Ten former governors have had run-ins with the law in Mexico

On December 1, 2012, when Enrique Peña Nieto t ook office as Mexico’s President, governors from the PRI and other political parties took a picture with him. Now, almost eight years since that photograph was taken, ten governors who appear in that picture have been accused of embezzlement , illicit enrichment, and drug trafficking.

César Duarte

Duarte was arrested in Miami, Florida on July 8, the same day when President López Obrador was visiting U.S. President Donald Trump. The former Chihuahua governor had been on the run since 2017,

César Duarte governed Chihuahua from 2010 and until 2016. He is accused of fraud and illicit enrichment.

On July 10, Duarte will have hist first hearing in a U.S. court and the judge will decide whether or not he will be extradited to Mexico.

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Roberto Borge Angulo

On June 4, 2017, by the Interpol and Mexican authorities arrested the former Quintana Roo governor.

Roberto Borge was arrested at the International Panama Airport. He is accused of carrying out operations using illicit resources, abuse of power, improper exercise of public service, embezzlement, and organized crime.

He is currently imprisoned in a jail located in Ayala, Morelos.

Javier Duarte

Two weeks before his governorship came to an end, Duarte requested a leave of absence and fled the country by using a helicopter owned by the Veracruz government. Six months later, on April 15, 2017, he was arrested inside a luxurious resort in Panajachel, Guatemala.

On July 17, 2017, the former Veracruz governor was extradited to Mexico and sent to a prison in northern Mexico City. He faced criminal association and money laundering charges. Duarte was sentenced to nine years behind bars.

On the other hand, his ex-wife Karime Macías fled the country and now lives in London. Authorities accused Macías of embezzling MXN 112 million from the DIF (National System for Integral Family Development) when she was the first lady of Veracruz.

In October 2018, British authorities arrested Karime Macías in London; however, she was released on bail.

UK authorities will start an extradition process on November 16, 2020.

Fausto Vallejo

The former Michoacán governor was under investigation after authorities linked him to a criminal organization called Los Caballeros Templarios and after his administration was tainted by corruption.

In 2013, Fausto Vallejo requested a leave of absence as a result of his deteriorating health. Meanwhile, Jesús Reyna took over as interim governor but it later emerged that he had dealings with Servando Gómez Martínez, aka La Tuta, the leader of Los Caballeros Templarios. When Vallejo returned in 2014, Alfredo Castillo became Michoacán’s Security Commissioner. That same year, Vallejo requested another leave of absence for medical reasons; however, while he was away, two videos that showed his son, Rodrigo Vallejo Mora, drinking and talking with “La Tuta” went viral.

Rodrigo Vallejo was arrested in January 2019 and accused of organized crime. La Tuta received a 55-year prison sentence.

Recommended: New money laundering charges await César Duarte in Mexico

Rodrigo Medina

In August 2016, Medina allegedly granted stimulus for MXN 3,128 million to Korean automotive manufacturer Kia Motors. On January 26, 2017, Rodrigo Medina spent 19 hours in jail but a judge ordered his immediate release because the former governor has a writ of amparo that prevented his imprisonment.

On March 1, 2020, a judge exonerated Medina because he considered that the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office didn’t provide detailed information regarding the former governor’s alleged crimes.

A judge also dismissed fraud and embezzlement sarges against Medina, since the judge didn’t explain the charges against the former governor.

Andrés Granier

Authorities arrested the former Tabasco governor in June 2013. He spent five years in a Mexico City prison; however, authorities placed him under house arrest in January 2019 because he is 70-years-old.

On March 1, 2018, a judge sentenced Andrés Granier to 11 years in prison and fined him with MXN 196 million in reparations to the health sector for the damages he caused during his 2007-2012 administration.

Nevertheless, a judge dismissed a tax fraud charge because there was not enough evidence.

Authorities exonerated Granier Melo in May 2019 after spending 11 years in prison.

Roberto Sandoval

In May 2019, the former Nayarit governor was blacklisted by the United States Department of the Treasury. U.S. authorities accused him of taking bribes from drug cartels and blocked his bank accounts.

The U.S. Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said Sandoval Castañeda participated in a series of corruption acts and that he took bribes from criminal organizations like the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, Los Cuinis, and Los Beltrán Leyva.

Sandoval is also involved in the case. His wife Ana Lilia López Torres and his two children, Pablo Roberto and Lidy Alejandra Sandoval López, were allegedly used as “straw-men.”

Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit announced it blocked bank accounts owned by 42 people, including those of Roberto Sandoval and magistrate Isidro Avelar Gutiérrez.

In February 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury branded Roberto Sandoval as someone involved in corruption acts and banned him and his family from entering the country.

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Mario Anguiano

In 2016, Colima’s Congress and the state’s audit department filed a lawsuit against the former governor for the misuse of public resources. The lawsuits included one for the embezzlement of MXN 1,867 million; another for the irregular purchase of software for MXN 66 million; and another one for the embezzlement of MXN 638 million.

In February 2020, the former Colima handed himself over to state authorities and claimed he had no resources to pay an MXN 515 million fine. Colima lawmakers asked the Financial Intelligence Unit to investigate Anguiano.

Rubén Moreira

In 2018, PAN lawmaker María Eugenia Cázares accused the former Coahuila governor of diverting MXN 390 million; however, there is no more information regarding the accusations against Rubén Moreira.

Egidio Torre

Tamaulipas’ Financial an Economic Intelligence Unit launched an investigation against several companies that issued false invoices; however, this case involves officials who worked for Egidio Torre; the former Tamaulipas governor is now under investigation.

What about Enrique Peña Nieto?

Although President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he didn’t order his administration to investigate Enrique Peña Nieto and his family, Mexican authorities are locating at least 50 national and International banks, all their bank accounts, and financial operations.

Moreover, the Superior Audit Office found irregularities in a scholarship program called Prospera.

The Public Administration Office has said that there were “monumental and immoral irregularities” in the use of public resources.

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