Lawfirm Linked to PAN & American Asset Management Firm Grey Catalyst Promoting US Interference in Mexico

ByNancy Flores

This article by Nancy Flores originally appeared in the May 27, 2026 edition of Revista Contralínea.

An investigation by Mexican intelligence agencies—launched as part of their efforts to address national security threats —reveals that the founders of the law firm León Barrena Rodríguez & Partners and the U.S. firm Grey Catalyst Asset Management (GCAM) are behind one of the most severe disinformation and smear campaigns against President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and the governments led by the Morena Party. Their objective: to encourage U.S. interference in Mexico.

These individuals are Mark Anthony Rodríguez, Mauricio Andrés Peña Barrena, and Miguel Ángel León Urzúa, who operate from San Francisco, California; Zapopan, Jalisco; and Mexico City. They maintain business and political ties with Santiago Creel Miranda, a member of the National Action Party (PAN), and have business interests in the United States, Mexico, and Argentina. These young men—who subscribe to right-wing, fascist-leaning ideologies— openly support U.S. government intervention and even encourage a coup d’état, for which they are part of a media network disseminating lies.

Intelligence reports reveal that, despite being under 30, they maintain business ties that seem inconsistent with their economic background. For example, Mark Anthony Rodríguez and Mauricio Andrés Peña Barrena are partners in GCAM—which owns the real estate firms 9ED-GCAM and DEG + Partners. They have other associates at Grey Catalyst Asset Management: Ulises Acosta, Diana Samaniego—who also operates the dissemination of falsehoods about Mexico—Fernanda Orrantia, Jeremy Rodríguez, and one of Jorge Hank Rhon’s sons and heir to the Caliente betting business—currently under investigation by OFAC: J Hank Rhon III.

Rodríguez and Peña Barrena are also partners with Miguel Ángel León Urzúa at the law firm León Barrena Rodríguez & Partners, LLP (branded as LBR). Peña Barrena and León Urzúa are also linked to Argentinians Maximiliano Adrian Wutzke and Mariana Paula Grigoni Iriart at the company Maxi Fire.

Both GCAM and LBR sponsor disinformation and black propaganda campaigns against Mexico on social media, and through a daily report that they supposedly produce with access to high-profile US government sources, and which they distribute through an account on the Substack platform.

León Barrena Rodríguez & Partners, LLP, was founded just at the end of 2025. According to the shareholders—the only visible figures in the firm—it is the evolution of a previous business called Outbound México (dedicated to immigration operations), in which Mauricio Andrés Peña Barrena and Miguel Ángel León Urzúa participated, along with Begoña Legarrea Cervantes and Javier Acuña de la Torre, all graduates of ITAM. León Urzúa, for example, graduated just in 2024.

The first official communication from LBR on the social network X—where most of its messages are written in English—frankly reveals its objective of promoting interventionism in Mexico . Written on January 3, 2026, hours after the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US agencies, it reads: “As 2026 dawns with the dramatic removal and capture of Nicolás Maduro, led by the United States in a precision military operation on January 3, Latin America enters a transformative era defined by the decisive projection of power and the restoration of democratic mandates . The long-entrenched Chavista regime has collapsed under targeted attacks, paving the way for opposition leaders to reclaim Venezuela’s future and unlock its vast oil reserves for US domination . This is the new reality of the hemisphere, one in which history, realism, and unyielding power have been reaffirmed, putting an end to Decades of socialist decline and drug-enabled authoritarianism. At LBR, we will be at the forefront of this renewal , guiding stakeholders through the complex legal, policy, and strategic landscape, while championing free markets, security, and alignment with decisive force and change against persistent corruption and stagnation. This is a world that Mexico, under President Claudia Sheinbaum, stubbornly refuses to acknowledge, clinging to outdated principles of non-intervention while condemning the very actions that liberated millions from tyranny. Nothing remains the same: Weakness invites chaos, and strength delivers change. No nation, from Caracas to Mexico City, will escape the consequences of this roaring return to realpolitik. Pay attention. The tide has turned, and history will not wait for those who waver.”

Business Networks & Links with Creel

Intelligence investigations reveal that two of LBR and GCAM ‘s partners —Peña Barrena and León Urzúa—are connected to the business and political interests of Santiago Creel Miranda, a member of the National Action Party (PAN). The information indicates that Peña Barrena’s connection is through his partnership in a company called Iurexa, SA de CV, which he maintains along with David Reséndiz Contreras, Arturo Téllez Bautista, and Luis Ramiro Ortiz Miranda—who is listed as the legal representative.

The network to which Iurexa is connected is through Ortiz Miranda, whom intelligence authorities suggest may be related to Creel Miranda: the latter is a partner in 22 other companies: Moderna MD, SA de CV; Alloxentric de México, SA de CV; Kinesis Tech Mx, SRL de CV; Plateau MX, SA de CV; Propeople Car México, SA de CV; Veto Global Sourcing México, SA de CV; and the Sofom Veto Global Sourcing México, SA de CV SOFOM ENR; Getjusto México Team, SA de CV; Oyster Mexico Team, SA de CV; Molkem Mexico, SA de CV; MGM Tecno, SA de CV; Aparicio Schlesinger Ventures, SA de CV; Expansión Civil MX, SA de CV; Sempiternus Tech, SAPI de CV; Luupa Technologies México, SA de CV; JPSH Equity, SA de CV; Clearview Diagnostica AI, SRL de CV; Ktapult México, SA de CV; Saludconecta Technologies, SAPI de CV; Poder Justo, SAPI de CV; Oyster Escrow, SA de CV; and Paypaga México, SA de CV.

And in the case of León Urzúa, the investigation reveals that his connection was through the law firm Gastélum Abogados, SC, headed by Bruno Gastélum Glender, son of the late Jorge Isaac Gastélum Miranda, who was a cousin of Santiago Creel Miranda. At that firm, the LBR partner worked as a consultant between 2021 and 2022.

Dirty War Campaigns

Between January and May 2026, the firms León Barrena Rodríguez & Partners and Grey Catalyst Asset Management participated in several disinformation and smear campaigns. Among the lies they spread was one about an alleged investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department against a Mexican financial institution for money laundering related to drug trafficking. This was refuted.

But it’s not just about falsely stating that there was an investigation against a major Mexican bank, but also adding that this would generate economic instability, thus encouraging foreign investment to withdraw from the country or not to come at all.

Furthermore, they have attempted to undermine the Mexican consular network in the United States by alleging—without evidence—supposed acts of corruption. Their narrative includes claims of poor governance and a supposed weakness on the part of President Sheinbaum.

It also focuses on campaigns that reinforce the narrative of narco-governments, encouraged by US agencies such as the DEA and the CIA. This is true not only in the context of the Justice Department’s accusations against the former governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, but also against President Sheinbaum herself and former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.