Manuel Bartlett

Manuel Bartlett Díaz (born 1936) is the former Mexican Secretary of the Interior. Elected Senator for a 2000 - 2006 term, he became one of the most iron defenders of the state property on the power resources. On May 27, 2006, Bartlett declared that in view of the low possibility of PRI candidate to the Presidency, Roberto Madrazo, winning, he would vote for Andrés Manuel López Obrador to avoid a right-wing victory. Madrazo and the PRI's national leader Mariano Palacios condemned these declarations and announced the possible expulsion of Bartlett from the party, to which he responded that in that case he will proceed against both PRI leaders.

In a 3-part article series, investigative journalist Charles Bowden offers eyewitness accounts of Bartlett's involvement (along with other senior Mexican political, law enforcement, security and military officials) in the decision to order the kidnap, torture and murder of American DEA officer Enrique S. "Kiki" Camarena in 1985 in order to shut down his successful campaign against the Guadalajara Cartel. In these accounts, cartel figures repeatedly mention they expect Bartlett Díaz to one day become President of Mexico, with the implication that they will prosper as a result. Earlier accounts claimed that DEA suspicions about Bartlett Díaz's involvement in the murder led to the ruling PRI party's refusal to consider him as a presidential candidate, leading to the selection of Carlos Salinas de Gortari in Díaz's place.

Since the 2006 election, Bartlett has aligned himself with López Obrador and his Coalition for the Good of All. In 2012 he reentered national politics, being elected a senator for the left-wing Labor Party, in coalition with López Obrador's PRD.