Authorities in a Mexican border state seized a van registered to Mexico’s Congress as it was being used to spread propaganda for the country’s ruling party. The seizure comes as the state of Tamaulipas prepares for a contested gubernatorial race.
The case took place in the port city of Tampico, where state police on the north side responded to anonymous calls about individuals coercing residents into surrendering their federally issued voter ID cards, a statement from the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office revealed. When authorities checked the vehicle, they discovered the white Toyota van was registered to Mexico’s Federal Congress and was being used by members of Morena, the ruling political party founded by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Inside the vehicle, authorities found propaganda materials. Authorities seized the assets and turned them over to Tamaulipas Ministerial Agents for investigation and prosecution on the charges of misappropriation of public funds and electoral crimes.
According to journalist Gildo Garza, Congressman Emmanuel Reyes was in the van during the stop, however, he was not arrested due to the immunity provided by his elected office.
The van seizure is the latest scandal to plague the Tamaulipas gubernatorial election. Several members of the Morena party, including gubernatorial candidate Americo Villarreal, were linked to a deceased cartel-connected fuel theft mogul who allegedly provided them with luxury vehicles and illicit campaign contributions.
Last week, Breitbart Texas exclusively reported that Villarreal’s son was flagged for bank fraud in Europe after allegedly using false information to secure loans in the Netherlands.
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.