Down in Mexico, one lady is calling out another lady over narco participation in the Mexican government. I am talking about Senator Lilly Tellez calling out President Claudia Sheinbaum. Here is the story from my friend Allan Wall:
From the Mexico Daily Post: “On August 20, 2025, PAN Senator Lilly Téllez sparked political uproar after an interview with American Media company Fox News in which she accused the Mexican government -- specifically President Claudia Sheinbaum and the ruling Morena party -- of protecting drug traffickers.”
You can view the interview here.
“Speaking to host Rachel Campos-Duffy, Téllez stated that ‘the only people opposed to U.S. help against cartels are the narco-politicians, which includes President Sheinbaum and her entire group’. She emphasized that most Mexicans support international cooperation to combat organized crime, even welcoming former [sic] President Donald Trump’s offer of assistance.”
“Téllez, a former Morena member turned vocal critic, pointed to Sheinbaum’s endorsement of Senator Adán Augusto López as evidence of cartel infiltration. Opposition figures have accused López of ties to La Barredora, a criminal group allegedly led by his former security chief in Tabasco.”
“The backlash was swift. On August 21, President Sheinbaum condemned the interview, calling Téllez a ‘traitor’ for suggesting foreign intervention. ‘It’s not a minor issue that a senator gave an interview to a foreign media outlet calling for intervention,’ Sheinbaum said during her morning press conference. She likened the act to 19th-century conservatives who invited European emperors to rule Mexico.”
They actually got Maximilian of the House of Habsburg to agree to become Emperor of Mexico. Maximilian was Emperor in Mexico City from 1864 to 1867, but it didn’t end well for him.
“Morena lawmakers echoed Sheinbaum’s outrage. PT Deputy Lilia Aguilar Gil formally requested that Téllez be investigated for ‘possible acts of treason,’ citing her statements as a threat to national sovereignty.”
Who saw something like this coming? A senator calls out the president over the narcos and she plays the nationalism card.
To be fair, the senator is not calling for intervention but rather help in fighting cartels who are making life in Mexico rather difficult, such as businesses dealing with extortion:
“In Mexico City, the number of reported extortion cases nearly doubled in the first five months of 2025 to 498, up from 249 for the same period last year. It’s the highest total at this point in the year in the past six years, according to federal crime data.”
Notice that paragraph says “reported extortion cases”. Many are not reported, so the actual number must be much higher.
“Reported extortion cases are only a small fraction of the reality. Mexico’s National Institute for Statistics and Geography estimated that some 97% of extortion cases were not reported in 2023. Reporting is low because of a combination of fear and skepticism that authorities will do something.”
The article quotes the head of the Mexico City Chamber of Commerce:
“The problem, said Vicente Gutiérrez Camposeco, president of the Mexico City Chamber of Commerce, ‘has become entrenched’ in Mexico and especially the capital in recent years.”
The real story here is not that a senator is calling out the president. That's good TV. What's happening south of the border is that more and more Mexicans feel overwhelmed by crime and they don't believe that the federal government is doing enough. Maybe the government can't do anything about it or some fear that it doesn't want to. I can't tell you which one it is but this is concern is not going away.
As I've told several Mexican friends, don't bank on the U.S. sending troops, but there may be pinpoint military operations against cartel locations or leaders. No matter what happens, it's intense south of the border.
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Image: Secretaría de Cultura CDMX