A state judge in Tamaulipas formally charged a cartel-linked former governor and ordered him to remain behind bars without bond.
Eugenio Hernandez Flores, a former governor of Tamaulipas, will have to remain behind bars at a state prison he once ruled over on charges of embezzlement and money laundering. The judge notified Hernandez on Thursday morning that he found enough evidence to criminally charge the former politician, information provided to Breitbart Texas by the Tamaulipas government revealed.
Agents with the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office arrested Hernandez last week as part of an investigation into the illicit purchase of state-owned property resulting in the charges of embezzlement and money laundering. Hernandez was scheduled to have a hearing on Thursday morning where local politicians and political analysts suspected or claimed that Hernandez would be released.
Hernandez is currently listed as a fugitive by the U.S. Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on multiple money laundering charges, Breitbart Texas reported. Testimony in other related cases and civil matters claim Hernandez not only laundered embezzled funds, but also cleaned hefty bribes from Mexican drug cartels.
The Tamaulipas case against Hernandez deals with the purchase of a large tract of coastal state-owned property that the politician allegedly purchased at 1 percent of its fair market value through the use of various shell companies and straw men.
While U.S. and Tamaulipas authorities have open cases against Hernandez, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office and other federal agencies in that country have not followed suit. In recent days, the Mexican Senate issued a motion asking for a federal inquiry and congratulated Tamaulipas authorities, Breitbart Texas reported.
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.
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