Top Mexican Political Operator Charged in Mayoral Candidate’s Murder

Mexico’s ruling party faces a major controversy following the arrest of one of their top political operators.  Prosecutors charged the man with being one of the masterminds behind the murder of a mayoral candidate. The arrest caused an apparent rift between federal and state politicians from the MORENA party over claims that the case is a political maneuver.

This week, the Veracruz Attorney General’s Office announced the arrest of Jose Manuel Del Rio Virgen, a top political operator who worked as a technical advisor at Mexico’s Senate. The charge stems from the July 4 murder of Rene Tovar, a mayoral candidate for the Movimiento Ciudadano (Citizen’s Movement) Party in that state.

A group of gunmen shot the politician two days before the election. Officials awarded the election to his campaign chief Omar Ramirez. Police arrested Ramirez soon after state authorities and named him as one of the masterminds, Spain’s El Pais reported.

Since the initial arrest, a state judge in Veracruz has moved the case along and ordered that Del Rio be held without bond. The arrest and prosecution sparked outrage from federal senators from Mexico’s MORENA Party — including Senate Leader Ricardo Monreal, a close associate of Del Rio Virgen. MORENA is the ruling party in Mexico and was started by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO). The party has claimed to have ended corruption and the war on drugs.

In video and written statements, Monreal spoke on behalf of the MORENA senators where he claimed that the charges against Del Rio were political in nature and abuse of power by the state government.

Currently, Veracruz is led by Governor Cuitlahuac Garcia who is also from the MORENA Party. Veracruz is one of Mexico’s most violent regions where rival cartels continue to fight for control of a large shipping port and various highways connecting Central Mexico and the border state of Tamaulipas.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.