This article by Nora Nancy Gaspar Resendiz originally appeared in the September 2, 2025 edition of Sin Embargo.
Mexico City. With more than 370,000 signatures in three days, Mexican citizens are requesting the removal of Lilly Téllez, Senator for the National Action Party (PAN), for “inviting the United States Government to intervene in Mexico ,” which was considered “treason,” the petitioners explained through the Change.org platform, where the petition continues to collect signatures.
“[Lilly Téllez] has become the essence of treason to the Homeland, by inviting the United States government to intervene in Mexico,” the petition states, adding that the legislator has made “public, notorious and rude her surrender to the interests of another country, in this case the Government of Donald Trump, by reiterating that criminal organizations govern Mexico and that therefore it is necessary for the United States to intervene in the country and take control of the situation.”
The demand to remove Téllez’s immunity took place after the PAN member gave an interview to Fox News, in which she expressed her support for possible interventionism by the United States, as President Donald Trump has threatened on several occasions, by stating that in Mexico “the help of the United States is welcome” in matters of security, specifically for the fight against drug cartels.
In her first statement, Téllez maintained that US government assistance was needed. In her second, she accused Mexico of being a “narco-government,” sparking strong criticism from ruling-party legislators, who called her a “traitor to the homeland.” In response, the legislator maintained that she did not ask for intervention and that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has not resolved the drug trafficking problem in Mexico.
María Lilly del Carmen Téllez García, which is her full name, was selected as Senator, this time by proportional representation, known as plurinominals, during the 2024 federal elections, for a second term, since she had been elected during the 2018 elections, as Senator for Morena, a party she left to join the PAN, a fact that was recalled in the petition as a first betrayal.
“She previously betrayed the principles for which she was elected, turning her back on her more than 510,000 voters by joining the PAN party and turning her back on the political program of the transformation project championed by the so-called Fourth Transformation, which is based on the principles of ‘do not lie, do not steal, and do not betray the people,'” the petition argues.
The PAN member even appeared a second time before Fox News cameras, where she claimed to be afraid and that President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo had threatened to “proceed with criminal prosecution,” which is why she allegedly requested her immunity be removed.
In response to these accusations by Téllez, President Sheinbaum publicly ruled out any request to strip the PAN Senator of her immunity. “No. False,” she responded in her regular morning press conference on Monday, August 25, where she stated that Lilly Téllez “was in a bad way” and was now playing the victim.
“It couldn’t be taken out of context that a Senator would ask for intervention. She later downplayed it, saying, ‘Help, not intervention.’ But I still said that I don’t think it’s right, and there was an issue on social media and people organizing (to ask for her immunity to be removed),” stated the Mexican President, who reiterated that it was not her intention to strip him of the Senator’s immunity to pursue criminal proceedings against her.
“It’s not our intention to strip her of her immunity or file a complaint, far from it. But it is important that the people of Mexico know who is who. Because disputes in Mexico are resolved in Mexico. How can you go abroad to ask for support from an opposition senator? No. We have to put her in context, but she doesn’t have to play the victim,” Sheinbaum added.
The President reiterated that they are not considering stripping the PAN member of her immunity, but that “it is important for the people of Mexico to know who is who.” “And what are they saying? Because now they’re talking about the ‘narco-government’ again. The ‘narco-candidate’ thing never worked for them, because people know it’s fake,” she recalled.
“This month there will be very good results in an even greater reduction in intentional homicides. We can’t yet present the August figures, but what we see daily in the Cabinet is an even greater reduction in intentional homicides. There is ongoing work. There is a strategy,” Claudia Sheinbaum stated.
For her part, Lilly Téllez responded again to President Sheinbaum on social media, asserting that she is not playing the victim and that more “collaboration” with the United States was needed. “I am not playing the victim; on the contrary, I made it clear that I will not back down. I did not ask for intervention. She does not resolve cartel attacks against Mexicans in Mexico. More support from the US is needed against cartels, in collaboration, obviously,” she wrote.
Regarding the insecurity and fear expressed by Téllez, Sheinbaum Pardo also emphasized that “anyone who feels insecure and requires government support has a protocol.”
“The Ministry of Defense conducts a risk analysis, and if people may be at risk, they are supported with protection. I don’t think there’s any risk unless she requests it. Regardless of their political position, it’s always provided,” the Doctor explained, recalling that, during the last six-year term, while Téllez was questioning the National Guard, she was also provided protection by this same security organization.
“Remember that [Téllez] spoke badly of the National Guard and told the senators in his appearance: ‘She just asked me for support from the National Guard.'” Later, Sheinbaum confirmed through Rosa Icela, currently Secretary of the Interior, that Lilly Téllez had National Guard protection during the 2024 campaigns, when the PAN member was re-elected to the Senate, but currently no longer has it. “But if she requests it, it’s done the same as with anyone else,” the President concluded.
This isn’t the first time the PAN senator has expressed support for a US invasion. In January of this year, when Trump threatened an invasion of Mexico to “confront” the drug cartels, Lilly Téllez stated that she would “never” join forces with the Morena administration or join forces with the federal president, as she claimed that she had sold the country out to the cartels.
“I will never close ranks or join forces with the President who sold Mexico’s sovereignty to the cartels. For Sheinbaum, Morena comes first. For me, THE COUNTRY COMES FIRST,” the PAN member emphasized at the time, in a post on her X account, where she so aptly expressed that “the threat to Mexico is Morena, not Trump.”
Therefore, the petition on the Change.org platform considers that the only way to judge the former television presenter’s anti-patriotic behavior is to “strike her of her immunity.” This request, to date, has accumulated more than 370,000 signatures, which is more than “the 265,277 members of the National Action Party,” the publication highlighted.
“In this context, the only way Lilly Téllez can be tried for treason is by stripping her of her immunity, which is why we from Sonora call on patriotic Mexicans, with love for their country, with pride and honor, to not allow any more insults from this person, who evidently serves interests that have nothing to do with the national one (…) Enough of these insults,” the petition concludes.
Nora Nancy Gaspar Resendiz is a Communications graduate from the Autonomous University of Mexico City (UACM). She strives to practice independent, critical, and socially responsible journalism. She is currently part of the Research and Multimedia Unit at SinEmbargo*.*
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