The governor of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, accused the former state president Jaime Bonilla Valdez of having set her up after the dissemination of fragments of a conversation she had with alleged United States agents, related to the cancellation of her tourist visa. The state president assured that the meeting occurred in December 2025, after Bonilla offered her help to address the immigration problem and manage a meeting with people who allegedly had a relationship with authorities Americans. During a press conference held this Wednesday, July 15, Marina del Pilar stated that she accepted the approach under the confidence that it came from her predecessor, but she later concluded that the meeting had the objective of obtaining a recording that could be used against her. "I trusted my predecessor in good faith. I had that meeting, of which certain fragments have been disseminated. Today it is clear to everyone that it was a trap," she declared.

Governor assures that audios were taken out of context

Marina del Pilar pointed out that the audio fragments released by journalist Héctor de Mauleón do not show the full context of the conversation and stated that during the call the alleged US agents raised scenarios related to alleged charges and legal procedures. The governor said that the situation surprised her due to the seriousness of the allegations which, as she explained, were not related to any fact that could support them.

“Any person would be surprised if they are presented with scenarios of that severity, particularly when there is no fact that could give rise to them,” he said. The president explained that, upon noticing elements that she considered irregular in the conversation, she asked the interlocutors to communicate directly with her lawyer, Michael Nadler.

However, he assured that there was never contact with his defense nor presentation of official documents that supported the statements made during the call. "They never looked for him, they never communicated with him, they never presented a single document. They only wanted to record a private conversation and then spread it with the sole interest of affecting me politically," he stated.

Federal government supports Marina del Pilar

The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, assured that the audios released do not indicate that the governor has provided sensitive information to the alleged US agents.

During the morning conference of the federal government, he explained that when Marina del Pilar mentioned that she could share information heard at security tables, she was referring to data related to crime incidence and priority criminal objectives.

García Harfuch pointed out that no information was identified that compromised national security or the security of the state of Baja California.

For her part, President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that she does not consider that there is a crime to prosecute derived from the content of the recordings and supported the position of the Baja California governor.

Bonilla and his old accusations against Marina del Pilar

The confrontation between both politicians has history. In 2022, when he was still a senator, Jaime Bonilla accused that there were alleged agreements between the government of Marina del Pilar and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), after a series of violent events and the appearance of messages attributed to criminal groups in Baja California.

On that occasion, Bonilla stated that the events recorded in the state were not isolated events and maintained that they could be related to disputes between criminal organizations and authorities.

“What happened in the state was not a coincidence, it was an act that was coordinated by the cartels, as a claim to the government of Baja California,” he declared then.

The political dispute continues in Baja California

The dissemination of the audio and the accusations between both former members of the same political movement reignited the public dispute between Marina del Pilar and Jaime Bonilla, who have maintained political differences since the change of state administration. While the governor maintains that she was the victim of an operation to harm her politically, her opponents have questioned the content of the conversation and demanded greater clarity about the origin of the recording and the circumstances in which the meeting occurred.