Former election opponent of Mexico’s president flees country

08/23/2021

Source: AP

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Former presidential candidate Ricardo Anaya, who was one of several unsuccessful aspirants for Mexico’s top office in the 2018 elections, has fled the country, claiming that charges against him are politically motivated.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied Monday that the government is persecuting Anaya. The president said the charges stem from accusations by a former official that legislators like Anaya were paid off to vote for the country’s energy overhaul in 2013 and 2014.

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Mexico president downplays sparse turnout in referendum vote

08/03/2021

Source: The Washington Post

Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday downplayed the abysmal turnout for a national referendum on pursuing ex-presidents for alleged wrongdoing during their administrations.

Only 7% of Mexico’s eligible voters participated Sunday, but the president preferred to focus on the fact that more than 6 million voted, declaring it a “triumph.” Nine out of 10 voted “yes” on the question.

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Mexico Referendum on Former Leaders Has Low Turnout

08/02/2021

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Low turnout overshadowed Mexico’s first formal referendum, a controversial vote proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that he said would advance efforts to investigate and prosecute wrongdoing of several past presidents.

Just 7% or 6.6 million of Mexico’s 94 million registered voters cast ballots Sunday, well below the 40% required by law for the results to be binding, according to preliminary results released by Mexico’s electoral agency. Nearly 98% of those who participated voted in favor of investigating former presidents.

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Mexico bars former cabinet secretary from holding office

06/09/2021

Source: AP

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico announced Tuesday it has barred former Treasury and Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray from holding public office there for 10 years, after finding he failed to accurately report his holdings, income or properties between late 2012 and 2016.

The Department of Public Service said it was the maximum punishment allowed for the violation. Mexican government employees and elected officials above a certain level are required to file income disclosure forms.

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Mexican president pressures US to stop aid for NGO

05/19/2021

Source: AP

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador upped the pressure on the United States Wednesday to end aid payments to an anti-corruption group.

López Obrador claims that the U.S. payments are tantamount to interfering in Mexico’s internal affairs and funding the opposition to his government.

“It would be like the Mexican Embassy in the United States giving money to the opposition,” the president said. “They should not be giving money any more.”

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Mexico Minister Accuses Fuel Retailers of Pocketing Subsidies

04/06/2021

Source: Bloomberg

Mexico is proposing changes to the country’s fuel laws and will review permits issued to retailers because some gas station operators aren’t passing on subsidies to consumers after a spike in international oil prices.

“There’s a fiscal stimulus maintained by the Finance Ministry at this time, and there are some gasoline retailers that absorb the stimulus, increasing their profit margins considerably,” said Energy Minister Rocio Nahle in a written response to questions from Bloomberg. “We are going to review their permits and act accordingly,” she said.

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Mexico arrests ex-governor in case of tortured journalist

2/4/2021

Source: Yahoo! News

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The arrest of a former Mexican governor on charges he ordered the torture of a journalist gave hope to activists who believe the case could reveal the ties between powerful businessmen, politicians and organized crime and strike a blow against Mexico’s notorious impunity.

Mario Marín, who governed the central state of Puebla from 2005 to 2011 for the Institutional Revolutionary Party, was arrested Wednesday in Acapulco and transported to a jail in Cancun. He is charged with human rights violations in relation to the illegal arrest and torture of journalist Lydia Cacho who in her 2005 book had detailed the role of other powerful men in a pedophilia ring that preyed on young girls.

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Mexico: witness to disappearance of 43 students alleges soldiers involved in attack

01/21/21

Source: The Guardian

A witness to the disappearance of 43 Mexican student teachers has alleged that soldiers were involved in the 2014 attack , the country’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has confirmed.

The disappearance of the trainees from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College on 26 September 2014 rocked Mexico, sparking widespread protests and calls for justice, but the investigation into the case has been widely criticized.

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Mexico Exonerates Ex-Defense Chief Who Was Freed by the U.S.

1/14/2021

Source: The New York Times

MEXICO CITY — The authorities in Mexico say they will bring no charges against a former top military official who was arrested in the United States last year on drug-trafficking and corruption charges, only to be sent home at the request of the outraged Mexican government.

The former defense minister, Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, had been accused by the U.S. authorities of taking bribes in exchange for protecting drug cartel leaders. He was arrested at the request of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles in October.

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

11/29/2020

Source: Yahoo! News

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.

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