Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador may be leaving office soon, but he is under a new controversy as his allies are alleged to be taking drug money from the cartels. The US government even examined these allegations against his allies.

According to the New York Times, several law enforcement officials from the United States actually spent years looking into the allegations of his allies taking millions of dollars from drug cartels after he took office.

The inquiry has never been reported before until now, and it uncovered information that points to potential links between powerful cartel operatives and Mexican advisers and officials close to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador himself while he is still the most powerful man in Mexico.

However, it was noted that while law enforcement officials examined these allegations, no formal investigation was ever opened, and the case was ultimately shelved. It concluded that the US government had little interest in pursuing allegations against the leader of the country considered one of its top allies and trading partners.

The New York Times reached out to AMLO, with the president responding and saying that the allegations are "completely false," adding that the news of the inquiry would not "in any way" affect Mexico's relationship with the United States. However, he says that he is expecting a response from the US government.

It is known that Mexican drug cartels have already infiltrated the Mexican government, from the lowest levels to the upper reaches of government. It is also known that these criminal organizations pay off the police, manipulate mayors, co-opt senior officials, and have corrupt officials inform them about government operations against them.

The US law enforcement officials identified possible ties between the cartels and the associates of the president. However, it did not find any connections between these cartels and AMLO himself.

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US Government Confirms No Formal Investigation Launched Into Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

During his usual morning press conference on Thursday, AMLO told reporters that "The US government is going to have to address this." Later that day, the US government actually did.

"There is no investigation into President López Obrador," said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby in a statement, according to the Associated Press.

These allegations could be damning for the Mexican president as his ally and hand-picked replacement, Claudia Sheinbaum, is leading in the polls for the upcoming January 2 presidential elections. These allegations could sway some voters against her.

Allegations of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Allies Ties to Drug Cartels Investigated by Media Organizations

Several media organizations have previously published stories that looked into a US investigation into the ties between AMLO and the Mexican drug cartels. These media organizations include ProPublica, Deutsche Welle, and InSight Crime.

These media organizations pointed out that AMLO had constantly been facing criticism for not aggressively pursuing drug cartels like his predecessors. They also looked into the reports of his campaign aides being the ones who took money from the cartels.

However, the ProPublica investigation, in particular, noted that "The investigation did not establish whether López Obrador sanctioned or even knew of the traffickers' reported donations."

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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