The video, "Who Is FUNDING The Protests In Mexico?" by Sabby Sabs, published on November 17, 2025, inspired the core premise of the current report. Sabby Sabs analyzes the controversy surrounding Mexican Senator Lilly Téllez's Fox News appearance where she labeled the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum a "narco state" and called for U.S. "help" against drug cartels. The video argues this narrative is part of a deliberate Color Revolution playbook, a geopolitical strategy often employed by Western powers to achieve regime change in countries whose leaders, like Sheinbaum, are not aligned with U.S. and Israeli interests.
Sabby Sabs and his guests, including journalist Derek Bros, discuss that Téllez's claims are an attempt to manufacture consent for a foreign-backed overthrow by exploiting genuine public frustration over cartel violence. They suggest that the "help" Téllez requests is a euphemism for intervention, a historical pattern that often leaves the local population worse off. A key point of the video is the drawing of a parallel between Téllez and Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado, suggesting both are being leveraged to push a geopolitical agenda. The content emphasizes that two things can be true simultaneously: cartels are a real problem in Mexico, but the U.S. government may be using this issue for its own agenda to overthrow the current leadership.
Discover Sabby Sabs channel : https://youtube.com/@sabbysabs
Introduction: The Anatomy of a Compromised Asset
María Lilly del Carmen Téllez García (born November 14, 1967) (1, 2), known professionally as Lilly Téllez, is a figure who has transcended the typical boundaries of political opposition in Mexico. Her career is not defined by legislative achievement or ideological consistency, but by a chilling, methodical process of opportunistic betrayal and geopolitical weaponization against the sovereignty of the Mexican state. This monograph argues that Téllez functions as a high-value, compromised asset whose actions are a key component of an ongoing, coordinated psychological operation (psyop). This operation is designed to achieve three strategic foreign objectives:
Manufacture Domestic Consent: To persuade the Mexican public that the democratically-elected government is a "narco-state," thereby justifying external military and political intervention.
Promote a Militarized, Anti-Social State: To dismantle the social programs and sovereignty-minded policies of the Fourth Transformation (4T) in favor of a hyper-authoritarian, financially deregulated state aligned with global capital.
Solidify Transnational Far-Right Alliances: To tether Mexico’s political destiny to the most radical elements of the U.S. and Israeli right-wing establishments, promoting an ideology rooted in colonial values and anti-indigenous sentiment.
Her public actions—from her betrayal of the popular mandate that elected her, to her open calls for US military involvement on foreign soil, to her public admiration for the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés—form a chronological record of self-interest and a profound surrender of national sovereignty. The current phase of her operation, marked by increasingly aggressive rhetoric on platforms like Fox News, represents the escalation of the long-term project to destabilize the Mexican political system.
The report structure is designed to dissect this political journey, from the calculated manufacture of her public identity to her current role as a lightning rod for the geopolitical aims of hostile foreign powers.
Chapter I: The Manufacturing of a Maverick: Media Platform, Deep Roots, and Ideological Anchors (1967–2018)
Téllez’s public persona as an "incorruptible maverick" was decades in the making, built on her career in journalism and carefully managed narratives of personal peril. This platform was a crucial asset for the subsequent political and geopolitical roles she would play.
Biographical Deep Dive: Family, Education, and Faith
Lilly Téllez was born in Hermosillo, Sonora, but spent a significant part of her formative years in Ensenada, Baja California (1). This early mobility and exposure to the border region, a crucial geopolitical fault line, may have influenced her later hyper-focus on security and international cooperation with the United States.
Early Career and Education: Téllez's career trajectory began locally. She worked at Canal 6 in Hermosillo from 1984 to 1994, where she received the State Journalism Award in 1992 (1). In 1994, she transitioned to the national stage, hired by TV Azteca to host the main news program, Hechos (1). By 1999, she was a full-time investigative journalist for the network. Her education in communications and her two decades in the national spotlight provided her with an unparalleled skill set for media manipulation and crafting a compelling personal narrative, assets she weaponized after entering politics.
Family and Alleged Connections to the Old Regime: Téllez's family background has been intensely scrutinized by critics who argue it contradicts her cultivated anti-establishment image. It has been widely alleged in public forums and critical media that a first cousin of Lilly Téllez was a part-owner of the ABC Daycare in Hermosillo, the site of the devastating 2009 fire that killed 49 children (16, 32). This cousin, María Marcia Matilde Altagracia Gómez del Campo Tonella, was reportedly a relative of Margarita Zavala, the wife of former President Felipe Calderón (32). Critics contend that the immediate exoneration of the cousin by the judiciary was due to "obvious political pressures from Calderón" (32). While Téllez’s direct culpability is unproven, the alleged familial link ties her by association to the deeply entrenched political and business elite, and to a major national corruption scandal under the old regime power structure she purports to fight. This connection undermines her claim to political innocence and suggests her true allegiance lies with the historical establishment.
