One of Mexico’s most respected newspapers has exposed a series of multi-million dollar bank accounts and transfers made on behalf of the former cartel-linked governor of Coahuila. The Los Zetas cartel-linked former official claims to be the victim of a political attack.
Former Coahuila governor Humberto Moreira and his relatives were able to move more than $60 million dollars into U.S. bank accounts and eventually to banks in Monaco and the Cayman Islands between 2013 and 2016, Mexico’s Reforma reported. Humberto Moreira is the brother of current Coahuila governor Ruben Moreira.
The Mexican publication was able to obtain leaked financial statements that are part of an ongoing investigation into the politician’s accounts. The bank statements name Humberto Moreira’s wife Vanesa Guerrero Martinez; and Cecilia Aguilar Morales, the wife of Humberto’s husband Ivan. The two women are named in the story as account holders with BNP Paribas in Monaco and CBIC First Caribean.
Other individuals named in Reforma’s story include Ricardo Mendoza Reyes, the husband of Humberto’s sister Elisa Moreira, and other relatives. Mendoza Reyes is identified as one individual who allegedly wired funds from Broadway National Bank in San Antonio, Texas, to the various European and Caribean banks where his relatives held accounts.
Soon after the story released, Humberto Moreira went public calling it false, claiming that it was all an attack by an outlet with right-wing leanings aimed at damaging his political career. The politician claimed he would be suing Reforma for damages. After his term as governor, Moreira ran the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) for several months and helped current president Enrique Peña Nieto kick off his 2012 presidential bid. Most recently, Moreira was kicked out of the PRI for seeking to run under another political party to secure a federal congressional seat as a plurinominal candidate, Breitbart Texas reported. In Mexico, federal congressmen and senators are immune from prosecution during their term.
In January 2016, Moreira was arrested by Spanish authorities who accused him of being a surrogate of Los Zetas cartel. Moreira spent several days in prison as he faced money laundering charges. As Breitbart Texas reported, the Mexican government under Peña Nieto placed political pressure to secure his release. Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon recently accused Moreira of protecting Zetas while in office.
Humberto Moreira was named in testimony in the U.S. by key Los Zetas leaders who claimed that the criminal organization had paid the politician millions for protection and the ability to have free reign in the state, Breitbart Texas reported. In February 2017, the U.S. Department of Treasury sold a San Antonio home belonging to Moreira’s mother in law, Herminia Martinez. The home was seized as part of an asset forfeiture case involving money laundering.
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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