The damning photo that led to governor having her visa revoked by Trump

UK Daily Mail ^ | 05/12/2025 | Adry Torres and Melissa Koenig

[DFG]

A photograph with a prominent drug cartel figure may be behind the Trump administration's refusal to grant a top Mexican politician a visa to enter the United States.

The picture showed Baja California governor Marina del Pilar Avila hugging Emmanuel 'El Botas' Serrano while she was campaigning for mayor of the border town of Mexicali in 2019.

Serrano allegedly reports directly to Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, who leads half of the infamously brutal Sinaloa Cartel.

The photo first emerged in September 2022, with the governor's office disputing allegations that she had any ties to the so-called El Botas.

'It's a common knowledge that during political campaigns, hundreds of people approach to take a photo and even mingle with a candidate, as was the case during the four electoral campaigns in which the governor has contested,' del Pilar's office said in a statement.

Del Pilar Avila announced on Sunday that she and her husband, Carlos Torres, had their tourist visas revoked.

While she did not provide any reason for the revocation in her X post, Torres wrote on Facebook Saturday that it 'does not represent an accusation, investigation or formal incident by any authority, neither in Mexico nor in the United States.'

Torres, who serves as the coordinator of special projects within the Baja California state administration and for the city of Tijuana, also claimed that the revocation is 'a measure that, as is with many people in similar contexts, responds to internal arrangements of the State Department.'

'Currently, the application of these administrative criteria has become increasingly common and like so many others, I am included in that universe,' Torres told his followers.

[gildafarrell]

Good move by our President. We can’t get rid of the likes of ilhan omar and rashida tlaib, both have terrorist ties.