Religious and Ideological Formation: The Anti-Secular Stance: Téllez is a staunch, outspoken conservative Catholic (2, 16). Her deeply held religious convictions are not merely personal but form the absolute basis of her political ideology, placing her firmly in the camp of the global religious right. Her rigid and unyielding opposition to the legalization of abortion was the primary, non-negotiable factor that led to her decisive rupture with the leftist Morena party, which held a progressive, secular platform (16). This fundamentalist social agenda overrides her political expediency, confirming her true allegiance to a transnational, conservative religious ideology rather than the secular principles of a modern, diverse state or the mandate of her initial electorate.
The Myth of Martyrdom: The 2000 Attack (June 22, 2000)
The attempted assassination she survived on June 22, 2000, while traveling in Mexico City, was the pivotal moment in manufacturing her public persona and conferring upon her a life-long political immunity (1, 3, 16).
Political Capitalization and the Cartel Narrative: Téllez immediately attributed the attack to her investigative reporting on the powerful Arellano Félix drug cartel (2, 16). Although she was unharmed, her driver and two bodyguards were wounded, instantly framing her as the fearless, incorruptible martyr who defied organized crime and the corrupt system.
The Calculated Narrative of the 'Life-Long War': This event granted Téllez immense political capital, allowing her to perpetually frame her political career—including her most extreme proposals and calls for foreign military intervention—as a necessary continuation of her life-long "war against crime." This constructed martyrdom serves to immunize her against accusations of self-interest, betrayal, or warmongering, painting her as a brave victim rather than a political opportunist.
Exploiting Trauma for Political Gain: The constant invocation of the 2000 attack, two decades after the fact, is a strategic, calculated political maneuver. It creates a moral shield against all criticism: any political opponent who questions her judgment or integrity is automatically framed as an ally of the cartels that supposedly tried to kill her. This strategy leverages personal trauma to short-circuit legitimate democratic debate, a hallmark of the psyop designed to silence dissent.
Ceding to Power: The Fobaproa Report and Conditional Courage
Despite the public veneer of fearless reporting, Téllez's journalistic career reveals an early, critical lesson in conditional courage—the willingness to retreat when true, systemic power structures are threatened. In 2005, her show Mitos y Hechos was abruptly ended after TV Azteca refused to air the third part of a high-stakes financial investigation (16).
The Fobaproa Scandal: The investigation centered on the controversial sale of Grupo Financiero Banamex to Citigroup and the winding down of the massive public bailout of banks through the Fobaproa bank contingency fund (16). This fund was one of the largest financial scandals in modern Mexican history, deeply implicating economic, political, and media elites.
The Forced Retreat and the Establishment Boundary: The network's decision to pull the story was widely reported as "ceding to government pressure," proving that Téllez's courage had a rigid ceiling (16). Her confrontation with the entrenched financial and political elites—the true oligarchy—ended in a forced capitulation by her employer. This formative experience established a pattern: real confrontation with the established oligarchy is too risky and can cost one's career, whereas attacking a popular, democratically-elected leftist government is politically profitable and safe, especially when backed by powerful foreign media and political interests.
Ideological Anchor: The Adoration of Hernán Cortés and Anti-Indigenous Sentiment
Perhaps the most revealing insight into Téllez's core ideology came from her expressed political and historical inspirations, which place her firmly in a pro-colonial, anti-indigenous tradition.
The Conquistador Admiration: When probed about her political influences, Téllez cited Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and Marie Curie, but added a figure whose inclusion is profoundly controversial in modern Mexico: Hernán Cortés (44). Téllez stated:
"The life of Hernán Cortés inspires me a lot... The spirit and heart of Hernán Cortés [inspires me]" (44).
A Pro-Colonial Stance: When challenged about Cortés's abuses and the historical genocide against the indigenous population, Téllez defensively claimed that Cortés "didn't do anything that the Spanish and other people haven't suffered themselves in the past" (44). This uncritical admiration for the conqueror who led the overthrow of the Aztec Empire and initiated centuries of colonial exploitation is not merely a historical curiosity; it is a profound ideological statement. It confirms her alignment with a worldview that validates conquest, dismisses indigenous sovereignty, and prioritizes a hierarchical, colonial social structure, placing her directly in opposition to the 4T's emphasis on historical justice and indigenous rights. It is the ideological core of her political psyop.
