Baja California orders review of La Mayiza-linked contracts

Reporting and context

Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda ordered a review of state contracts with companies identified by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control as linked to “La Mayiza,” according to Radar BC. She instructed the state’s senior administrative office to examine the contracts and immediately send the files to the Secretariat for Anti-Corruption and Good Government. The order followed an update to OFAC’s list of sanctioned people and entities.

Radar BC reported that the state also plans to remove from its supplier registry any individual or company under investigation by Mexican or foreign authorities for alleged illicit activity until the party formally clarifies its legal status. Ávila Olmeda said earlier contracts complied with the legal framework and supplier records in effect when they were signed, when the companies had not been barred or sanctioned. Her statement characterized the review as a response to new information, not a finding that the earlier contracts were unlawful.

The state administration said the contracts connected to public security involved equipment, supplies and technical infrastructure. It also said citizen databases remain under the exclusive custody of authorized state personnel and denied that the information had been compromised. The government added that the Baja California Attorney General’s Office operates with constitutional, budgetary and administrative autonomy over its purchases. Radar BC quoted Ávila Olmeda as saying any irregularity found in the review would be handled under the law.