Mexican Mayor Arrested in Crackdown on Alleged Multi-Million-Dollar Cartel Tequila Extortion Scheme

Tourists taking their picture taken in front of the sign with the name of the town, “Tequila”. (Photo by: Gabriel Trujillo/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

On Thursday, Mexican authorities arrested Diego Rivera Navarro, mayor of the town of Tequila, Jalisco, accusing the politician of extorting major alcohol makers and collaborating with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

Omar García Harfuch, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Mexico, announced in a Facebook post that at least six government officials were arrested in a sweep dubbed “Operation Storm.” According to federal authorities, Navarro’s administration is accused of imposing property taxes exceeding 20 times the legal rate on local tequila distillers, and issuing fines of over 60 million pesos (roughly USD $3.4 million) in exchange for withheld permits.

The government intervened following complaints from at least 10 companies, one of which was reportedly Becle, the tequila powerhouse behind Jose Cuervo, 1800 and Maestro Dobel.

Harfuch says Navarro was arrested alongside three municipal officials in the town of Tequila, Jalisco: The director of public security, the director of property and registry and the director of public works. Officials say a total of three mayors were detained in the sweep, although Navarro is the only one to have been publicly named so far.

The raids were carried out by officials from the Mexican Navy, Attorney General’s Office, National Defense, Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection and National Intelligence Center at the direction of President Claudia Sheinbaum.

The arrested parties are accused of kicking back funds to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a syndicate described by the DEA as “one of Mexico’s most powerful, influential, and ruthless transnational criminal organizations.” The cartel is believed to generate billions of dollars annually, and has been accused of being one of the largest traffickers of illicit fentanyl to the United States.

The extent of Navarro’s alleged ties to the CJNG have not been disclosed by federal authorities. Like much else in the case, this remains a developing story.

The town of Tequila, Jalisco, was founded in 1530, later becoming famous as the birthplace of its eponymous spirit, now a many-billion-dollar export. The town has a population of around 44,000 and was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006.