A Mexican governor called out federal health officials for lying to the public about “non-existent” health care centers, sub-par protective equipment, and assurances that only place the public at risk. The harshest criticism to date comes as other governors called out federal health officials for claiming all is well in regard to the spread of the novel-coronavirus (COVID-19).

This week, the Mexican state of Michoacán’s Governor Silvano Aureoles Conejo, took to social media to share a video where he called Zoe Robledo, the head of Mexico’s Social Security Health System (IMSS) a liar and lashed out against Mexico’s Undersecretary of Health Hugo Lopez Gatell, claiming his public assurances about the pandemic made no sense.

En Michoacán, siempre antepondremos el bienestar de las familias y del personal de salud, porque su vida no es un juego y mucho menos en esta emergencia sanitaria. Vamos a cuidar bien de nuestra gente y por eso, con respeto, dirijo este mensaje a las autoridades federales. pic.twitter.com/H2JrexiWdw — Silvano Aureoles (@Silvano_A) April 16, 2020

According to Aureoles, federal health officials had claimed engineers were fixing and working on ventilators at a special center in Michoacán.

“With all due respect … There is no IMSS center in Michoacán, there is an abandoned area that does not even have a desk or chairs, there is nothing there.” Aureoles Conejo said addressing the head of the IMSS, Zoe Robledo. “Your time would be better spent on improving the working conditions of the medical staff under you and not saying things that are completely false.”

In the video, Aureoles Conejo also lashed out against Gatell for recently claiming that certain areas’ municipalities could start lifting the lockdown measures in the near future with the rest of the nation following at a later date. The governor quoted Lopez Gatell’s previous statements that the most critical time for COVID-19 hospitalizations would be around May 23 and the epidemic curve would begin to level out on June 25.

“Those measures you want to implement, Michoacán will not be taking part in them,” Aureoles Conejo said. “If you want to continue lying to the public go ahead. But not everyone has a blindfold, nor believes the irresponsible comments made by you during this crisis.”

The governor also said that his state would return the protective equipment that they received from the federal government saying it was too little and of sub-par quality.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.

Jose Luis Lara from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report