Current Baja California Governor, Marina del Pilar Ávila, Olmeda accused former Governor, Jaime Bonilla Valdez, of orchestrating the leak of private audio recordings that have circulated on social media in recent days. She called the incident a politically motivated attempt to damage her reputation.
Speaking during her morning news conference, Ávila Olmeda said she believed Bonilla was acting in good faith when he offered to help her resolve issues related to her U.S. visa, which was revoked earlier this year.
According to Mrs. Ávila, Bonilla contacted her through WhatsApp in 2025 and offered to arrange a meeting with individuals he claimed were connected to U.S. authorities and could assist with the matter.
Governor says meeting was a setup
Ávila Olmeda said the meeting took place in Tijuana on Dec. 15, 2025, where the individuals claimed she was facing legal proceedings and possible criminal charges in the United States.
She said those conversations later became the basis for the leaked recordings, adding that she became suspicious during the meeting, asked additional questions and ended up referring the individuals to her attorney.
According to the governor, the attorney was never contacted and the meeting instead appeared to have been secretly recorded.
Ávila Olmeda denied that any U.S. officials were actually involved and alleged the recordings were manipulated and released at the start of the pre-election period as part of a political strategy.
“Jaime Bonilla’s envoy orchestrated the entire thing. I was the victim of deception and political revenge,” the governor said.
She added that she is reviewing possible legal action against Bonilla over the recordings, while noting that he himself is separately facing criminal charges that include alleged embezzlement, abuse of authority and unlawful exercise of official powers.
