In Arizona Senate race, Kari Lake fabricates link between Ruben Gallego and drug cartels

Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake drew an unfounded connection between her Democratic opponent and Mexican drug cartels during a recent interview, accusing U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego of being "controlled by the cartels."

Speaking Sept. 27 with Newsmax host Greg Kelly, Lake theorized a connection between Gallego and drug cartels because his father was arrested for drug crimes when Gallego was a child. 

"I want to confront the cartels," Lake said. "He is controlled by the cartels. His own father was a Colombian drug trafficker, and so he’s got links to the cartel."

Gallego’s father has a criminal history, but Lake gets the facts wrong, and her claim that Gallego is connected to foreign criminal organizations lacks evidence. 

First, Gallego’s father is not Colombian. He was originally from Mexico, and he emigrated to the U.S. as a teenager, according to Gallego’s 2021 memoir, "They Called Us ‘Lucky.’" Gallego’s mother’s family came to the U.S. from Colombia when she was a teenager, Gallego wrote. 

Gallego’s parents divorced when he was in junior high school. Gallego wrote that his father was almost entirely absent from his life after the divorce, making Lake’s accusation that Gallego has "links to the cartel" through his father dubious.

We asked Lake’s campaign to provide evidence for her claim about Gallego, and we got no response. 

A spokesperson for Gallego’s campaign said in a statement the claim was a "disgusting, false attack."

"Ruben has a clear record of fighting to crack down on illegal drug trafficking and address the fentanyl crisis," the campaign spokesperson said.

After his parents divorced, Gallego wrote that he rarely saw his father, and that his mother raised him and his siblings. He said he later learned his father and his father’s cousin had been "dabbling in the drug trade." The book makes no direct mention of cartels. 

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"If my father was making any money from his involvement, we never saw it," he wrote. "Eventually, my father was busted and found guilty of felony possession with intent to sell cocaine and marijuana. My uncle made out worse — he was shot and killed in Mexico. I never found out the details, and don’t care to."

PolitiFact couldn’t independently verify Gallego’s account of his father’s background and criminal history.

Gallego provided another anecdote later in his book about his fraught relationship with his father. Gallego joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2000, and after he completed boot camp, his father attended his graduation ceremony — the first time they’d seen each other in years. 

"Seeing him at the graduation enraged me, and still does," Gallego wrote. "I felt as if he’d come to steal some portion of my achievement, as if he was responsible for all the work I’d done to get this far. ... I avoided him, staying close to my mom and sisters, avoiding any possibility of contact. I’ve barely heard from him since."

Gallego wrote that he changed his last name from his father’s surname to his mother’s maiden name after leaving the Marines. He said he changed his name because he "didn’t want to be associated with my father, even symbolically," and he was "ashamed of his crimes, and angry at him for abandoning us."

Lake said Gallego is "controlled by the cartels. His own father was a Colombian drug trafficker, and so he’s got links to the cartel." 

Gallego’s father was an immigrant from Mexico, not Colombia. He was "dabbling in the drug trade," according to Gallego’s 2021 book, and he was arrested for possessing cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute when Gallego was a child. 

But Gallego’s father has been largely absent from Gallego’s life since Gallego was in junior high school and his parents divorced. Gallego’s book makes clear that he has little contact with his father, and he wrote he had "barely heard from him" as an adult. 

There’s no evidence that Gallego has "links to the cartel" because of his father’s criminal history. Lake’s campaign provided no evidence to support that claim. 

We rate this statement Pants on Fire!

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this fact-check.