Love at the Beach, Visa Lost at the Border

No charges, no scandals, just a mysterious visa revocation

It’s not every day that a sitting Mexican governor loses her U.S. visa. But here we are. On May 11, Baja California’s governor, Marina del Pilar Ávila, confirmed that both she and her husband, Carlos Torres Torres, had their U.S. tourist visas revoked.

No midnight raids, no courtroom battles—just a quiet click from the folks over at the U.S. State Department. The couple made the announcement through social media, saying it’s an “administrative decision.” That’s government-speak for: we’re not gonna tell you why, but we did it anyway.

So far, no formal accusations, no legal action in Mexico or the U.S., and no indication of wrongdoing. According to both Marina and Carlos, their records are clean, and they’re hopeful this gets resolved soon. She remains calm, collected, and confident. He says it’s politics. We say… welcome to borderland bureaucracy.

Carlos, in case you’re wondering, is the state’s Coordinator for Strategic Projects. So yes, he’s on the government payroll too—and now, apparently, also off the guest list at the San Diego Costco.

The U.S. Embassy, true to form, has said absolutely nothing. And while this kind of visa revocation isn’t exactly rare, it is unusual when it involves high-level public figures. Naturally, people are asking: what’s going on behind the scenes?

Is it political? Is it part of a broader U.S. policy shift? Or is it just some paperwork caught in a borderland paper shredder?

We’re not here to speculate. We’re here to report—without turning up the heat. There’s enough fire in the headlines already.

As for Marina, she’s still in office, still traveling around Baja, and still active on Instagram. No signs of slowing down.

📣 What do you think? Overreaction or red flag? Smart move or sloppy diplomacy? Let us know—we’re all ears at the Gringo Gazette North.

Because when it comes to cross-border drama, everyone’s got a visa story. This time, it just happens to be the governor’s.

Luisa Rosas-Hernández

Luisa Rosas-Hernández is a writer for the Gringo Gazette North, where she covers Baja’s wine scene, good eats, and public safety—with a healthy dose of wit and no bad news allowed. By day, she’s a health researcher recognized by Mexico’s National System of Researchers (SNI), and by night, she handles the Gazette’s finances and dabbles in social media—making sure the numbers add up and the posts pop. When she’s not chasing stories or crunching data, you’ll likely find her in the Valle enjoying a glass of red (or a crisp white with oysters)… for research purposes, of course.

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