At least EIGHT more international politicians face visa bans as extent of US dragnet emerges
At least eight more prominent international politicians being scrutinized by US authorities face potential visa bans and bank account freezes, according to a former high ranking official in the Mexican government.
The bombshell claim comes after the Governor for Baja California Marina del Pilar and her husband had their tourism visas to the US revoked this week over reports of money laundering and ties to drug cartels, which she has denied.
Simón Levy, a past Minister of Tourism during the administration of former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, claimed the US was actively investigating current and former officials including four governors, one senator and one congresswoman.
He added that two unnamed former acting secretaries of state were being investigated for 'links' to the Gulf Cartel.
'As I told you before anyone else, today banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America canceled the accounts of Mexican public servants with deposited money, confirming that it comes from illegal activities, such as money laundering,' Levy wrote on X Monday afternoon.
Levy identified the officials on Tuesday as Senator Adan Agusto López and former Congresswoman Clara Luz Flores, who is the director of the Interior Ministry's Religious Affairs and Social Prevention Unit.
He also named governors Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla [Michoacán]; Miguel Angel Navarro [Nayarit]; Ruben Rocha Moya [Sinaloa]; and Américo Villareal [Tamaulipas].
It comes a day after renowned Mexican journalist Luis Chaparro accused Baja California governor del Pilar, and her husband Carolos Torres, of having their American bank accounts frozen as part of a Justice Department probe.
Chaparro reported that del Pilar met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Department of Homeland Security officials at a tourism event in the resort town of Rosarito on April 28, 2024, when she was first notified of the investigation.
'Both are being investigated by the United States for money laundering in an investigation involving other Baja California businessmen and officials...' Chaparro said during his YouTube show 'Pie de Nota'.
He added that the U.S. agents told her the investigation was looking into the 'Rusos Cartel' in Mexicali, as well as a network of individuals and businessmen from Baja California allegedly linked to members of organized crime in that region.
'She pleaded with CBP and DHS supervisors to please not make public the actions against her and her husband and to not inform the Mexican consulate to prevent them from being leaked to the media,' Chaparro said.
'The governor requested, as a personal favor, that her actions not be communicated to the Mexican consulate or any other Mexican authority so that the information would not spread.'
Del Pilar addressed the visa ban again in a press conference without making any comments over the alleged money laundering investigation or bank account closures, while also not make any reference to her husband or his visa ban.
'I have been included in a consular measure, and therefore today I do not have a visa to enter the United States,' del Pilar said.
'But that does not define me. Because I am not defined by what I have or by the permits granted or withheld. I am defined by my values, my convictions, and the purpose I have embraced since I decided to dedicate my life to public service.'
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the allegations during her press briefing at the National Palace in Mexico City on Tuesday and said that del Pilar informed her that they did not have accounts in banking institutions outside of Mexico.
A photo taken in 2019 showed alleged Sinaloa Cartel cell leader Emmanuel 'El Botas' Serrano (third from the left) and Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila (third from the right) hugging at an event where she was campaigning for mayor of Mexicali. The picture went viral in September 2022, a year and three months after she was elected governor
'I want to clarify because yesterday some media reported that there was an account freeze,' Sheinbaum said. 'We spoke with the governor and the governor told us that she does not have accounts abroad. That is information from the governor.'
Del Pilar's links to Mexican cartels have been questioned since 2022, when a photo emerged of her embracing alleged Sinaloa Cartel crime figure Emmanuel 'El Botas' Serrano while she was campaigning for mayor three years earlier.
Del Pilar's office dismissed the past allegations, saying she's photographed with thousands of constituents and public figures while campaigning and running the major Mexican governments.
The U.S. State Department press office said in a statement to media Monday that 'visa records are confidential under U.S. law; therefore, we cannot comment on individual cases.'
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