UIF freezes accounts of former PT candidate for San Luis Potosí, who leaves the country

The Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) froze the bank accounts of businessman Gerardo Sánchez Zumaya, who was seeking the governorship of San Luis Potosí with the backing of the Morena-PT coalition. Following this enforcement action, the politician and businessman left the country, according to Alberto Anaya, national leader of the Labor Party (PT). The PT leader maintains that the measure was taken without a court order or an investigation file, with the aim of pressuring Sánchez Zumaya to give up his political aspirations.

Allegations of political pressure and violations of rights

Alberto Anaya accused the UIF of violating the businessman’s constitutional rights, including the presumption of innocence and the right to a hearing. According to the party leader, the freeze affected not only Sánchez Zumaya but also his family members, forcing him to leave the country as a political refugee.

“We support our friend Gerardo Sánchez, whose accounts and those of his family members were frozen to force him to withdraw, and today he is outside the country, a political refugee,” Anaya said.

The businessman had withdrawn his candidacy on September 24, 2026, initially citing personal and family reasons. A month later, Anaya publicly linked that withdrawal to the financial freeze, although no judicial ruling has confirmed that the UIF used the measure to force him out of the electoral race.

Companies linked to him and legal challenges to the freeze

In response to the freeze, a network of individuals and legal entities connected to Sánchez Zumaya has filed amparo petitions in federal courts to challenge the measure. Among the documented cases is Grupo Mineral y Logistic (GML), incorporated in 2014 with initial capital of 50,000 pesos. In December 2025, the company submitted a 400 million peso check to increase its share capital before Manuel Alejandro Cachón, Notary Public No. 4 of Tabasco.

The investigation indicates that Cachón has ties to Morena senator Adán Augusto López Hernández and Hernán Bermúdez Requena, former Tabasco security secretary, identified as the leader of the criminal organization La Barredora. After these transactions, the company began receiving contracts from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).

Background on irregular billing involving Pemex

2025 reports indicate that Pemex and the Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP) paid invoices totaling more than 2.8 billion pesos to three other shell companies allegedly linked to Sánchez Zumaya. This case adds to an earlier investigation by Reforma, published in September 2024, which revealed that Petrogesa, a company owned by Sánchez Zumaya, received multimillion-peso contracts through a shell-company and money-laundering scheme, billing more than 15 billion pesos between 2022 and 2024.

The investigation also points to the involvement of Héctor Manuel Portales Ávila, a relative of Sánchez Zumaya who is a protected witness for the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) in the criminal case against Roberto Blanco Cantú, alias El Señor de los Buques. Portales has described alleged agreements between this drug trafficker, authorities, and organized crime to facilitate the illicit trafficking of fuel, known as huachicol fiscal.

Legal status and unresolved questions

As of October 23, 2026, the reason for the freeze has not been officially confirmed, nor has it been established whether there is an arrest warrant for Sánchez Zumaya. His current country of residence, the exact date he left, and whether he faces any judicial order restricting his return to Mexico are also unknown. The filing of amparo petitions does not mean that a judge has declared the freeze illegal; rather, those affected are challenging the actions of the authorities before the courts.