Mayor of Tequila, Mexico, Accused of Extorting Tequila Companies

Nytimes reports that the mayor of Tequila, a city in Jalisco state, was arrested along with three other officials accused of extorting beer and tequila companies in the state. The mayor, Diego Rivera Navarro, a member of the governing party Morena, was detained as part of Operation Swarm, the federal crackdown on networks that allow cartels to operate by co-opting municipal officials.

The government said he led a corruption network that extorted businesspeople and diverted public funds, and that the arrests followed citizen complaints and intelligence; it was unclear which companies were accused. Mexico’s security minister said the other detainees included the city director of public safety, the director of tax registry and the director of public works.

Authorities also said Mr. Navarro and the others were under investigation for ties to a cell of the Jalisco New Generation cartel; charging documents had not been made public.

Mexico, Tequila, Jalisco