A Mexican politician previously exposed in videos having breakfast with a local cartel boss is now planning to run for a seat in Mexico’s Senate. Despite being the target of police investigations for her alleged ties to organized crime, the politician publicly claimed that any negative press about her is a political attack because she is a woman.
Norma Otilia Ocampo, the mayor of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, requested leave from her post this week to run for a federal senate seat under the Morena Party, Mexico’s Proceso reported. The political move comes as Chilpancingo has become one of the most violent cities in the war-torn state of Guerrero, where various cartels continue to fight for control of lucrative drug production areas and drug trade routes into Mexico. Morena is the ruling party in Mexico, founded by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The Mexican president has claimed that the war on drugs is over and has been harshly criticized for refusing to use police forces to fight drug cartels. During Lopez Obrador’s term, violence has skyrocketed in Mexico, and several Morena politicians have been tied to drug cartels.
According to Proceso, on June 24, unknown cartel gunmen dumped seven bodies with a cartel message addressed to “Norma Otilia” Ocampo asking about a second breakfast meeting that had been promised after she sought out organized crime leaders. At the time, Ocampo had denied having met with anyone and asked for a police investigation.
However, in early July, Ocampo made national headlines when a surveillance video from a local restaurant captured her having a breakfast meeting with one of the leaders of a criminal organization known as Los Ardillos. In the first video and a second video of the same meeting leaked days later, Ocampo can be seen talking to the drug boss about her political career and how they can help each other, Breitbart Texas reported.
¿Qué hacía la alcaldesa de #Chilpancingo con el líder de “Los Ardillos”? Se difundieron imágenes y un audio de una supuesta reunión. Hace semana y media, la alcaldesa morenista desmintió una narcomanta, pero hoy tuvo que aceptar que sí hubo un encuentro: pic.twitter.com/RUqJTzC63F
— Ciro Gómez Leyva (@CiroGomezL) July 6, 2023
Ocampo claimed that the “edited” videos and the negative press against her are because she is a female. Since her arrival to Chilpancingo, the city has seen a dramatic rise in cartel murders, kidnappings, and extortions.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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