[Breitbart] Mexican Senator Lilly Tellez (PAN-Sonora) blasted President Claudia Sheinbaum, demanding she "stop telling lies." The senator accused her country’s president of having a close association with several lawyers who represent drug cartels during a fiery speech to the Mexican Senate.The Senator representing the Mexican State of Sonora is routinely critical of President Sheinbaum’s seemingly soft approach to fighting organized crime in Mexico. Maria Lilly Del Carmen Tellez GarcÃa, professionally known as "Lilly Tellez," is a Mexican politician who was first elected as a senator in 2018 under the Morena Party. In 2019, Tellez left the Morena Party, and in 2020, she joined the National Action Party (PAN). She became an openly vocal critic of the Mexican government, often claiming with receipts that they are in bed with the cartels.
In June 2022, Breitbart Texas reported that the senator lashed out against the ruling party, saying, "How am I going to face off against the senator from Sinaloa, knowing she has all the support of the Gulf Cartel, and El Chapo’s Cartel?"
Tellez added, "How can we face off against you when you have the full support of the cartels, the mafia, knowing full well that once we get out of here we can be attacked by those criminals who are helping you to operate in the elections —this is having bravery and civic responsibility."
Tellez stated that the decision to abandon the Morena Party was made when former President Manuel López Obrador, commonly referred to as AMLO, traveled to Badiraguato, Sinaloa, to shake hands with the mother of convicted drug trafficker JoaquÃn "El Chapo" Guzmán in 2020. Before becoming a politician, Tellez was well-known as an investigative journalist for TV Azteca, Mexico’s second-largest mass media company.
As an investigative reporter, Tellez conducted several investigations involving the Arellano-Felix Cartel. She also produced two documentaries denouncing Samuel Del Villar, a government official from Mexico City, as corrupt. On June 22, 2020, her car was shot at eight times by a group of unknown men. She survived the attack without injury. A bullet was discovered to have hit her seat belt buckle and caused the trajectory of the bullet to change course, possibly saving her life. As is often the case in Mexico, no suspects were ever arrested, and the case was closed.
During her speech before the Mexican Senate in February, Tellez offered proof of President Sheinbaum’s associations with "the defenders of organized crime" by pointing to a photo of the president with attorneys who, according to Tellez, admitted on video to being dedicated to "defending organized crime." Tellez further stated that the attorneys pictured with Sheinbaum are owners of the law firm that represents Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.