Morena defends Adán Augusto as a fugitive former boss; accuses him of conspiracy

The Morena party and the presidency have joined forces to defend Senator Adán Augusto López , calling the criticism of him appointing Hernán Bermúdez, currently a fugitive from justice, as a "media assault" and a "synchronized attack."

A high-profile political scandal has erupted surrounding Morena's Senate coordinator, Adán Augusto López Hernández. The controversy centers on his political responsibility for appointing Hernán Bermúdez Requena as Secretary of Security of Tabasco during his governorship. Requena is currently a fugitive with an international wanted warrant and is being investigated for allegedly leading the criminal group "La Barredora."

The opposition's reaction was swift, with legislators from the PAN and PRI demanding an investigation into López Hernández's possible omission or negligence in the appointment. However, the ruling party's response has been forceful and unified, not to clarify the facts, but to denounce a conspiracy against it.

Instead of offering a detailed explanation of the vetting and trust processes that led to Bermúdez's appointment, Morena has opted for a classic political damage control playbook: discrediting the messenger.

In an official statement, the Morena parliamentary group in the Senate asserted that there is an "obvious synchronized swimming" between the opposition and the media to "slander and spread fake news" in order to discredit the senator. President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly backed López Hernández, stating that there is no investigation against him by the Mexican government or the Attorney General's Office (FGR).

This strategy seeks to shift the focus of the debate. Instead of answering the substantive question of how an alleged criminal leader rose to the top of a state's security forces, it seeks to mobilize his base against a supposed political and media enemy. It avoids accountability for the incident itself and transforms it into a narrative of political victimhood.

"They have been slandering and spreading false news to try to discredit him for several days," the Morena parliamentary group stated in a statement, describing the controversy as a "media smear campaign."

This scandal presents a critical vulnerability for the Fourth Transformation's discourse, as it inevitably evokes the case of Genaro García Luna, Felipe Calderón's former Secretary of Security, sentenced in the United States for ties to drug trafficking. The García Luna case has been the current government's preferred political weapon for criticizing the corruption of past administrations.

The structural similarity is uncomfortable: a high-ranking security official, responsible for combating crime, ends up being accused of being part of it. Aware of this dangerous comparison, figures such as Senate President Gerardo Fernández Noroña have been quick to deny any resemblance, stating that "there is no similarity whatsoever."

However, denial does not erase public perception. The Bermúdez case thus becomes a litmus test for the president's "zero impunity" and "we are not equal" narrative. How the government and his party handle this crisis will determine whether their anti-corruption rhetoric is validated or, on the contrary, they expose themselves to accusations of hypocrisy and self-pity. This is not just about a senator's reputation, but about the credibility of the moral pillar on which the entire political project of the 4T has been built.