The following is a letter sent by Mexican Civil Society organizations to the United States Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs, and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Friday, September 12, 2025:
Dear Officials of the United States Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs, and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA):
We address you on behalf of concerned parties regarding the integrity of the fight against transnational organized crime, urgently requesting your immediate intervention to seek the extradition to the United States of Hernán Bermúdez Requena, alias “El Abuelo,” apprehended on the night of September 12, 2025, in Asunción, Paraguay, by local authorities in a coordinated operation with Mexican agencies.
This individual, former Secretary of Public Security of the state of Tabasco during the governorship of Adán Augusto López Hernández (current President of the Senate of the Republic of Mexico), has been identified as the alleged leader of the criminal organization “La Barredora,” a cartel engaged in activities such as extortion, express kidnapping, criminal association, and, centrally, money laundering derived from illicit activities such as fuel theft (huachicol) and bribery of officials.
Bermúdez Requena’s relevance to U.S. investigations lies in his pivotal role in money laundering networks that transcend borders and have involved high-ranking Mexican officials. Leaked documents from the Guacamaya Leaks, revealed in July 2025, demonstrate that former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) received multiple alerts since 2021 about Bermúdez’s criminal connections, including his involvement in fuel theft routes and bribe payments, even ordering an investigation by the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena). Despite this, Bermúdez was protected, and his family built an empire of contractor and construction companies with the direct endorsement of Adán Augusto López, who appointed him to his key state security position.
Additionally, Bermúdez’s bank accounts were frozen for alleged money laundering, evidencing illicit financial flows that could be linked to cross-border operations impacting the United States.
Regarding potential connections to Mexican military institutions, journalistic reports and leaks have pointed to indirect ties between networks like “La Barredora” and elements of the Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR), although specific charges against current high-ranking officials have not been publicly detailed; however, the pattern of impunity in similar cases underscores the need for extradition to the U.S. to ensure an impartial process.> Bermúdez fled Mexico in January 2025, just as investigations against him intensified, and he has faced an arrest warrant since February of that year for the aforementioned crimes.
Extradition to the United States is imperative to prevent Bermúdez’s impunity, as in the case of General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, former Secretary of National Defense, arrested by the DEA in October 2020 on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering due to links with the H-2 Cartel.
Back then, following diplomatic pressure from the Mexican government, U.S. authorities dropped the charges in November 2020, allowing Cienfuegos return to Mexico, where the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) closed the case in January 2021 without pursuing charges, citing insufficient evidence, a decision widely criticized as an example of political interference.
This letter was made public on social networks under the José Manuel Padron @Mex_Liber1 X.com account.
The following social media accounts were tagged on the post:
- @POTUS
- @DHSgov
- @SecRubio
- @SecWar
- @PamBondi
- @defense_civil25
- @FBI
- @FBIWFO
- @FBIMostWanted
- @DEAHQ
- @CIA
- @TomHoman_X
- @USAmbMex
- @ofacbase
- @CBP
Source: @Mex_Liber1