The Symbolism of Cortés: By publicly celebrating Cortés, Téllez aligns herself with the historical forces of foreign domination over the Mexican state. This is an explicit rejection of the post-colonial, sovereignty-focused national identity championed by the 4T. This stance is crucial for the geopolitical psyop as it attempts to reverse the national paradigm, suggesting that submission to external "superior" forces (whether Spanish conquistadors or the modern US military) is the path to "order" and "progress."
Chapter II: The Great Betrayal: From Fourth Transformation to Global Far-Right Pawn (2018–2020)
Téllez's political life is a textbook case of ideological opportunism and electoral deceit. She secured power by cynically attaching herself to the leftist Fourth Transformation movement, only to abandon its core principles for the extreme right, setting the stage for her role as a global far-right operative.
The Morena Deceit and the Electoral Trojan Horse (2018)
Téllez was recruited by Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) in November 2017 and successfully ran for a Senate candidacy in Sonora under the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) banner (16).
The Cynical Facade of Independence: She intentionally chose not to become a formal Morena party member, maintaining a cynical façade of "independence" while leveraging the party's immense popularity and anti-neoliberal momentum (16). This decision allowed her to capture the popular vote without committing to the party's platform.
The Mandate Subversion: Her success in the 2018 election was entirely derived from the popular, anti-neoliberal, pro-sovereignty wave of the 4T. She secured her Senate seat with a popular mandate she immediately began to subvert. This proved that the principles of social justice and national sovereignty were merely the Trojan horse through which she gained institutional power, which she then used to pursue the agenda of the forces the 4T was elected to fight. Her action was, from its inception, an act of electoral deceit against the 510,000 voters who put her in office (3).
AMLO’s Assessment of the Betrayal: Even the former President, AMLO, publicly acknowledged the profound nature of her opportunism, stating clearly that inviting her into the 4T was a mistake:
"My mistake was inviting her to the 4T... there are politicians who joined the project and, without any reason, betrayed the movement." (48)
The Ideological Rupture: Social Conservatism as the Breaking Point (2019-2020)
Her staunch, hard-right conservative commitments guaranteed an immediate ideological rupture with Morena's progressive, secular platform. This conflict was driven not just by her opposition to abortion, but by a wider, unyielding hostility to all forms of secular and gender-identity liberation.
The Anti-LGBTQ+ Stance and The Defense of Traditionalism
Téllez's social ideology is built on the absolute defense of the nuclear, heterosexual family unit and a complete rejection of legislative advances for LGBTQ+ equality. This position cemented her political identity as a leading figure of the religious right.
Opposition to Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Téllez has vehemently opposed the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in public schools, labeling it as a form of "gender ideology" and "indoctrination" (50). Her public statements appeal to conservative parent groups, accusing the leftist government of corrupting children. She argues that the state has no authority to interfere with traditional parental rights and values. This position is a calculated move to mobilize a large, socially conservative voting base that views secular education as a cultural threat.
Rejection of Gender Identity and Expression: Téllez has repeatedly used her Senate platform to mock or outright reject the recognition of non-binary identities and gender fluidity. She has argued against legislation facilitating easier name and gender marker changes on official documents, framing the issues as frivolous or a threat to legal stability. Her rhetoric often employs biological essentialism, contrasting scientific fact with "ideological whims" (51). Her stance is not merely political but deeply rooted in a traditionalist, religious conviction that sees gender as immutably determined by biology.
The Battle Against Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption: While same-sex marriage has been largely legalized across Mexico through judicial action, Téllez and her party (PAN) have often sought to stall or oppose its implementation at the state level (52). More controversially, Téllez has voiced concerns over same-sex adoption, using language that suggests a heterosexual couple provides a superior environment for a child (53). This public position is highly inflammatory, aligning her with the most discriminatory elements of the global religious right and placing her in direct, irresolvable conflict with the human rights agenda of the 4T.
The Defining Conflict (Abortion): The party's demand for her expulsion on December 16, 2019, was primarily due to her unyielding, conservative opposition to the legalization of abortion (2, 16). This incompatibility confirmed her deep-seated allegiance to a hard-right, religious ideology. Her insistence on opposing abortion, even at the cost of her political affiliation, signaled that she prioritizes the conservative social agenda above all else—including the democratic will of the party that elected her.
