US Ambassador Ken Salazar Claims Leaked Intel Cables Were Not from the US; Mexican Senators Deny Corruption Claims, AMLO Calls them False

Ambassador Ken Salazar stated yesterday that the documents I released on Monday did not come from the United States government. But my source and the official who handed them over stand by what they said. They are good and prove that there is illicit money financing politics.”

Villarreal affirms that, except for Narro, he did not know any of the people who sat next to him the day that El Gerry and the Marines disappeared. “It would be Narro who should respond to that,” said people from his team. 

Mr. Director:

I respectfully greet you and thank you for your attention in responding and clarifying the information that was published this Monday in your prestigious newspaper, signed by the journalist Héctor de Mauleón in his column In the third person, and entitled: “Américo Villarreal, financed by the Northeast Cartel: USA”.

First. In that article, the journalist De Mauleón deduces and affirms, in the title of his column and at the end of it, based on alleged “Top Secret” information, that an organized crime cartel financed my campaign: This affirmation is totally biased and false.

Second. The journalist refers in the article that I met with a character named Gerardo Teodoro Vázquez Barrera, alias El Gerry, and two marines who later disappeared. This statement is completely false. I never met them. That photograph where they appear was occasional. They arrived and asked for a photo after greeting Senator Narro, with whom I had lunch scheduled.

Third. The journalist takes for granted the alleged disappearance of “two elements of the Navy and the alleged financial operator of the Northeast Cartel: Gerardo Teodoro Vázquez Barrera, El Gerry.” It is important to confirm that I do not have any type of information that I can contribute to elucidate the situation. It should be noted that it corresponds solely and exclusively to the authorities, with powers to investigate this type of circumstance, to resolve this type of case, and the Secretary of the Navy must be in charge of clarifying this situation in which two of its troops are supposedly involved. I insist I have no relationship with the facts raised by the journalist. Based on what has been said, any indication that is made, without support, transgresses the legal system and generates consequences.

Fourth. I flatly deny any type of relationship that links me to Gerardo Teodoro Vázquez Barrera, the alleged financial operator of the Northeast Cartel. Because there has never been any link between the two, any information that attempts to involve me with him is completely unfounded and has the sole purpose of distorting the truth, seeking to damage my reputation and my status as governor-elect of Tamaulipas. This is the same insulting and useless methodology that they tried against my candidacy throughout the entire campaign. They continue to do so because those who are behind the dissemination of this information know that very soon they will have to account for an unpresentable public administration, and for which they want to obtain impunity that they will not achieve.

Fifth. The information from Mr. De Mauleón, presumably leaked by the US Embassy, ​​fraudulently affirms transfers of millions of dollars from Vázquez Barrera to my son Humberto Francisco Villarreal Santiago. I insist: totally false.

I am sure that the Embassy itself will be in charge of making the corresponding clarification. Only the government of the United States of America can declare in this regard.

Sixth. I must say that these types of publications, which they affirm without having any type of support because they are false, are the continuation of an infertile dirty campaign attempted against me and my family. Similar initiatives were ruthlessly used to try to gain electoral gains but failed to discredit me.

Seventh. Malicious lies will not win. Obscurantism, which is typical of anachronistic parties and failed government efforts, will not continue to prevail. The old mafias of power, with their outworn tricks and bad intentions, have no place in the spirit of the Fourth Transformation that all Mexicans possess.

With honesty, transparency, and accountability, we are committed to generating spaces of tranquility and trust, where each person is responsible for what they say, by presenting the evidence that supports the information or accusations. And where we are all subject to the law, so that justice prevails. I reserve the possibility of promoting all legal initiatives that correspond to the protection of my good name and that of my family.

Finally, I want to hold responsible for these types of acts, the people who have repeatedly shown that they do not know how to lose, those who tried to steal the June 5 election by turning it into a state election, and those who have destroyed and looted Tamaulipas and who intend at all costs to continue doing so. These people know that their days in government are about to end, and I tell them that, even if they try until the last moment to muddy the start of a new administration, they will not be able to, because management for transformation is coming, based on the strength of an honest, humble and well-intentioned commitment that will serve the people. 

Therefore, the insult will not work for them. Mr. Director, we know the journalistic history of El Universal and we recognize your professionalism in the handling and treatment of information.