Former Baja California Governor Jaime Bonilla Valdez rejected on Wednesday any involvement in Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda’s meetings with U.S. agencies and described as “illogical” any attempt to link him to the conversations revealed in recently released audio recordings, which were recorded several months ago.
Government institutions
In a statement released through the Labor Party, Bonilla denied having participated in meetings between the governor and U.S. authorities, external advisers, or in obtaining the recordings made months earlier.
“It is illogical that someone who has been identified as her worst enemy, someone she has politically and legally persecuted, could participate in such sensitive and confidential events involving Governor Marina del Pilar,” the former state governor stated.
Bonilla claimed that the version presented by the governor seeks to hold him responsible for a situation arising from criminal investigations that, according to him, she is facing in the United States. In this context, he said that Ávila is going through a “panic crisis” and attributed it both to the investigations against her and to the political scenario ahead of the state succession.
Politics
The former governor also questioned the change in the governor’s position regarding the leaked audio recordings. He questioned why she presented a different version after the first leak.
“In that material, very compromising accusations were already evident, and her position was one of denial. When the second leak arrived, she no longer knew how to correct her mistakes, and that is when she opened the ’emergency box’ to bring out her ‘favorite villain.'”
As part of his response, Bonilla challenged Marina del Pilar to explain the circumstances surrounding her meetings with U.S. authorities. He asked her to clarify how she entered the United States despite the cancellation of her visa, who arranged those meetings, and why, according to the content of the audios, she expressed willingness to provide information obtained from security meetings in exchange for resolving her legal situation.
He also stated that the governor must publicly respond to the statements contained in the recordings and denied that he could have provided resources to help her avoid possible sanctions.
Campaigns and elections
In the final part of his statement, Bonilla linked the accusations against him to the political process in Baja California and said that the Labor Party is considering former Tijuana mayor Monserrat Caballero as a possible candidate for the governorship.
He also announced that he would analyze, together with his legal team, the actions he will take to protect what he described as his reputation and personal security.
Source: losangelespress