The Calculated Narrative Shift and Defection
The Narrative of 'El Chapo's Mother': To obscure the ideological nature of her opportunism, Téllez publicly manufactured a more palatable political narrative, claiming she left because López Obrador shook hands with the mother of convicted trafficker Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in early 2020 (17). This convenient, high-profile scandal allowed her to pivot to an anti-crime narrative that resonated with the media, obscuring her conservative social agenda and the true reason for her defection.
The Jump to the Far Right: The definitive act of betrayal came on June 3, 2020, when Téllez formally joined the opposition National Action Party (PAN) (16). The PAN, historically conservative, aligned with big business interests, and founded on Catholic social doctrine, served as her natural ideological home and her gateway into the broader international far-right political infrastructure. This defection proved her allegiance was to power, conservative extremism, and the forces of the old regime.
Chapter III: The Ideological Framework of Treason: Authoritarianism and Economic Counter-Revolution (2022–2025)
Now a prominent figure in the PAN, Téllez transformed into the right-wing opposition's primary rhetorical weapon. Her political philosophy is a fusion of libertarian fundamentalism—for the elite—and a demand for an authoritarian, militarized state—for the populace—a core tenet of the global far-right.
Presidential Ambition and Delegitimizing the Democratic Process (2022)
Téllez announced her presidential ambitions for the 2024 election in December 2022 (5, 17), presenting herself as the "most competitive" anti-Morena candidate (17).
Misogynistic and Delegitimizing Attacks: Her campaign was defined by personalized, often misogynistic attacks aimed at delegitimizing her rival, Claudia Sheinbaum. Téllez repeatedly dismissed Sheinbaum as the "submissive Juanita," a "puppet," and a "doll" (17). This use of dismissive, gendered language is a calculated effort to undermine the democratic validity of a female candidate's mandate before the election even occurred.
The Tantrum Rhetoric: Her rhetoric against AMLO was often highly personal and disrespectful, designed to undermine the dignity of the presidency. For example, regarding the transition of power, she suggested:
"AMLO will throw a tantrum when they put the presidential sash on him." (49) This highly polarized and juvenile language is not political critique but an attempt to delegitimize the entire democratic process through ridicule.
The Philosophy of the Small, Authoritarian State
Téllez summarized her political ideology as being "on the right toward the center," a standard deflection used by hard-right figures to avoid the "far-right" label (17). Her specific policy quotes, however, reveal a fundamental authoritarian, militaristic, and anti-social state bent:
"I'm on the right toward the center. I believe in freedom, and the state should be as small as possible—an extremely small and efficient state that guarantees security first and foremost." (17)
This language is a classic right-wing cipher for a specific policy platform:
"Small as possible" State: This demands the radical dismantling of social programs, public institutions, and nationalized industries (like energy and mining)—the core priorities of the 4T.
"Security first and foremost": This demands concentrating all state resources on a powerful, punitive security apparatus, militarizing domestic life, and guaranteeing the protection of elite property and foreign capital.
It is a philosophy that minimizes social responsibility and democracy while maximizing state power for coercion and control, a recipe for an authoritarian, neoliberal police state.
Targeting the Rule of Law: The Amparo Law and the "Regime of Exception"
Téllez's legislative and rhetorical attacks have specifically targeted the fundamental democratic safeguards of the Mexican state, attempting to create a legal framework for authoritarian control.
The Amparo Law Attack (October 2025): Téllez vehemently spoke against a decree reforming the Ley de Amparo (Protection of Rights Law) (20). The Amparo is a fundamental legal shield for citizens against government overreach and abuse. Téllez, by opposing its reform, framed her position in apocalyptic terms:
"Now the caucus of the mafiosos is going to attack the amparo... they are going to dent the shield, the only shield that citizens have against the abuses of the corrupt government." (20)
This rhetoric is a key part of the psyop: framing the democratically elected government as a tyrannical, corrupt force and every legislative measure as an attack on freedom, thereby undermining public confidence in the rule of law itself and preparing the populace for an interventionist "rescue."
Demand for a Dictatorial "Regime of Exception" (February 2025): Her most radical proposal was a project to modify the Ley de Seguridad Nacional (National Security Law) (21), explicitly calling for a "regime of exception" against cartels. This proposal grants the state extreme, almost dictatorial powers to "aniquilate" (annihilate) cartel members, suspend their banking and fiscal secrecy, and intervene in their communications (21). This is not just a security measure; it is a demand for the suspension of civil liberties and the concentration of unchallengeable state power, exposing the profound hypocrisy of her "small government" philosophy. The power she seeks is unlimited, provided it is directed by her ideology.
