In a context of growing violence and statistical manipulation, the Catholic Citizenship and Social Analysis Observatory has published its report number 44, titled «Organized Crime and Its Links with Politicians». The document offers elements for ethical and social discernment, based on the Social Doctrine of the Church. The report denounces the fusion between criminal structures and political power, particularly under the Morena regime and the so-called «4T», and raises critical questions: How do cartels survive if less drugs reach the United States? What is the size of the economic power of mafias colluding with politicians? Is there true conviction in the federal and state governments to combat crime, or is it just a reaction to pressures from Donald Trump?
The document begins with an ethical criterion extracted from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (n. 394), which emphasizes that political authority must be exercised within the moral order and for the common good, obliging citizens to obey only under those conditions. This premise serves as a framework for analyzing recent facts that illustrate the infiltration of organized crime into public institutions.
Among the highlighted facts, the report details the capture of the mayor of Tequila, Jalisco, Diego Rivera Navarro, on February 5, 2026, in the «Enjambre» operation led by the federal Secretary of Security, Omar García Harfuch. Accused of drug trafficking, kidnapping, organized crime, and extortion of tequila companies through «floor rights», Rivera Navarro was allegedly linked to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). His Director of Public Security, Juan Manuel Pérez Sosa, personally collected the extortions. The interim mayor, Lorena Marisol Rodríguez Rivera, has been criticized for appearing in videos singing narcocorridos that glorify «El Mencho», leader of the CJNG. Media such as YouTube and local portals report that the population of Tequila knew of these links, although the new mayor denies it. Antonio Lancaster-Jones, president of the Council of Industrial Chambers of Jalisco (CCIJ), contradicted her statements, affirming extortions to various business sectors.
Another alarming case is the kidnapping and murder of ten miners in Concordia, Sinaloa, in early February. Five bodies were identified on February 10, belonging to employees of the Canadian Vizsla Silver Corp. Initially attributed to confusions between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel («Los Chapitos»), investigations point to the refusal to pay «floor rights». The report quotes Jorge Fernández Menéndez, who denounces that the CJNG has taken gold and silver mines on borders like Jalisco-Zacatecas, with the complacency of authorities. Additionally, it mentions the discovery of two dead businessmen in San Luis Potosí on February 7: Pablo Ortega Venegas and Óscar Osbaldo Luna Silva, the latter a Citizen Movement precandidate for the mayorship of Villa de Reyes.
Violence against businessmen is intensifying, affecting not only them but the general population. The report criticizes the government’s handling of disappearances, with searchers’ mothers’ collectives protesting manipulated figures. President Claudia Sheinbaum, in her conference on February 10, claimed a 42% reduction in intentional homicides from September 2024 to January 2026, dropping from 86.9 to 50.9 daily. However, the document questions these data, citing the resignation of Teresa Guadalupe Reyes Sahagún in July 2025 as head of the National Search Commission, in the face of an official record of more than 131 thousand disappeared. According to Reyes, 59.51% of located men appear lifeless, and 40.28% of women.
A table in the report compares disappearances by administration: Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) recorded 16,981 (8 per day); Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), 32,513 (15 per day); and Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), 53,650 (25 per day). The organization Causa en Común denounces anomalies in homicide figures, such as «uncommon» reductions in entities like Tabasco (-77%) and Nuevo León (-72%), attributed to reclassifications and cover-ups.
In the analysis, the observatory argues that these facts reveal a national «narco-crisis», with collusion between Morena and cartels. Cases like Tequila and the Sinaloan mine are symptoms that crime is taking over regional economies, aggravated by external pressures that reduce drug flows. The report accuses the government of hiding the reality with false figures, while the fusion between politicians and criminals reaches extremes. Examples include Tabasco, where the governor Adán Augusto López Hernández appointed Hernán Bermúdez Requena, alleged leader of «La Barredora» (arm of the CJNG), as Secretary of Security, and Leonardo Arturo Leyva Ávalo as police chief.
The list of murdered businessmen grows in states like Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Jalisco, and Puebla. Chambers like the American Chamber of Mexico record economic impacts of blackmail, including them in accounting balances. The observatory denounces the proliferation of «underworld businessmen» under the 4T, such as the «Clan Andy» and ghost companies linked to public projects, facilitated by complacent notaries.
In conclusions, the report states that the cartels strengthened and expanded nationally, invading the State. It attributes five «contributions» of Morena and the 4T: 1) Fusion of political structures with cartels (narco-presidents, narco-governors); 2) Policies like «hugs, not bullets» that allowed armament and extortion; 3) Territorial expansion of crime; 4) Exposed relationships, like AMLO with «El Rey del Huachicol» Sergio Carmona; 5) Criminal renewal toward business extortion, kidnappings, and disappearances.
The document quotes a tweet from Manuel López San Martín on July 22, 2025, questioning whether López Obrador knew of narco links in his entourage. The action directive urges rejecting normalization, fostering citizen awareness circles, and cleaning the State. «It seems we arrived late, but we need to start with the cleaning of organized crime in the entrails of the Mexican State», it concludes.
The full report can be viewed here.