A Mexican governor and her husband announced on social media that U.S. officials revoked their tourist visas. The couple tried to downplay the incident in their post, claiming it was a common occurrence. However, the case sparked controversy in Mexico, where political opponents accuse the couple of having ties to organized crime.
Over the weekend, Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Avila and her husband, former Mexican Congressman Carlos Torres Torres, announced on social media that their visas had been revoked. Both claimed it was a common issue and would likely be resolved soon. The visa revocation comes at a time when the U. S. Department of State and U.S. Department of the Treasury have been taking several steps against drug cartels and terrorist organizations in Mexico.
During her morning news conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that she had not received advance notice of Del Pilar’s visa revocation and had requested additional information from U.S. officials. Sheinbaum and Del Pilar hail from the same political party, MORENA, which became famous for refusing to fight drug cartels under the banner Abrazos No Balazos (Hugs not Bullets). She declined to comment on the issue, claiming to wait until further information was available.
Soon after Del Pilar made the announcement, the Morena Party issued a statement claiming that the visa incident was merely procedural and political rivals should not use it to tarnish political reputations.
The opposition party, PAN, issued a statement demanding answers from Del Pilar. The statement claimed that the loss of a visa was very serious and not handled lightly by the U.S. government.
Critics of Del Pilar and her husband have long claimed that the couple has ties with organized crime groups. In recent months, her state has seen a dramatic rise in violence as rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel fight an ongoing turf war, while groups tied to Cartel Jalisco New Generation make a push for control of the region. Some critics point to Del Pilar’s arrival to power and the rise of Los Rusos cell of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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