Mexican authorities arrested a low level Tamaulipas State judge on aggravated kidnapping charges. The charges stem from an incident in 2013. The jurist continued judicial duties until his arrest.
On Sunday afternoon, officers with the state anti-kidnapping unit arrested Judge Hermilio Cruz Caraza in Ciudad Victoria, information provided to Breitbart Texas by the Tamaulipas government revealed.
The arrest is tied to a 2013 case where Cruz Caraza was charged with aggravated kidnapping. Following the charge authorities issued an arrest warrant just one day before the arrest.
Details as to the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping case were not released by authorities, however they did disclose that Cruz Caraza had been working as a qualifying judge at the local police station in Ciudad Victoria at the time of his arrest.
The Tamaulipas judge is just the latest in a long list of Tamaulipas officials that have been accused, charged or convicted of criminal activity. As Breitbart Texas previously reported, two former governors from Tamaulipas, Eugenio Hernandez and Tomas Yarrington, are considered fugitives by the U.S. Department of Justice on money laundering charges.
Yarrington is also wanted on drug conspiracy charges standing accused of having taken bribes and worked for the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas and the Beltran Leyva cartels during his time in office in Ciudad Victoria and after.
Even though they are wanted fugitives in America, the politicians continue to make public appearances in Tamaulipas.
Despite its small size, Ciudad Victoria is home to the governor’s office and the headquarters for most state offices. This makes the capital city a prized territory for organized crime. As Breitbart Texas has reported, in recent months the city has been one of the prizes that two rival factions of Los Zetas have been fighting over.
The ongoing conflict has resulted in a spike in murders, kidnappings, drive by shootings and other crimes including a prison riot.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.