Morena Party Leader Accuses Calderón and Fox of Being 'Principal Accomplices' of the Sinaloa Cartel

On July 14, 2026, Morena's national leader Ariadna Montiel escalated the ruling party's dispute with Felipe Calderón and Vicente Fox, accusing both former presidents of being the 'principal accomplices' of the Sinaloa Cartel in response to allegations from US officials linking the Mexican government to drug trafficking. Montiel tied the cartel's growth directly to Genaro García Luna, Calderón's Secretary of Public Security, who is imprisoned in the United States after being convicted of taking Sinaloa Cartel bribes — calling him the cartel's 'principal partner accomplice.' She also cited Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's 2001 escape from the Puente Grande prison under Fox and his more than 13 years as a fugitive spanning both the Fox and Calderón administrations, and noted the PAN's past appointment of Lucero Guadalupe Sánchez — reportedly Guzmán's romantic partner — as a local deputy. The remarks followed comments a week earlier from President Sheinbaum accusing Calderón and Fox of protecting the Sinaloa Cartel, deepening the ruling Morena party's effort to frame the drug war era as a period of government-cartel collusion.