At Least 12 Mexican Officials Offer U.S. Information on Morena Figures as DEA Expands Probes
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 27
At Least 12 Mexican Officials Offer U.S. Information on Morena Figures as DEA Expands Probes
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 27
Summary
At least a dozen Mexican elected officials — including governors and members of Congress, many from the ruling Morena party — have approached U.S. authorities or begun talks to provide information on fellow politicians.
10 current and former Mexican officials were indicted by the United States in recent weeks on charges of colluding with a major drug cartel, prompting some politicians to cooperate as they try to get ahead of possible investigations.
DEA outreach helped trigger the wave of contacts, with the agency privately approaching Mexican officials in hopes of persuading them to talk, according to people familiar with the effort.
Claudia Sheinbaum has publicly cast the U.S. cases as foreign interference and turned opposition to them into a Morena rallying cry, even as the behind-the-scenes cooperation deepens strains in U.S.-Mexico relations.