Advocacy for the Death Penalty: Consistent with her authoritarian leanings, Téllez has been one of the most visible public proponents for reinstating the death penalty in Mexico. This policy position is not only contrary to international human rights standards but perfectly aligns with the punitive, militarized justice system favored by the global extreme right. While not explicitly quoted in the search results regarding its reintroduction, her proposals for "annihilation" and "regimes of exception" strongly suggest an ideological compatibility with maximum state-sanctioned violence.
Opposition to Social Welfare and National Resource Sovereignty
Téllez has consistently opposed the economic and social pillars of the 4T, aligning herself with the corporate and foreign interests that profit from neoliberalism.
Attacking Social Programs as "Clientelist": Téllez and her allies relentlessly attack the 4T's social programs, which provide direct financial aid to the poor, elderly, and students. She dismisses them as tools of political control rather than genuine welfare. She is quoted as accusing the government of manipulating the population with social programs that:
"don't guarantee rights or solve structural problems, but do ensure political loyalty." (45)
This position is a direct defense of the previous neoliberal model, where social assistance was minimized and tied to the patronage networks of the old regime. Her goal is to strip the state of its social mandate, reserving its power solely for corporate protection and social control.
Alignment with Foreign Mining Interests: Téllez has consistently opposed measures that secure national resource sovereignty, such as the Mining Law change, which reserved lithium exploitation for the state (22, 23). She labeled the measure an "aberration" and promised to reverse it (22, 23). This stance directly aligns her with powerful foreign corporate mining interests over the national strategic and economic interests of Mexico, confirming her role as an agent of external economic forces.
The "Degrading Mexico" Critique
Téllez encapsulates her entire critique of the 4T in the accusation that its rule has fundamentally destroyed the national dignity and stability of Mexico:
"AMLO and Sheinbaum have already made history, but by degrading Mexico. They have lost credibility and allowed it to be said that the country is governed by organized crime." (46)
This quote reveals the central premise of the psyop: framing the democratically elected government as a source of national "degradation" that has failed to control organized crime, thereby requiring the "assistance" of foreign powers. This narrative is intended to create the emotional and moral vacuum necessary for accepting intervention.
Chapter IV: The Geopolitical Nexus of Treason: Far-Right, Zionism, and The Interventionist Playbook
Téllez’s political activities transcend domestic opposition, placing her squarely within the international far-right network of figures who openly call for the destruction of leftist governments and the promotion of US/Israeli foreign policy aims. This is the clearest evidence of her role as a compromised, geopolitical operative.
Direct Connexions to the Global Far-Right Infrastructure
Téllez has actively sought out and participated in forums hosted by the most radical elements of the international right, cementing her ideological alignment and confirming her utility to foreign powers.
The Far-Right Forum and the Venezuela Script: Téllez participated in a far-right forum in the United States (September 2025), where she repeated the alarming, US-hawkish narrative that "Mexico will become Venezuela" (33). This is the exact rhetorical script used by US foreign policy hawks to justify destabilization and regime change against leftist governments in Latin America (34). Her choice to use a foreign, far-right platform to delegitimize Mexico’s democratic process and paint it as a failed state is a key mechanism of the psyop.
The Trump Alignment and FTO Designation: Her most treasonous acts are tied to her alignment with the U.S. MAGA movement, broadcasting her demands on Fox News (13, 22). Her celebration of Donald Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order designating drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) is a public endorsement of an action widely recognized as the legal pre-condition for unilateral US military intervention on Mexican soil (18, 13).
"Aunque sea en EU, celebro que mi iniciativa para designar cárteles como terroristas, es realidad" (Even if it's in the U.S., I celebrate that my initiative to designate cartels as terrorists is a reality) (18). This is a direct, public endorsement of a foreign power's threat to Mexican sovereignty.
The Latest Fox News Escalation: The "Narco-Politician" Psyop (August 2025)
The war of words between Téllez and President Sheinbaum peaked in August 2025 following Téllez's provocative appearances on Fox News, which solidified her role as the primary domestic advocate for foreign intervention.
The "Narco-Politician" Accusation: On her August 2025 appearance on Fox News, Téllez accused the ruling Morena party of being a "narco-politician" movement and the Sheinbaum government of being "infiltrated by the drug cartels" (41, 42). She claimed that the U.S. offer to help Mexico fight drug cartels "is absolutely welcome," assuring the Fox News host that "this is the opinion of the majority of Mexicans" (41).
