Tensions are rising in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas as federal forces work to arrest the governor who claims to have prosecutorial immunity. The governor claims the arrest warrant is political in nature and ordered by Mexico’s president. The tension has led to some talk about Mexico’s federal government pushing to assume control of Tamaulipas and fully remove the elected government.
This week, Mexican federal authorities obtained an arrest warrant against Tamaulipas Governor Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca on money laundering and organized crime charges, Breitbart Texas reported. However, in Mexico various politicians have prosecutorial immunity or “fuero.” This led to some controversy as Mexico’s Federal Senate voted to remove Cabeza de Vaca’s “fuero.” The Tamaulipas Congress voted to keep the fuero leading to conflict between the state and federal governments. Cabeza de Vaca’s allies claim the arrest warrant is illegal in nature since it violates the politician’s immunity.
In Ciudad Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas, state police forces and their special forces teams surrounded the governor’s mansion in an apparent show of force in the event federal forces try to serve the warrant.
Additionally, the Tamaulipas Congress requested an investigation and prosecution of the federal judge who issued the warrant against Cabeza de Vaca, as well as other’s who may try to enforce it. On Friday afternoon, the Tamaulipas Congress filed suit with Mexico’s Supreme Court against the nation’s Attorney General’s Office and the judge who issued the arrest warrant against Cabeza de Vaca. In a prepared statement, the state congress claimed that it is a constitutional matter as they claim the governor does have immunity and can not be prosecuted.
On their side, Mexico’s government issued an immigration alert to keep Cabeza de Vaca from fleeing the country and as previously reported by Breitbart Texas, froze the politician’s bank accounts as well as the accounts of some of his relatives and allies. Mexico’s President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador revealed the contents of a letter that his government received from the FBI pointing to a preliminary investigation tied to money laundering.
The tension between the state and the federal government rose to the point where Mexican Senator Ricardo Monreal, the same senator who first announced the warrant against Cabeza de Vaca, called for the federation to assume control of Tamaulipas and remove the elected government.
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.
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