Slip | 'The Price of Defending the Indefensible'

The revocation of visas by the United States government for Mexican officials is not an administrative procedure. It is a high-caliber diplomatic act, reserved for cases where there are serious indications that compromise U.S. national security. That it has been applied to a sitting governor, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, and her husband, Carlos Torres Torres, marks a turning point in the bilateral relationship.

However, the Mexican government—now headed by President Claudia Sheinbaum—behaves as if this were part of a minor political intrigue. Morena has come out in full force to defend Marina del Pilar, with bland statements and speeches full of denial. Worse still: the Senate, led by Gerardo Fernández Noroña, is already preparing its line of defense: minimize, victimize, blame the "empire," and shield impunity.

But how is Sheinbaum going to defend a governor whose visa was revoked for possible links to criminal networks in Baja California? How will Noroña do it, when he himself appears in intelligence reports for his closeness to Nicolás Maduro's regime and alleged members of the Cartel of the Suns, a Venezuelan criminal organization accused of drug trafficking?

Seven months and eleven days into her term, Sheinbaum is already facing a high-profile diplomatic crisis. The worst part: it is not an isolated incident. It is known that other governors, secretaries, and high-level figures are already being investigated by U.S. agencies. This includes politicians from PT, Movimiento Ciudadano, PRI, and, of course, Morena.

Are we facing a diplomatic purge?

The revocation of a visa doesn't occur over minor suspicions. In the United States, these actions result from information exchanges between the State Department, CBP, DEA, IRS, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). While in Mexico the names are hidden, in Washington the files already have labels: corruption, drug trafficking, complicity, cover-up.

While they investigate there, here they cover up. What should trigger a serious investigation provokes a wave of political shielding. The president remains silent. Noroña and Monreal insist on conspiracy theories. Morena entrenches itself, re-victimizing its own and presenting them as martyrs of the people, when in reality they are figures linked to dark power networks.

Colophon:

A diplomatic document states it bluntly:

"The U.S. has revoked the visa of Baja California's governor, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda. This action is part of a broader strategy to address corruption and human rights issues in Mexico."

The decision was not arbitrary. The reasons are clear:

Corruption accusations linked to her administration.

Concerns about human rights violations in Baja California.

This message is not just for Marina del Pilar. It is for the entire Mexican political apparatus that has confused majority with impunity.

Among the names that remain on the watchlist of foreign agencies are two profiles close to presidential power:

▪️ Mario Delgado
Current Secretary of Public Education, former national leader of Morena, accused of alleged participation in the fiscal huachicol scheme during the rise of the Carmona network. His name appears in multiple financial reports of irregular transfers and opaque electoral financing.

▪️ Santiago Nieto Castillo
Currently head of IMPI (Mexican Institute of Industrial Property), but remembered for his time at the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), from where he extorted businessmen, made deals with local political interests, and shielded criminal networks in Tamaulipas linked to hydrocarbon smuggling and money laundering. Nieto used his position not to fight corruption, but to solidify relationships with crime operators disguised as the political class.

The United States no longer distinguishes between criminals and politicians when they operate within the same structure. And the 4T, with its unconditional defense of accused figures, makes it clear that it is not willing to relinquish power... nor to clean house.

This is not a persecution.

It is an international warning that the Mexican system is being watched.
And, perhaps for the first time in a long time, judged from the outside with more seriousness than from within.

Time to get to work.

@GildoGarzaMx