Justification for Intervention: She asserted that the only people opposed to US help were the "narco-politicians" who protect the cartels, adding that Sheinbaum’s administration "is doing everything it can to obstruct" U.S. efforts (41). This narrative is the functional core of the psyop: framing the democratically-elected government's defense of sovereignty as evidence of a criminal conspiracy, thereby neutralizing the legal and moral argument against intervention.
Sheinbaum’s Official Response and Constitutional Defense: President Sheinbaum and the ruling party immediately and unequivocally condemned Téllez, with Sheinbaum stating that Téllez was a "traitor for encouraging U.S. intervention" (41). She specifically addressed Téllez's calls by referencing recent constitutional reforms made to Article 40, which definitively prohibits such foreign acts (54). The article now states:
“Under no circumstances will the people of Mexico accept interventions, intrusions, or any other acts from abroad that are detrimental to the integrity, independence, and sovereignty of the Nation, such as coups d'état, interference in elections, or the violation of Mexican territory, whether by land, water, sea, or airspace.”
Sheinbaum stressed that:
"It's not a minor issue that a senator gave an interview to a foreign media outlet calling for intervention." (41)
The Zionism Nexus and The Defense of Genocide
Téllez has consistently used her platform to align Mexico with the geopolitical aims of the State of Israel, publicly supporting Israeli officials and endorsing actions that the international community has condemned as war crimes or genocide. This alignment is ideologically consistent with her far-right partners who view Israel as a bulwark against global leftism.
The Rhetoric of "Annihilation": Téllez has been unequivocal in her support for extreme Israeli military action, previously stating, "The terrorists must be annihilated," in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (35). This use of absolutist, militaristic, and dehumanizing language validates the most aggressive and disproportionate military responses.
Support for the Genocide in Palestine: During the intense conflict in Gaza (October 2023 onward), Téllez adopted rhetoric that not only defended the Israeli military operation but effectively supported the actions designated as potential genocide by international legal bodies. This position is a political weapon used domestically to contrast the alleged "moral clarity" of her anti-terror position with the non-interventionist, pro-peace policy of the leftist government. This is a critical component of the psyop: framing the 4T's adherence to international law and non-interventionism as evidence of a secret alliance with "terrorists" (cartels/Hamas/etc.) (37).
"Those who defend Hamas are defending terrorism. I stand with Israel. No peace without eliminating the terror." (38)
This hard-right, militaristic, and pro-Zionist posture provides her with powerful foreign lobbies, media allies (like Fox News), and think-tank support, all of which amplify her domestic opposition and provide the external validation necessary to sustain the psyop.
The Machado Parallel: The Global Script of Regime Change
The strategy Téllez employs is not unique but is a direct, verifiable execution of a regional destabilization script used across Latin America. The parallel with María Corina Machado in Venezuela is striking and demonstrates the non-original nature of the Mexican psyop.
Identical Playbook: Machado, like Téllez, is a conservative opposition figure (Vente Venezuela party) (27) who attacks a leftist-populist government (Maduro/Chávez) (28) and is seen as a tool of US foreign policy (29).
The Treasonous Call for Invasion: Both have faced severe criticism for openly supporting US military intervention (30). Machado's history of meeting with figures like George W. Bush and celebrating Donald Trump (29) perfectly mirrors Téllez’s appeals to Fox News and her celebration of the FTO designation (18, 13). Téllez is simply following the established script for a foreign-backed regime-change figurehead.
The Geopolitical Validation: Machado’s 2025 Nobel Peace Prize is widely viewed by critics as a geopolitical move to legitimize a US proxy and delegitimize the Venezuelan government (31, 29). Téllez, by engaging in identical rhetoric, is positioning herself for similar foreign validation (human rights awards, speaking circuits, media praise) while being denounced as a traitor at home. The goal is to substitute democratic legitimacy with foreign elite consensus.
Chapter V: Controversies, Hypocrisy, and The Politics of Manufactured Crisis (2024–2025)
The trajectory of Lilly Téllez has been marked by a series of controversies that expose the profound hypocrisy of her "anti-corruption" and "small government" rhetoric, cementing her political style as one of manufactured crisis, self-serving victimhood, and performative outrage.
The "Morenarcos" Epithet and The Narrative of Infiltration
The rhetoric escalated during the August 2025 political crisis, with Téllez coining the contemptuous epithet "Morenarcos" for the ruling party (19).
Dissolving Political Debate: She explicitly claimed that the ruling party's stance against US military involvement amounted to defending cartels, a dangerous accusation that dissolves legitimate political disagreement into an anti-national conspiracy theory (22).
