New investigations by Mexican journalists revealed links between a former Michoacán public official and drug cartels.
According to those investigations, Ignacio Mendoza Jiménez, former coordinator of Michoacán's penitentiary system, is allegedly tied to La Familia Michoacana, Cárteles Unidos, and even the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). His alleged connections to organized crime were first identified in 2009, but a newly leaked audio recording suggests Mendoza received bribes from a regional leader of the Jalisco cartel in exchange for privileges and control within the state's prisons.
