Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s tour of Mexico did not end quietly. Upon returning to Spain, the President of the Community of Madrid described Mexico as a country “engulfed by drug trafficking,” accused Pedro Sánchez’s government of having abandoned her during her visit, and asserted that several Mexican states are “directly managed by the cartels.”
After being received by the Governor of Aguascalientes, Tere Jiménez—in a meeting where Ayuso was presented with a commemorative medal—the leader of the Community of Madrid did not take long to return the “favor”: “The states are governed by the narcos; they are the ones in charge there,” she declared without hesitation.
In Aguascalientes, Jiménez was joined by the Governor of Guanajuato, Libia Dennise García; Mauricio Kuri of Querétaro; and Maru Campos, the Governor of Chihuahua. One by one, they met with her and appeared to be briefing her on their respective administrations. Evidently, that is the impression Ayuso took away from them.
Maru Campos has recently been embroiled in a scandal stemming from a state-level agreement with CIA agents, entered into without the express permission of the federal government—as required by law. Campos has defended her strategy, citing—in her own words—the destruction of numerous drug laboratories.
In Guanajuato—one of the states most heavily impacted by the cartels—some of the most brutal massacres against the civilian population have been recorded; meanwhile, in Querétaro, violence spilling over from Guanajuato has inundated the state.
Numerous reports have highlighted the interests of the CJNG cartel in Aguascalientes, where—shortly after Jiménez took office—they ordered the assassination of her Secretary of Public Security; according to some local residents, this act was intended to send a message regarding who was *really* in charge.
Perhaps the messages were clear to Ayuso; these right-wing governors, however, cannot be very pleased after reading these statements.
