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Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, backed the governor of Baja California (northwest), Marina del Pilar Ávila, this Tuesday following the release of an audio recording in which the state leader apparently offers to collaborate with alleged United States agents, and she stated that there is no certainty regarding the identity of the people with whom the conversation took place.
"It is not even known who she is really talking to," the president declared during her morning conference when questioned about the recording released by journalist Héctor de Mauleón.
The Mexican leader maintained that, as of now, the only thing known is a phone call made public by a journalist and pointed out that there is no evidence to confirm that these were US officials.
"We don't even know if it is from United States authorities or not," she insisted.
Sheinbaum noted that the governor, who belongs to the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena), has already offered a public explanation regarding the content of the conversation.
"She provides a subsequent explanation that it is part of a communication and that it does not put the security of Baja California at any risk whatsoever," she affirmed.
The statements come after a new audio recording was released this Monday in which the governor is allegedly heard expressing her willingness to collaborate with US authorities.
"I am willing to talk about everything I might know, how to support, how to cooperate. I can say what I have heard at the security meetings," a voice attributed to the state leader is heard saying in the recording released by De Mauleón.
Following the publication of the audio, Ávila acknowledged having had a conversation with people who introduced themselves as agents or intermediaries linked to United States authorities, although she asserted that they never showed her documents, identification, or official requests that would prove that representation.
The governor argued that during the exchange, various legal scenarios were presented to her, but she rejected having engaged in any irregular conduct and reiterated that she remains willing to collaborate with any competent authority provided there is a formal request.
For his part, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, also downplayed the significance of the recording by pointing out that the audio does not "infer that confidential information from state security meetings is going to be shared," and he reiterated that "it is not known exactly which authority the person she was speaking with was from."
The controversy arises amidst tensions generated by investigations and migration restrictions imposed by the United States in recent months on various Mexican political figures, including state governors, such as the revocation of their visas.
[Publicidad]