Alejandro “Alito” Moreno, national president of Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), filed a criminal complaint with the Fiscalía General de la República seeking an investigation of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for alleged ties to organised crime. Moreno’s filing accuses the Venezuelan leader of heading a narcotics network that collaborates with Mexican cartels, including the Cártel de Sinaloa, and of holding meetings with politicians from Mexico’s ruling Morena party. The PRI chief said the alleged connections threaten regional security and called for “narcopoliticians” to be removed from Latin American public life. His move follows the United States’ decision on 7 August to double the reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture to US$50 million, citing purported drug-trafficking activity that has already led to seizures of 30 tonnes of cocaine. Mexico’s government has rejected the U.S. assertions, with President Claudia Sheinbaum stating the country has no evidence linking Maduro to Mexican criminal organisations. Maduro, for his part, has characterised the allegations as a “fascist conspiracy” designed to destabilise Venezuela.