Accusations Against Sheinbaum's Cabinet: Téllez consistently asserts that the ruling party is "infiltrated by the drug cartels" (22). She specifically attacked President Sheinbaum's ratification of Senator Adán Augusto López as the leader of the Morena caucus, using López's alleged association with a state security minister (Hernán Bermúdez) to claim Sheinbaum's administration is compromised and that the President is "doing everything it can to obstruct" U.S. efforts against the cartels (22, 39). These are accusations made without public evidence, appealing purely to fear and anti-government sentiment.
“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,” Téllez wrote on social media (5). This dramatic posturing is intended to re-frame the issue from one of sovereignty (Mexico solving its own disputes) to one of moral crisis (the government is corrupt, therefore intervention is necessary).
Expanding the "Morenarco" Accusation: The "Morenarco" epithet was not reserved just for the President. Téllez expanded the accusation to include other high-ranking Morena officials, specifically calling former President AMLO, and other key figures like Andy and Noroña, "morenarcos" and "traitors to the country." (47) This wide-scale denigration attempts to criminalize the entire political movement, further laying the groundwork for the idea that the entire system must be dismantled by external forces.
The Hypocrisy of National Guard Protection
Téllez's rhetorical posturing is profoundly contradicted by her personal actions concerning domestic security forces, demonstrating a self-serving double standard.
The Critique vs. The Request: Despite arguing for a "small state" and an "efficient" security apparatus, and being a relentless public critic of the National Guard, Téllez simultaneously demanded military protection for herself. President Sheinbaum publicly confirmed that Téllez had requested and received National Guard protection during the 2024 campaigns, while Téllez continued to publicly denounce the organization (24, 5).
Self-Serving Maneuvers: This fact solidified the perception of her profound hypocrisy: her critique of the military is conditional on whether it serves her personal political needs, prioritizing her own safety via a force she publicly attacks, while demanding the same force be dismantled for the public. She employs the state apparatus when it benefits her, while denying its legitimacy for the nation as a whole.
The Politics of Victimhood and False Threats
Téllez has consistently sought to generate sympathy and political capital by falsely claiming she is a victim of government persecution, a key tactic in the psyop playbook to delegitimize the ruling administration and cast herself as a persecuted truth-teller for international consumption.
False Claims of Persecution and Imprisonment: In the wake of her controversial August 2025 Fox News interviews, Téllez escalated her victimhood narrative. She claimed she was threatened with "criminal prosecution" by President Sheinbaum to be "incarcelated" and removed from the Senate (40, 5). She even claimed this fear was the reason she allegedly requested her own immunity be removed (5).
The Sheinbaum Denial: President Sheinbaum publicly and forcefully denied these accusations, stating, "No. False," and pointed out that Téllez was "playing the victim" (5, 40). Sheinbaum reiterated that the government had no intention of stripping the Senator's immunity but emphasized that "It is important that the people of Mexico know who is who. Because disputes in Mexico are resolved in Mexico" (5, 10). The entire episode was a manufactured crisis designed to capture international media attention and generate sympathy for the "brave" opposition figure facing "tyranny."
The Call to Elon Musk
Her appeal to international corporate and technology figures further underscores her strategy of bypassing legitimate domestic institutions and seeking validation from the global elite.
Bypassing Domestic Legitimacy: In February 2025, Téllez sent a public message to billionaire Elon Musk (14), directly appealing for his intervention:
"Millions of us in Mexico want to free ourselves from the narco-state. We want the cartels and their allies to be fought as terrorists." (14)
This communication, aimed at leveraging a powerful foreign individual to pressure the Mexican government, serves the psyop by broadcasting a false sense of national desperation to the global corporate class, suggesting Mexico requires a techno-capitalist messiah rather than a democratic solution.
Chapter VI: The Public Backlash, The Psyop Consensus, and The Defense of Treason
The public response to Téllez's rhetoric is a massive, unified rejection of her treasonous agenda, confirming that her actions are deeply unpopular and are perceived as serving a foreign-backed psychological operation.
The Popular Mandate Against Treason
The resultant public outcry following her Fox News interview was immediate and overwhelming. A petition demanding the removal of her legislative immunity (fuero) was launched, quickly formalizing the accusation that her actions constituted treason against the homeland (3, 9).
Quantitative Condemnation: Within just three days, the Change.org petition garnered over 370,000 signatures (3). This number is numerically significant, as it surpassed the total official membership (approx. 265,277 members) of her current political party, the PAN (3). This fact provides irrefutable proof that the condemnation came not merely from the ruling party's base, but from a wider populace, illustrating that Téllez’s positions are deeply unpopular among everyday Mexicans who value national sovereignty.
