'They protect corruption': Senator Cortés accuses Sheinbaum's administration of protecting corrupt politicians, officials on 'Voz News'

Mexican Senator Marko Cortés Mendoza accused Claudia Sheinbaum's administration of maintaining a profound "inconsistency" between its anti-corruption rhetoric and its actions toward figures with alleged ties to organized crime. During an interview with "Voz News," Cortés argued that while the administration promotes reforms to prevent nepotism and calls on political parties to nominate candidates without criminal ties, at the same time it "protects" officials and politicians under scrutiny. As an example, he cited the case of Rubén Rocha Moya, the governor of Sinaloa on leave. The United States filed a request for his provisional detention for extradition purposes, which Mexico received in April 2026.

"Therein lies the utter inconsistency of a regime that, on the one hand, says it wants to fight corruption, but on the other hand protects it," stated Cortés, who questioned why Mexican authorities have not taken action against Rocha Moya. The senator stated that since 2021 he had denounced the alleged use of so-called "fiscal huachicol" --  a form of fuel fraud -- to finance political campaigns and maintained that during the 2021 elections, candidates from his party were kidnapped, beaten or forced to withdraw from the race. "It's clear that he won with the support of organized crime," he said, extending his accusation to other states and municipalities.

The lawmaker also questioned the sovereignty argument used by the Mexican government in response to U.S. investigations. "The Morena regime is seeing ghosts outside the country while overlooking the monsters that are terrorizing people on the streets of Mexico every day," he said. Cortés pointed to extortion targeting farmers, merchants and truck drivers and stated that there are municipalities and states where organized crime exercises significant control. "Sovereignty is defended at home and not against supposed foreign enemies," he said, calling for a cooperation agreement with the United States to combat organized crime.

Cortés was equally critical of the situation regarding the disappeared and accused the government of attempting to manipulate the statistics through administrative changes. "The number of disappeared people is doubling, and what they're trying to do is change the figures," he stated. According to the senator, even if the official categories are modified, "families are still unable to find their children, their loved ones."

The interview also addressed the candidacy of Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, son of former President López Obrador. Cortés questioned why the Morena party is promoting his candidacy while allegations persist regarding his alleged ties to so-called "fiscal huachicol" and recalled that the United States revoked his visa. "Now they want to grant him immunity by making him a legislator," he stated. In contrast, he highlighted a bill he introduced to annul an election when the involvement of organized crime is proven. "There can be no democracy when people's lives and those of the candidates are at stake," he argued.

In another part of the interview, Cortés called on the Sheinbaum administration to prioritize relations with the United States and noted the economic significance of both countries. "Mexico exports 83% of its products to the United States," he said. "We cannot fall out with our main trading partner." In his view, Mexico should seek "good relations" with Washington rather than deepening bilateral tensions.

You can watch the full interview by clicking on the video below.