Border Report: Questions Swirl Over Baja Governor’s Cancelled Visa

Three weeks after Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda announced the cancellation of her U.S. visitor visa, many questions linger. But one thing is certain: The incident has put an uncomfortable spotlight on the governor, who has been an up-and-coming politician in Mexico’s ruling MORENA Party.

The Trump administration began to put travel restrictions on Mexican politicians it believes are connected to “drug corruption” as early as last month, ProPublica reported. But it’s unclear whether that has anything to do with Avila’s visa revocation — or what evidence, if any, U.S. officials have against the governor. 

The news has set off a firestorm of criticism and speculation in Mexico. 

Baja California journalists have been probing Avila’s link to a $4.45 million residence in northern San Diego County. But Avila has maintained the reports are unfounded, and that she has done nothing wrong. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has defended Avila, saying that Mexico’s attorney general has no negative information about the governor.

The announcement: On Saturday May 10th, Avila’s husband, the former federal legislator Carlos Torres, posted on Facebook that his U.S. tourist visa had been cancelled. Later that same day, Avila also took to social media, defending her husband and announcing her visa had been canceled as well. Both said they did not know the reason for the U.S. State Department decision.

Torres has also been under the media’s glare. According to the investigative news outlet Zeta, he is under investigation both in Mexico and the United States. Torres and his brother, a former Mexican customs administrator, are named in a Mexican probe for a series of allegations, including tax evasion, corruption and theft of motor fuel, Zeta reported.

Two days after the couple’s announcements, the governor read a ten-minute statement of her “official position.” She said: “It’s an administrative decision, not an accusation,” as she stood flanked by top aides. “Nowhere does it say that a governor has to have a visa.”  

The statement made no mention of her husband. She left without taking reporters’ questions. 

Why it matters in San Diego: Baja California is intensely connected to southern California through economic, cultural and family ties. U.S. Ports of Entry registered an average 204,000 northbound crossings per day from Baja California  in fiscal year 2024. In that same period, $82.1 billion in trade took place on the California-Baja California border. Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens live in Baja California, and large numbers of Baja California residents cross to work in the United States. Governors are important advocates for the needs of the cross-border region. 

A State Department guide for U.S. visa officers notes that “the revocation of the visa of a public official… can have long-term repercussions on our political relationships with foreign powers and on our public diplomacy goals in a foreign state.” 

The visa cancellation: By law, the State Department maintains confidentiality in visa decisions, and won’t comment on the case. Though the news has been shocking and rumors and reports abound, no U.S. accusations against the governor – or her husband – have been confirmed.

Still, a former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent said decisions to revoke visas of high-ranking  political figures are not done lightly. “It has to be information from credible sources and information that can be proven,” Oscar Hagelsieb, the former ICE agent, told journalist Luis Chaparro. 

ProPublica reported last month that the Trump administration “has begun to impose travel restrictions and other sanctions on prominent Mexican politicians whom it believes are linked to drug corruption.” The article, quoting unnamed sources in the Trump administration, mentioned a list of several dozen Mexican political figures suspected of ties to the drug trade. The article did not specify who was on that list. 

The governor: At  39, Avila is the first woman and youngest person to lead this state of close to four million residents – and now she’s also the first governor of the state to have her visa canceled. Since launching her six-year term in November 2021, she’s been a champion of cross-border ties and has met with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs.  As president of Mexico’s National Council of Governors, Avila has been an enthusiastic supporter of President Claudia Sheinbaum and her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Like many border residents — she’s a Mexicali native — she has travelled frequently to the United States, and her two children were born in California.

The governor’s husband: The visa issue has put the spotlight on Torres, the governor’s husband, who has held an honorary unpaid title in her government as coordinator of the Public Spaces Regeneration Program. In Tijuana, Torres has been a driving force behind the creation of the new Esperanto Park near the A.L. Rodriguez Dam in eastern Tijuana and the redesign of Avenida Revolución, the city’s historic tourist strip by the U.S. border.

Torres has said that the cancellation of his visa “does not represent an accusation, investigation, nor a formal allegation on the part of any authority either in Mexico or the United States.”

Rallies for and against the governor: Cries of “fuera Marina” rose in Mexicali May 17 during a “carne asada” protest promoted on social media that drew thousands to share food and music outside government offices on a Saturday afternoon. Smaller demonstrations against the governor ensued the following weekend in Tijuana and Ensenada. Meanwhile, MORENA Party leaders organized a pro-Avila rally in Tijuana on May 24th that drew thousands of supporters of the governor – but also prompted media criticism that many participants were government employees or were bused in from impoverished neighborhoods dependent on government social welfare programs.

The San Diego mansion: Journalists have been probing the governor’s connection to a $4.45 million residence in Rancho San Bernardo. The governor has denied being the owner of the property, but admitted to occasionally visiting the residence. The owner is Fernando Salgado Sanchez, described as a wealthy and low-profile businessman with powerful political connections in Baja California. 

IN OTHER NEWS

Mexico’s judicial elections: Low voter turnout on Sunday marked Mexico’s judicial elections, and the state of Baja California was no exception. Nationally, about 13 percent of Mexico’s voters cast ballots, according to the National Electoral Institute. Though no statewide turnout numbers were announced by midday Monday, local media reported that relatively few of Baja California’s  3.3 million voters cast ballots at 2,524 polling stations statewide.

The elections are intended to overhaul Mexico’s judicial system, and eliminate corruption and impunity. But critics have said choosing all state and federal judges through popular elections will only serve to politicize the judicial process.

While Gov. Avila called the election “a historic day,” the president of the opposition National Action Party in Baja California, Lizbeth Mata Lozano, called it an “electoral farce and montage disguised as democracy.” 

In Tijuana, opponents of the election gathered Sunday at a traffic circle in the Rio Zone, waving Mexican flags and signs to passing drivers. Meanwhile, several news organizations reported on leaked messages, allegedly sent by the leader of a taxi cab group to her drivers, ordering them to send photos proving they voted, saying “if they’re not going to vote, they’re not going to work.”

Tijuana Book Fair: One of the city’s oldest and largest cultural events is moving to eastern Tijuana for the first time this month. Activities start Friday and run through June 15 at the Museo del Trompo, an interactive science-oriented children’s museum. The fair will feature a wide range of writers and topics, including talks with local authors and publisher displays. Also featured are a children’s pavilion, food booths and musical performances. 

The event, first held in 1980, is being organized jointly by the Tijuana Booksellers Union, the city of Tijuana and the Trompo museum. “This is a great opportunity to get closer to eastern Tijuana,” said Ilya Haro, Tijuana’s Secretary of Culture.

Eastern Tijuana includes vast areas that have grown quickly in recent decades, but doesn’t have adequate parks, libraries, cultural centers, roads and other amenities for its residents. 

For a Book Fair program, click here. 

Baja California cyclist makes history: Mexicans are celebrating Ensenada-born cyclist Isaac del Toro, a 21-year-old who has drawn the attention of the racing world, most recently in the Giro d’Italia, where he placed second on Sunday.