In Mexico City, the president adamantly denied accusations that his 2006 presidential campaign received financial support from drug cartel leaders in exchange for future assistance with their criminal activities during his potential presidency.
These allegations were detailed in extensive reports released by investigative news outlets ProPublica, Insight Crime, and Deutsche Welle, which cited U.S. drug enforcement officials and their Mexican informants. The reports claim that at least $2 million from major cocaine traffickers was provided to Lopez Obrador’s unsuccessful presidential run and its subsequent aftermath.
The informants identified a couple of close aides to the then-presidential candidate.
Lopez Obrador vehemently denied the report during his regular morning press conference, stating, “It’s completely false, it’s a slander.” He further added, “There’s no proof, they are vile slanderers.”
The 2006 campaign was the first of Lopez Obrador’s three presidential runs, which he ultimately lost by less than 1 percent of the vote to conservative Felipe Calderon. Calderon later initiated a controversial war against Mexico’s powerful drug cartels.
Lopez Obrador, who has pursued a less confrontational security policy towards organized crime, has consistently argued that he was unfairly deprived of the presidency in 2006.
In the months following the election, he led a prolonged occupation of downtown Mexico City with thousands of his supporters and even presided over a ceremony where he was declared the legitimate president.
One of the notable findings by ProPublica is that a prominent cartel leader provided financial support to Lopez Obrador’s supporters for food.
Despite his losses in the 2012 and 2018 elections, Lopez Obrador mainly blames U.S. officials for what he perceives as unethical actions, rather than the recent news.
He stated, “I’m not going to file a formal complaint, but I denounce it. Not the journalist or journalists. I denounce the United States government for allowing these immoral practices that are contrary to the political ethics that should prevail in all governments.”
(Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
