Mexican Government Willing to Extradite Cartel-Linked Border Governor to Texas

The Mexican government announced the formal detention with the intent to extradite a former Tamaulipas governor wanted in Texas on money laundering and bank fraud charges. The politician is accused of receiving bribes from drug cartels operating freely while he was in office. 

This week, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office filed the paperwork to detain former governor Eugenio Hernandez Flores in connection with a series of criminal indictments filed against him in the U.S. Southern District of Texas. The charges include five counts of money laundering, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and one count of bank fraud. 

Hernandez has been an inmate at the Tamaulipas State Prison in Ciudad Victoria since October 6, when the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office charged him with money laundering and embezzlement in connection with the illicit purchase of state-owned land at a mere fraction of its fair market value.

Following his arrest, the Tamaulipas government and a group of federal senators filed motions and documents pressuring Mexico’s PGR to extradite the former politician, Breitbart Texas reported.

According to the PGR, the U.S. government has 60 days to submit the necessary documentation to carry out the extradition against Hernandez. 

Hernandez is the second Tamaulipas governor singled out and charged by the U.S. Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on money laundering and other conspiracies. Tomas Yarrington, Hernandez’s predecessor, remains at an Italian prison fighting extradition to Texas, 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.