When news broke regarding the involvement of at least two CIA agents—who died in a road accident on Sunday, April 19, following an operation to dismantle a massive complex of drug laboratories in southern Chihuahua (a state governed by PAN member María Eugenia Campos)—no one had any idea that, just ten days later—on Wednesday, April 29—the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs would announce that, on Tuesday, April 28, it had received requests from the U.S. State Department for the provisional arrest, for the purpose of extradition, of Sinaloa’s Morena governor, Rubén Rocha Moya; Senator Enrique Izunza; Juan de Dios Gámez, the Mayor of Culiacán; Gerardo Mérida, the former Secretary of Public Security; Enrique Vega, the former Secretary of Finance; and five high-ranking police officials.
It was a scandal. There was no precedent for a U.S. government action of such magnitude—one that struck at the very heart of Morena and its “Obradorist” principles, which are defined by the motto “hugs, not bullets” and by that meeting held in the mountainous region of Badiraguato, Sinaloa, on Sunday, March 29, 2020, between the President and María Consuelo Loera Pérez, the mother of “El Chapo” Guzmán.
In response, President Sheinbaum demanded proof of their guilt; Rocha Moya requested a leave of absence; and the movement strategically leveraged the “Chihuahua case” as a diversionary tactic.
This prompted Morena’s new leader, Ariadna Montiel, to call for a massive demonstration in the state capital for this Saturday, the 16th—an event that, it was claimed, would be attended by 200,000 party members demanding the lifting of the PAN governor’s immunity and her impeachment for treason against the nation. However, the mobilization proved to be a failure; judging by the turnout—which the party claimed was 20,000—attendance was a mere one-tenth of the figure originally announced.
It was a poor debut for Montiel, who overestimated her ability to draw a crowd, underestimated the response from the state government, and suffered from a complete breakdown in logistics. Nevertheless, the most serious situation today remains Sinaloa and the eight individuals—so far—for whom extradition has been requested. This is particularly critical because two of them—the former heads of security and finance, figures central to the relationship with organized crime—have surrendered themselves to the U.S. government. This specific case serves as a harbinger of further extradition requests expected to arrive before next year’s elections.
SCRAPS
- Misstep. Another blunder was the decision to position Andy López Beltrán as the central figure—overshadowing Montiel—a strategic error that defined the day, as public attention shifted away from Governor Campos and toward López Obrador’s son.
- Corral. Yesterday, a judge confirmed to Javier Corral—the former PAN governor of Chihuahua who now serves as a MORENA senator—that, by virtue of his constitutional immunity (fuero), no arrest warrant may be executed against him. He enjoys the full backing of the movement.
- “Foxing.” When Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez was asked yesterday if she knew the whereabouts of Rocha Moya, she gave a classic “Fox-esque” response—essentially asking, “And why should I know?”
Source: milenio
