A rare sight in Mexico’s current political climate, three senators presented a motion to congratulate Tamaulipas authorities for the arrest of a former cartel-linked governor, while calling for a federal inquiry into the case.
The move by the Mexican Senate comes just days after as Breitbart Texas reported that the Tamaulipas Attorney Generals Office arrested former governor Eugenio Hernandez Flores on charges of embezzlement and money laundering. The full motion text can be found in the Mexican Senate’s website.
The motion places pressure on Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (PGR), calling for the agency to carry out an investigation not only to see if Hernandez may have committed federal crimes in Mexico, but to also work with the U.S. to extradite the former governor to face charges there.
Hernandez, a current member of Mexico’s Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), is currently wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice on six separate counts of money laundering, Breitbart Texas reported. The former politician was singled out over allegations that he embezzled millions and used the funds to buy properties in Texas. Witness claim he accepted funds from Mexican drug cartels. Despite the multiple felony charges in the U.S., Mexico’s PGR had not moved against Hernandez on domestic criminal allegations.
Hernandez is the second governor of Tamaulipas to be considered a fugitive by U.S. federal authorities. Former Tamaulipas Governor Tomas Yarrington remains in an Italian jail fighting extradition to Texas–where he faces drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering charges. Yarrington lived with impunity in Mexico until the PGR was forced to issue a warrant for his arrest in addition to an Interpol warrant.
Tamaulipas authorities arrested Hernandez on October 6 and seized two properties reportedly linked to the embezzlement case.
The case before the Tamaulipas courts deals with Hernandez using shell companies and straw purchasers for a large tract of state-owned land for one percent of the property’s fair market value. In their motion, Mexican Senate members are asking for the PGR to assist Tamaulipas authorities in the investigation.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.