According to the article in El Universal, by journalist Carlos Loret de Mola, a growing list of current and former U.S. officials are publicly expressing concern over alleged ties between Mexican political leaders and drug cartels. The latest remarks follow a ProPublica<\/em> report citing DEA-protected witness testimony that Sinaloa Cartel operatives contributed $2 million to the 2006 presidential campaign of now-President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additional allegations were made during the U.S. trial of Genaro Garc\u00eda Luna, Mexico\u2019s former security chief, in which Jes\u00fas \u201cEl Rey\u201d Zambada testified that up to $7 million were funneled to Morena campaigns. U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and DEA nominee Terry Cole, have repeatedly said that cartel influence extends deep into the Mexican political system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Former President Trump and members of his administration\u2014including border czar Tom Homan and current Vice President JD Vance\u2014have claimed that drug cartels hold \u201ctremendous control\u201d over Mexico. Trump has cited the situation as a key reason for harsh border policies and military-style efforts to halt fentanyl trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The White House issued a statement in February 2025 accusing the Mexican government of providing \u201csafe haven\u201d to drug trafficking organizations. Diplomatic tensions have intensified following the cancellation of a U.S. visa for the Baja California governor, as well as the capture of Ismael \u201cEl Mayo\u201d Zambada without coordination from Mexican authorities. Allegations continue to mount, including a Treasury Department claim that a top official in L\u00f3pez Obrador\u2019s administration laundered money for the Sinaloa Cartel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DEA INFORMANT CLAIMS CARTEL FUNDED L\u00d3PEZ OBRADOR\u2019S 2006 CAMPAIGN; WHITE HOUSE CALLS CARTEL-GOVERNMENT LINKS \u201cINTOLERABLE\u201d According to the article in El Universal, by journalist Carlos Loret de Mola, a growing list of current and former U.S. officials are publicly expressing concern over alleged ties between Mexican political leaders and drug cartels. The latest remarks follow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,23,22],"tags":[129,65,63],"class_list":["post-1858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai-news","category-u-s","category-world","tag-lopez-obrador","tag-mexico","tag-u-s"],"yoast_head":"\n