The confrontation between former Baja California governor Jaime Bonilla and his successor, Marina del Pilar Ávila, escalated to a new level on Monday following the release of a video in which the politician, now affiliated with the Labor Party (PT), threatens to confront the current governor and maintain a permanent offensive.
The recording, revealed by the news outlet Pie de Nota, shows Bonilla speaking with two people in what appears to be a meeting room, while issuing a warning that deepens the narrative stemming from a series of leaked audio recordings that allegedly show Ávila negotiating with the United States, exchanging national security information for the reinstatement of her U.S. visa.
The recording adds to the governor’s accusations, in which she blames Bonilla for leaking the initial audio recordings. “I’m going to screw Marina [del Pilar] over. For the entire damn time I have left, I’m going to be messing with her,” the former governor can be heard saying in the video captured by a surveillance camera, the date of which has not been specified.
According to the media outlet, the conversation revolves around a multi-million dollar contract that was allegedly canceled during Ávila’s administration due to irregularities. In the same video, Bonilla also mentions: “All my former officials have been audited.” And he implies that nothing has been found.
The leak comes at a time of heightened political tension in Baja California and the country, a consequence of the release of audio recordings that implicate one of the governors from the ruling Morena party as a possible informant for the United States. Ávila has been under pressure following the release of a series of recordings in which she discusses her efforts to recover the U.S. visa that was revoked in May of last year.
The governor, who has not denied exchanging conversations with alleged U.S. agents, has maintained that these recordings were obtained as part of an operation orchestrated by Bonilla to damage her politically, an accusation the former governor has rejected.
Before the video, another audio recording was leaked hours later. In it, the governor is heard saying that she hired a former FBI agent to help her with her dealings with U.S. authorities, an episode that has increased the pressure on her administration and fueled the political crisis facing Morena and the state.
The rivalry between the two leaders is long-standing. It began shortly after the change in state government in 2021, but reached one of its peaks in August 2022. At that time, Bonilla, then a senator, used the floor of Congress to publicly accuse his successor of maintaining an alleged agreement with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Amid a wave of violence in Baja California, the former governor claimed that a criminal group had hung banners addressed to the current governor, accusing her of breaking a pact. “What happened in Baja California was the result of an agreement with the cartels, particularly the CJNG, who confronted the governor, claiming she violated the agreement.
That didn’t happen during my administration,” he said at the time. Without providing any evidence, Marina del Pilar responded by rejecting the accusations and accusing political actors of trying to exploit the violence for partisan gain. Without directly mentioning Bonilla, she asked that the violence not be used for political purposes and urged citizens to rely solely on information released by the authorities.
