Amílcar Olán, the businessman accused of being a front man for the son of López Obrador flees Switzerland after being confronted by the Mexican press

A political storm is brewing in Mexico centering on a businessman from Tabasco and the son of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Andy López Beltrán, in a matter that already involves two U.S. agencies and the Department of State,  while also placing President Claudia Sheinbaum in a vulnerable and complex position. The case concerns Jorge Amílcar Olán, who is accused of amassing wealth through multi-million-dollar contracts during AMLO’s administration and of having alleged ties to drug trafficking; he was found hiding at a residence in Lugano, Switzerland, by TV Azteca journalist Irving Pineda, and subsequently fled after his whereabouts were revealed and went viral over the past 24 hours, all while his name has become the talk of Mexico.

Pineda said he located the businessman thanks to an anonymous tip and that it took him seven days of waiting and several trips to confirm his identity. He did so by comparing Olán's Tabasco accent with previously leaked audio recordings, cross-referencing his face with earlier photos—the journalist claims Olán underwent surgeries to alter his appearance—and checking the label on a mailbox bearing the name "Jorge Olán Aparicio" at the entrance to the property. According to his account, Olán was living a low-profile life in a three-story house overlooking Lake Lugano, rarely venturing out onto the street.

When the journalist approached him for a 30-second interview, Olán became agitated upon hearing his name, said he would call the police, and hurried back home while walking with his son. He then struggled with the cameraman and the reporter in a brief altercation that resulted in no injuries. A few hours later, Pineda confirmed that the house was completely empty.

"What really threw me off was that he never comes out," the reporter said about Olán's routine before his departure.

Who Is Amílcar Olán

Jorge Amílcar Olán Aparicio is a businessman from Tabasco whose close relationship with Andy López Beltrán and his brother, Gonzalo "Bobby" López Beltrán, dates back to at least 2015, when Andy attended Olán's wedding in Villahermosa. According to various journalistic investigations, that friendship coincided with the rapid growth of his businesses shortly after López Obrador's six-year term began.

One of the best-documented cases involves Romedic, a company in which Olán and his father are listed as shareholders. According to Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI), between 2020 and 2022, Romedic received more than 490 million pesos (equivalent to about $24.4 million at the time) in contracts from the now-defunct Institute of Health for Well-being, awarded by the governments of Quintana Roo and Tabasco for the supply of medications and medical supplies. Among these agreements is one worth 274 million pesos (approximately $13.6 million), awarded by Quintana Roo in December 2022 to purchase 183 different types of medications.

His name is also linked to the supply of ballast, the material that supports the tracks, for both the Maya Train and the Interoceanic Corridor. In audio recordings released by Latinus, Olán reportedly spoke of profits totaling 250 million pesos ($12.4 million) earned in just six months from that business. That same material came under scrutiny following the derailment of a railcar at the Tren Maya in March 2024, and it has also been linked to a subsequent accident on the Interoceanic Corridor that left 14 people dead.

MCCI also documented the December 2018 purchase of a 180-hectare plot of land in Dos Bocas for just one million pesos —just six days after López Obrador's administration took office— a property that ICA Flúor, one of the refinery's main contractors, was leasing at the time. In another investigation, the organization released an unedited audio recording in which Olán tells a conversation partner that López Obrador's son allegedly promised him access to mines in Oaxaca to produce more ballast. 

The most serious allegations

In addition to irregularities in contracts with the AMLO administration, Olán is accused of being a front man for Andy López Beltrán, an accusation supported by a pattern documented in various investigations: his businesses took off as soon as López Obrador's six-year term began; his main contracts came from state governments affiliated with Morena, and the audio recording itself, revealed by MCCI—in which he discusses how the former president's son allegedly promised him access to mines in Oaxaca—suggests a direct link between that personal closeness and his business opportunities. The term "front man" also appears explicitly in reports such as that by El País, which describes him as such in reference to his connection with López Beltrán.

Various news reports, including those by Latinus and TV Azteca, have also pointed to Olán's alleged ties to organized crime structures, including his brother's contacts with a cell linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel dedicated to extortion and fuel theft, as well as with the criminal group known as "La Barredora," led by Tabasco's former secretary of public security, Hernán Bermúdez Requena. However, so far, none of these allegations has led to a formal indictment by Mexican authorities, a fact that Olán himself and members of the Morena Party, the ruling party, are seizing upon.

The case reached the United States

Olán's name has already begun to make waves in the U.S. due to his alleged ties to AMLO's sons. According to a New York Times investigation citing five sources with direct knowledge of the matter, at least two U.S. security agencies are analyzing Andy López Beltrán's possible ties to organized crime and fuel smuggling, although the newspaper clarified that no formal investigations have been opened in the country. The report also noted that López Beltrán attempted to contact officials from the United States on several occasions this year through intermediaries, though those contacts never developed into formal discussions.

In August, the Department of State revoked Andy López Beltrán's visa. The U.S. Embassy justified the measure in a generic statement posted on social media: "The United States will cancel any visa when there are reasons to do so, regardless of who the holder is, where they live, or what their political views are," emphasizing that a visa is "a privilege, not a right."

The Mexican government's response

Both President Claudia Sheinbaum and the Attorney General's Office have maintained a cautious stance, which critics often interpret as complicity.

Attorney General Ernestina Godoy said on September 16 that "there is nothing" when asked about alleged arrest warrants against Olán or López Beltrán. Sheinbaum, for her part, has insisted that any investigation must be based on concrete evidence, not on media allegations. "Anyone who has evidence—evidence from the Attorney General's Office of any illegal activity—must open an investigation, but not because [a media outlet] says so, but because there is evidence that actually links the person to a crime," the president said during the morning press briefing on September 28, after being specifically asked about the Olán case following his discovery in Switzerland.

The president also described the revocation of Andy López Beltrán's visa as a possible politically motivated act by the United States.

For now, neither the Mexican government nor the Swiss authorities have officially reported when Olán arrived in Lugano, what his immigration status is in that country, or whether there is any formal request for judicial cooperation between the two countries. Until such information becomes available, his presence in Switzerland, and now his disappearance from that same address, remains, for the time being, a relevant news story, but one without a corresponding judicial ruling.