Mexico issues warrant for ex-security chief accused of aiding cartel

11/29/2020

Source: Reuters

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico has issued an arrest warrant for a former security minister wanted on corruption charges and may request his extradition from the United States where he is being held awaiting trial, an official told Reuters.

Ex-Security Minister Genaro Garcia Luna pled not guilty last month to U.S. charges involving a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme allegedly designed to boost the Sinaloa cartel once headed by jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

READ MORE

Mexico denies deal to nab cartel leader in return for Cienfuegos

11/23/2020

Source: Al Jazeera

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has denied that Mexico had agreed to capture a cartel leader for the United States in order to secure the return of ex-defence minister Salvador Cienfuegos from US custody.

News agency Reuters reported last week that Mexico agreed with US Attorney General William Barr to seek the arrest of a high-level Mexican drug cartel leader as part of a deal to get US drug trafficking charges against Cienfuegos dropped.

READ MORE

‘He hurt me’: migrants who accused Ice gynecologist of abuse speak out

11/21/2020

Source: The Gaurdian

A group of 30 US senators and 75 congressmen and women have demanded an immediate halt to deportations of women who claim they were abused by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) gynecologist, as the furore over alleged abused in Ice custody continues to grow.

The development comes as some of the women recounted their experiences to the Guardian, two of them detailing the painful and invasive procedures they were subjected to by Dr Mahendra Amin in Georgia. Both women were then listed for deportation days after they spoke out against the doctor, in what their lawyers say is a “pattern of intimidation” designed to silence abuse claims.
READ MORE

Mexico guns: Sniper rifles are flowing to Mexican drug cartels from the US

11/19/20

Source: The Washington Post

NOGALES, Mexico — North of the border, the .50-caliber sniper rifle is the stuff of YouTube celebrity, shown blasting through engine blocks and concrete walls. Deployed with U.S. troops to foreign wars, it is among the most destructive weapons legally available in the United States.

But every week, those rifles are trafficked across the border to Mexico, where increasingly militarized drug cartels now command arsenals that rival the weaponry of the country’s security forces. In many cases, criminals outgun police.

READ MORE

Mexico’s president: we didn’t threaten to expel DEA agents over General Cienfuegos arrest

11/19/2020

Source: Reuters

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday that Mexico did not threaten to expel U.S. agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) from Mexico in retaliation for the U.S. arrest of former defense minister Salvador Cienfuegos.

Lopez Obrador’s statement during his regular morning news conference came after multiple outlets reported Mexico had threatened the agents’ expulsion after the United States arrested the powerful Mexican general at the Los Angeles airport last month.

READ MORE

Surprise at US move to drop drug charges against ex-Mexican minister

11/18/2020

Source: The Guardian

US moves to drop charges against a former Mexican defence minister accused of drug trafficking and money laundering have sparked celebration, consternation and bewilderment.

Gen Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested at Los Angeles airport last month and accused of being at the heart of a multimillion dollar conspiracy to smuggle huge shipments of drugs into the US.

READ MORE

U.S. Moves To Drop Drug Trafficking Charges Against Mexico’s Former Defense Minister

11/17/2020

Source: NPR

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to drop charges against a former Mexican defense secretary, the highest-ranking Mexican official ever arrested for alleged drug trafficking, so that he “may be investigated and, if appropriate, charged, under Mexican law.”

Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, nicknamed The Godfather, had been accused of working on behalf of one of Mexico’s deadliest cartels, known as the H-2. Authorities alleged Cienfuegos took bribes to protect the cartel and its leaders by informing them of pending military actions against them. An indictment in the Eastern District of New York also alleged he used troops to launch operations against a rival cartel.

READ MORE

Most Mexicans back president’s holdout stance on congratulating Biden, poll shows

11/17/2020

Source: Reuters

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A majority of Mexicans support President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s decision to hold off congratulating Joe Biden so far on his victory in the U.S. presidential election, an opinion poll showed on Tuesday.

In contrast to the approach of most world leaders, Lopez Obrador has not recognized Biden’s victory over U.S. President Donald Trump, arguing Mexico should wait until legal challenges launched by the incumbent over the Nov. 3 election have played out.

READ MORE

Mexico confirms talks with US over ex-defence minister’s arrest

11/11/2020

Source: Al Jazeera

Mexico confirmed on Wednesday that its top diplomat, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, spoke to United States Attorney General William Barr about the arrest of former Mexican Secretary of National Defense and retired army general Salvador Cienfuegos on US soil.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during a regular government news conference that Ebrard is in talks with Barr and that a diplomatic memo had been sent.

READ MORE

Mexico’s president won’t congratulate Biden on election win until legal challenges over

11/07/2020

Source: The Guardian

Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said on Saturday he would not congratulate a winner of the US presidential election until legal challenges are concluded, in an apparent bid to avoid friction with Washington during the transition.

Democrat Joe Biden won the election on Saturday after a victory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania put him over the threshold of 270 electoral college votes.

READ MORE