D. Messier: You of course are completely right. No government official would ever EVER have ulterior political motives for his or her actions. They are our gods, who know all and must always be respected and obeyed.
This is absolutely so because they have never done anything wrong. How dare I doubt them!
If they didn’t want it recovered and picked up they should have just shut up.
This is like a cop telling you to slow down then giving you a ticket for going too slow.
“Seawriter: So you’re invoking the Mexican-American War over some minor disputes over rocket wreckage and recovery? Mexico’s disputes are with SpaceX. SpaceX is in Texas. It’s not Texas.”
Nope. Not the Mexican-American War. Rather the Frontier Rangers dealing with spillover from the Mexican Revolution affecting Texas-based individuals and corporations. That was 20th century, And when Texans say “don’t mess with Texas” they generally include those living in Texas and Texas-based businesses.
Seawriter: Thank you for the clarification. I know that Pancho Villa did raid at least one small town during the revolution. That being said, it’s still a bad analogy. It’s really a matter between SpaceX and Mexico. I don’t see armed conflict breaking out over rocket debris.
Robert: I feel your original post overreacted to some relatively minor disputes. Mexico wants SpaceX to clean up the debris on its territory and for the contractor it hires to have proper permits to do the work. Perfectly reasonable. Do that and the issue fades. It doesn’t seem to be holding up Starship development; SpaceX just did a static fire today.
Things like this have happened before. Wernher von Braun’s team once sent a V-2 rocket into a Mexican cemetery. Ft. Bliss officers apologized and worked with Mexican authorities to retrieve the debris.
D. Messier: And I think you routinely and naively take the side of government agencies without question, especially if those agencies are being run by Democrats. I find it tiring and tedious, and repeatedly wrong.