Mexico’s President challenged news outlets and pundits to present evidence of his ties to cartels on Wednesday. If proven, he promises to resign. The challenge comes as new allegations surround his recent trip to Sinaloa amid observers’ claims that he likely visited cartel leaders.
During his morning news conference, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) called out journalists who implied his frequent trips to Sinaloa relate to organized crime. AMLO said that if anyone is able to provide a single piece of evidence of him tied to organized crime, he will resign the presidency.
Since his rise to power, Lopez Obrador and his Morena party have been the center of controversies over alleged ties to cartels, particularly in Sinaloa. In October 2019, Mexican authorities arrested Ovideo “El Raton” Guzman, son of jailed top Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Hours after the arrest, AMLO ordered his release following a violent response by gunmen. The Mexican president claimed that he was simply trying to prevent further bloodshed.
Months after the release of El Raton, AMLO traveled to Sinaloa for a tour. Soon after, a video surfaced where he could be seen greeting the mother of El Chapo.
Since taking office, Lopez has made several trips to Sinaloa, including the town of Badiraguato, a known stronghold of the cartel. During the most recent trip, citizen journalists published video which appeared to show the president’s convoy traveling at night — something that raised even more questions about the nature of the visit.
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.
Jose Luis Lara from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.