Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador on Thursday demanded a U.S. response to a report investigating allegations that his allies accepted drug cartel funds after taking office.
The New York Times said U.S. law enforcement officials spent years investigating allegations that people close to López Obrador had received millions of dollars from criminal organizations.
The newspaper reported that the United States decided not to launch a formal investigation because there was “little appetite to pursue allegations against the leader of one of America’s key allies.”
Citing U.S. records and unidentified sources familiar with the matter, the paper said U.S. officials had identified possible ties between drug cartels and people close to López Obrador, but the president himself He said he could not find any direct connection to criminal organizations.
The paper said much of the information was obtained from informants and was difficult to corroborate.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
President López Obrador called the accusations “slanderous” and called on the U.S. government to take action.
“If they don’t want to say anything, if they don’t want to act transparently, that’s their job, but a democratic government that defends freedom will have to inform people about this allegation.” he said.
This is the second time this year that López Obrador, who took office in 2018, has faced such allegations in the US media.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
Last month, in an article published on the news site ProPublica, he denied allegations that drug traffickers helped finance his first presidential campaign in 2006.
The report said it was unclear whether López Obrador, who narrowly lost the election, had imposed sanctions or was even aware of the funding.
He called the claims “completely false” and described them as a political attack by his opponents ahead of June’s presidential election, which he expects close ally Claudia Sheinbaum to win. did.
Dr. Yug/nro