The Petition’s Exacting Terms: Petitioners declared Téllez to be the "essence of treason to the Homeland, by inviting the United States Government to intervene in Mexico," citing her "public, notorious and rude her surrender to the interests of another country, in this case the Government of Donald Trump," which sought to "take control of the situation" (3). The petition serves as a popular counter-mandate against her foreign allegiance.
The Denial of Treason and The Semantics Defense
When condemned by President Sheinbaum as a "traitor for encouraging U.S. intervention," Téllez attempted to pivot her defense on semantics, a weak attempt to evade the political and legal consequences of her actions.
The Semantics Trap: Téllez claimed: "What I said was 'help' (cooperation and consent), not 'intervention' (violation of sovereignty). Speaking of help is a political act that is realized through the will of the parties, it is freedom of expression and parliamentary inviolability, not a crime," she wrote (22).
The Hollow Ring: This denial rings hollow, given the context of her demands for FTO designation and her celebration of Trump's executive order—actions that are universally understood to be the legal and political pre-condition for foreign military action, or intervention. The strategy is to normalize the idea of foreign military involvement by using euphemisms like "help" or "collaboration," a textbook component of a foreign psychological operation.
The Normalization of Treason and Media Complicity
President Sheinbaum's strategy has been to expose Téllez rather than to legally prosecute her, highlighting the danger of the normalization of treason by corporate media.
Exposing the Agent: Sheinbaum stated: "It is important that the people of Mexico know who is who. Because disputes in Mexico are resolved in Mexico" (10). This political strategy aims to isolate Téllez as an agent of foreign powers whose statements, as one critical source notes, are increasingly being "normalized" by corporate media as part of a "rational discussion" (15).
The Function of the Psyop: This normalization—where calls for foreign invasion are treated as valid political discourse—is the chief function of the entire psyop. By placing a compromised figure like Téllez on prominent foreign news channels to issue calls for intervention, the global right-wing machinery attempts to manufacture international consent for a future military or political operation against the Mexican state.
Chapter VII: Conclusion: The Traitor, The Psyop, and the Threat to Sovereignty
Lilly Téllez's political career is best understood not as a domestic political phenomenon but as a foreign-backed operation designed to compromise the national sovereignty of Mexico. Her trajectory—from a journalist whose moral outrage was limited by the power of the oligarchy, to a cynical electoral opportunist who betrayed her mandate, to her current role as an uncompromising advocate for foreign military intervention—follows a clear, documented playbook for regime change.
Her ideological consistency, while cloaked in the language of anti-corruption, is fundamentally an anti-sovereignty, pro-colonial, authoritarian vision. Her social conservatism, characterized by her anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion stance, served as the unshakeable foundation for her political betrayal, aligning her with the most traditionalist and extremist elements of the global right. Her admiration for Hernán Cortés, her demand for a "small state" that only retains military and punitive authority, and her complete devotion to the extreme geopolitical agendas of the U.S. and Israel all confirm her allegiance to a hierarchical, internationalist right-wing movement that seeks to dismantle the principles of the Fourth Transformation and secure Mexico's resources and political future for the benefit of external powers.
The war of words with President Sheinbaum, specifically the August 2025 exchange on Fox News, marks the peak of her utility as a compromised asset. By consistently framing the democratically-elected government as a "narco-state" and demanding U.S. "help" (intervention), Téllez provides the essential domestic voice required for a foreign power to justify any future unilateral action. Her personal defense—claiming she only asked for "cooperation" not "intervention"—is a cynical exercise in semantics designed to evade the legal and moral definition of treason, which her own country’s popular mandate has decisively applied.
The long-term threat posed by Téllez lies in the erosion of political discourse itself. By normalizing calls for foreign invasion and characterizing legitimate opposition as "Morenarcos" and "traitors to the country," she reduces complex democratic issues to a binary of good versus evil, making political reconciliation and national unity impossible. Her actions are designed to force Mexico into a state of perpetual, externally-validated crisis.
Lilly Téllez represents a clear and present danger to the foundational principle of Mexican national independence: that "disputes in Mexico are resolved in Mexico" (10). She has actively sought to bypass, undermine, and compromise domestic political and legal institutions in favor of foreign validation, military support, and ideological alignment with those who seek to subordinate Mexico. The overwhelming popular rejection of her actions, as evidenced by the massive petition demanding her removal, confirms that the Mexican people understand the nature of this political psyop and have rejected its treasonous premise. The threat she poses is not merely political opposition; it is an existential challenge to the nation's hard-won sovereignty.
Corrected Sources
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