U.S. Examined Allegations of Cartel Ties to Allies of Mexico’s PresidentUS investigators have probed ties between Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's cartels and allies, the New York Times reported.
According to the NYT, the investigation into allegations that Obrador met with associates and supplied drug cartels with millions of dollars after taking office in 2018 spanned several years. The investigation was eventually closed due to sensitive diplomatic relations between the United States and Mexico. (RELATED: American tourist dies in crossfire between rival drug lords in Mexico)
The Justice Department declined to comment on the status of the investigation.
Obrador denounced the allegations as "totally false," according to the NYT. He said it would not affect US-Mexico relations "in any way" but said he wanted a response from the US government.
According to the NYT, drug cartels have long held sway over Mexico and its government, paying off and manipulating officials, police and politicians. The United States has previously brought criminal charges against Mexican officials involved in cartel-related investigations, such as the 2020 case of General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda and the 2023 case of former Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna.
The recent decision to drop an investigation into Obrador's allies came in part because of the sensitivity surrounding Zepeda's arrest, which Obrador and his allies were outraged by and felt were based on "fabricated" charges, according to the NYT. The Justice Department dropped the charges and released Zepeda under pressure from Obrador's administration.
FILE – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks at the National Palace in Mexico City, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
The investigation found no direct link between Obrador, himself and the cartels, and some information was gathered by informants who are often wrong, according to the NYT. Some informant accounts suggested that Obrador's allies met with the Sinaloa cartel leader before his election in 2018.
Another account suggests that the leader of the notoriously violent Zetas cartel paid $4 million to two of Obrador's confidantes as an attempted bribe to be released from prison, according to the NYT. One account claimed the cartels had video evidence of Obrador's son withdrawing drug money.
US investigators also tracked payments made by suspected cartel members to Obrador's intermediaries, according to the NYT. One payment was made when Obrador went to Sinaloa to visit the mother of notorious drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera - informally known as El Chapo - who is currently serving a life sentence in a US federal prison.
Pursuing allegations against Mexican officials is a sensitive and complicated matter that risks damaging diplomatic relations, according to the NYT. The United States has several trade agreements with Mexico, and the country is seen as an indispensable player in stopping illegal immigration along the southern border.
Even if the latest case is closed, its existence may bother Obrador, according to the NYT. Obrador was angered when several media outlets reported a separate US investigation into his campaign donations in a previously failed presidential election last month.
"How can we sit at the table and talk about the fight against drugs if they or one of their organizations leaks information and harms me?" Obrador said during a news conference in January, the NYT reported.
According to the NYT, President Joe Biden reportedly called Obrador to calm him down. The Biden administration has been particularly careful in dealing with Obrador and his administration.
