Visits
Between illicit financing, corruption and links with cartels, the targeted politicians show how the drug trafficker not only threatens, but governs from within.
Fernando Ortiz
Mexico City,- The Narcopolitics In Mexico it is reflected in governors, former prosecutors and mayors who have been linked to organized crime, among them, García Luna, Veytia and Yarrington were already convicted in the United States, drug trafficking not only threatens politics, it has infiltrated it.
The term “Narcopolitico” has become more mentioned and although some cases have been sentenced in US courts, others remain in a limbo of accusations, political accusations, leaks and unfinished files. The combination of solid processes with rumors that have never been investigated shows a structural problem of the Mexican State that has not managed to clarify in a transparent manner what happens when criminal networks reach officials, rulers or public representatives.
Among the most compelling cases are three names that have been convicted by the American justice system, Genaro García Luna, Edgar Veytia and Tomás Yarrington. García Luna, who became federal Secretary of Public Security, was found guilty of collaborating with the Sinaloa Cartel after a trial in New York that included testimonies, documents and direct accusations. Edgar Veytia, former Nayarit prosecutor, accepted having operated in favor of criminal organizations. And Tomás Yarrington, former governor of Tamaulipas, was sentenced for money laundering and links to criminal networks after his extradition.
Other names that have been mentioned in investigations or complaints are Julio César Godoy, for example, who was accused more than a decade ago for alleged links to La Familia Michoacana, but never faced a sentence.
Additionally, Mario Marín Torres who has been prosecuted for corruption and has been linked in reports to criminal networks, although without a judicial ruling on drug trafficking.
Also, Silvano Aureolesformer governor of Michoacán, has been reported in the media for alleged links to local criminal structures, in addition to facing accusations of corruption, without a definitive resolution.
Rubén Rocha Moya, Governor of Sinaloa appears since 2024 as one of the main targets in narcopolitics reports. Some complaints indicate that during his 2021 campaign he would have received support from the Sinaloa Cartel, with alleged “suitcases of money” delivered by members of the cartel to finance his candidacy.
Also, Ricardo Gallardo Cardona, Governor of San Luis Potosí, has been identified by different investigations as having an alleged connection with criminal organizations such as Los Zetas and the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), and there are complaints of diversion and laundering of public resources for millions of dollars during his administration as mayor.
In addition, Jesús Corona Damián Mayor of Cuautla (Morelos) was recently included in the citizen registry of narcopoliticians due to accusations of alleged links with the Sinaloa Cartel. His file mentions that there is an open investigation by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) against him.
Mario Figueroa Mundo, former mayor of Taxco, Guerrero, was accused of maintaining alleged links with organized crime organizations, particularly with the gang known as La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and is accused of having allowed the operation of that organization from his municipality in exchange for political support.
The same way, Hernán Bermúdez Requena, A former security official in Tabasco has been identified as the alleged leader of a criminal group called La Barredora, which allegedly operates under the interests of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). When these allegations were made public, he was suspended as a member of the Guinda party, and still remains under official investigation.
Recently, Sandra Cuevasformer mayor of the Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office, has been accused of alleged links with the criminal groups La Unión Tepito and La Chokiza, according to documents attributed to SEDENA of 2023, one of her bodyguards was identified as a convicted former member of La Unión Tepito, and her ex-partner would have been a leader of La Chokiza – later arrested, in addition, the former official is under investigation by the Police Unit. Financial Intelligence (UIF) for possible acts of money laundering.
Américo Villarreal, the governor of Tamaulipas accused of having received during his 2022 campaign at least 126 million pesos from the businessman allegedly linked to huachicol and organized crime, Sergio Carmona, known as “The King of Huachicol”, in exchange for granting public positions to his network. Likewise, a photograph of him, taken in 2022, was released along with an alleged financial operator of the Northeast Cartel, which fuels accusations of illicit financing of his campaign.
In another category are those characters in which the accusations circulate mainly in citizen lists or political statements, but there are no files, formal investigations or official documents that relate them to criminal structures.
Among them are Salvador Cienfuegos—whose case was closed by Mexico after the United States dropped the charges—, Olga Patricia Sosa, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, Mauro Jáuregui, Ana Belén Ávila, Tania Contreras and Manuel Roberto Farías. The lack of verifiable evidence does not imply innocence or guilt, but rather a reality: many accusations have not been supported with clear evidence.
Narcopolitics is a symptom of a State incapable of investigating, clarifying or punishing in a consistent manner.
