Last week, Tequila Mayor Diego Rivera Navarro was sitting in his office overseeing the affairs of one of Jalisco’s most popular Pueblos Mágicos.
This week, the Morena Party presidente municipal languishes in a cell in Guadalajara’s Puente Grande prison, accused of transforming the town hall into a criminal enterprise, extorting the very tequila industry that gives the region its name, and pledging allegiance to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
The dramatic February 5 arrest, which also netted the municipal police chief, the director of Catastro and Predial and the head of Public Works (Obras Públicas), followed a cascade of denunciations from city councilors, tequila entrepreneurs and citizens that had mounted for over a year.
According to federal authorities, Rivera’s alleged crimes involved kidnapping political rivals, shaking down businesses with the support of municipal police and commandeering a national museum.
The extortion network reportedly targeted businesses of all sizes. According to reports in various newspapers, including El Imparcial and El Financiero, which both had access to the investigation documents, testimonies indicate the mayor, accompanied by police, would personally visit businesses in the town, demanding monthly “protection” fees ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 pesos.
Companies, including José Cuervo, the world’s largest tequila distillery and brand, were allegedly hit with exorbitant and unjustified property tax bills and license fees. In December of last year, Rivera Navarro temporarily closed the Cuervo 1800 plant, reportedly demanding a payment of 60 million pesos before a settlement for 17 million was reached.
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