A prominent Mexican senator has echoed U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertions that drug cartels wield real power in Mexico, claiming that corruption within the ruling party has allowed criminal groups to dominate the country.

“He is not lying, it’s the truth, and the people of Mexico know it,” said Senator Lily Téllez in a video message posted to social media. “It doesn’t leave us in shame, to us, good Mexicans who are honest, hardworking, and with values. It does expose the MORENA (current ruling party) government.”

Téllez, a leading figure in Mexico’s opposition National Action Party (PAN), said that cartels could not have gained such control without the cooperation of corrupt politicians. “Claudia (Sheinbaum), you don’t represent the Mexican people,” she declared. “You represent the MORENA Cartel … You lack any dignity.”

Breitbart News reports the senator accused former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and current President Claudia Sheinbaum of working with drug cartels to secure political power, claiming that their actions have turned Mexico into what she described as a “narco-state.” She added that U.S. law enforcement agencies have gathered solid evidence of this corruption — evidence that has prompted Trump’s repeated statements that cartels are the true rulers of Mexico.

“The cartel problem did not start with the MORENA Party,” Téllez said, “but with them, their power grew to such levels that they (the government) surrendered the national territory and national sovereignty and absolute power.”

Téllez cited the case of Alfonso Romo, the former chief of staff under López Obrador and owner of a bank recently sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for allegedly laundering cartel money and facilitating transactions with China for fentanyl precursors. Breitbart has previously reported that Sheinbaum’s government quickly defended the bank, claiming there was no wrongdoing and that the U.S. had provided no concrete evidence.

She also referenced Adán Augusto López, the former interior secretary under López Obrador and currently considered Sheinbaum’s representative in the Mexican Senate. According to Téllez, Augusto López acts as the “Godfather” of the Barredora faction within the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Breitbart Texas has reported that one of Augusto López’s close friends and former police chief in Tabasco State faces charges for allegedly leading that faction.

Téllez further accused Andrés López Beltrán, the son of López Obrador, of overseeing a massive fuel-theft operation known as huachicol, which she said functions in collaboration with organized crime and under Sheinbaum’s protection.

She warned that those who criticize the ruling MORENA Party risk harassment, violence, or even death.