Fox and 12 Ex-PAN Governors Defend Detained Ruffo Appel as 'Political Prisoner'

Vicente Fox and twelve former PAN governors, organized under the banner 'Unidos por México,' publicly defend former Baja California governor Ernesto Ruffo Appel — detained July 16, 2026 in Ensenada as part of a federal investigation into a fuel-smuggling network ('huachicol fiscal') — branding him a 'political prisoner' and accusing the Sheinbaum government of political persecution. The FGR (federal attorney general's office) rejects the persecution claims, stating the probe targets a smuggling structure, not Ruffo's political background. Fox sustains the defense through late July and August: on July 31 he argues Ruffo operated as a lawful fuel importer and deserves house arrest given his advanced age, and separately blasts new government telecommunications regulations as 'the nail in the coffin' for press freedom — 'a concrete step from authoritarianism toward dictatorship'; by August 9 Fox reiterates that 'thinking differently should not be a crime.'