Alfonso Durazo

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Durazo and the second or maternal family name is Montaño.

Alfonso Durazo
27th Governor of Sonora
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 September 2021
Preceded by	Claudia Pavlovich Arellano
1st Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection
In office 1 December 2018 – 30 October 2020
President	Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Preceded by	Renato Sales Heredia
Succeeded by	Rosa Icela Rodríguez
Senator for Sonora
In office 1 September 2018 – 8 November 2018
Preceded by	Ernesto Gándara Camou
Succeeded by	Arturo Bours Griffith
Member of the Chamber of Deputies Proportional representation
In office 1 September 2012 – 31 August 2015
Personal details
Born	Alfonso Durazo Montaño (1954-07-11) 11 July 1954 Bavispe, Sonora, Mexico
Political party	National Regeneration Movement
Other political affiliations	Institutional Revolutionary Party
Education	National Autonomous University of Mexico (BS) Metropolitan Autonomous University (LLB) Sonoran Institute of Public Administration (MPA) Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (PhD)

Alfonso Durazo Montaño (born 11 July 1954) is a Mexican politician who served as chief spokesman and private secretary of President Vicente Fox. Representing the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), he is the current Governor of Sonora.

Early life and education

Durazo was born in Bavispe, Sonora, on 11 July 1954. For elementary school, he went to the General Miguel Samaniego school. For middle school, he went to the General Plutarco Elías Calles school in Agua Prieta, Sonora. For high school he attended Instituto Soria in Hermosillo, Sonora. He holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, a bachelor's degree in law from the Metropolitan Autonomous University, a master's degree in public administration from the Sonoran Institute of Public Administration, AC, and a doctorate's degree in public policy from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education.

Career

From 1992 to 1993, he served as private secretary of the Secretary of Social Development Luis Donaldo Colosio. When Colosio became the PRI candidate to the presidency of Mexico, Durazo continued to serve as Colosio's private secretary.

In May 2000, he resigned from the PRI and joined the presidential campaign of Vicente Fox. Fox appointed Durazo as his private secretary after the July 2000 election and also became the presidential spokesman in 2003. Durazo resigned from his positions in 2004 and heavily criticised Fox's administration.

In March 2006, Durazo announced that he will be joining Andrés Manuel López Obrador's presidential campaign. On that year he was nominated Candidate for Senator in his home state, Sonora. In January 2012 he joined again López Obrador's presidential campaign as General Manager in the State of Sonora.

As of 2013, he served as Deputy of the LXII Legislature of the Mexican Congress representing Sonora.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador reestablished the Secretariat of Public Security, previously abolished by the Peña administration, and named Durazo as the head of the agency.

Investigative report and alleged cooperation with U.S. authorities (2025)

In July 2025, journalist Luis Chaparro reported on the program La Saga con Adela Micha that Alfonso Durazo, Governor of Sonora, was under investigation by United States authorities for alleged links to organized crime and activities classified as terrorism. According to the report, U.S. agencies had issued an alert for Durazo and, at one point, there was reportedly an order for his arrest should he enter the United States. Durazo and his team publicly denied these allegations.

Chaparro further alleged that, despite these alerts, Durazo had been able to enter the United States multiple times over the preceding five to six years by using a special immigration status known as "parole," typically granted in exceptional circumstances such as humanitarian needs or to confidential informants. The report claimed that Durazo's repeated entries were facilitated by his cooperation as a confidential informant for U.S. federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, and the Department of State. According to Chaparro's sources, each entry required Durazo to notify his designated case officer and undergo secondary inspection upon arrival.

These claims were based on information from multiple unnamed sources with access to official records, but have not been independently corroborated by U.S. authorities or other media outlets. Durazo has publicly denied the existence of any investigation or special arrangement with U.S. agencies.

External links

• Perfil de Legislador (in Spanish)