The corrupt rulers of the PRI era continue to fall, lining their pockets with taxpayers' money. Last week it was the case of César Duarte, former governor of Chihuahua.
He was very calm in Miami, Florida, despite the 20 arrest warrants for his alleged responsibility in crimes of embezzlement, diversion of resources, and corruption. He left a public debt of 48,000 million pesos, affecting the treasury of the entity that governed for 6,000 million pesos. It has a case opened for diversion of resources during 2015 for 250 million pesos with electoral fines to favor the party that was affiliated since 1977.
The Chihuahuan politician fled Mexico in 2017. Among his crimes is related to the deviation of 650 million pesos for the 2015 midterm election through 12 shell companies that were protected by the Ministry of Finance, then headed by Luis Videgaray. This robbery is known as "Operation Safiro" and could well be the path to the prison of former President Enrique Peña Nieto because all the arrows point at him.
This operation was made known in an investigation carried out by Mexicans against Corruption and Impunity, where it is denounced that there was embezzlement not only from Chihuahua but from Sonora, Colima, State of Mexico, Durango, Morelos and the Milpa Alta delegation of CDMX, in order to finance the PRI electoral campaigns. In addition, everything was done with the alleged complicity of the then leader of the PRI, Manlio Fabio Beltrones, and the Federal Treasury, which at that time was headed by Luis Videgaray.
Of the stolen, at least 449 million pesos will be recovered from the assets that former Governor César Duarte Jáquez illicitly acquired. The current governor of the entity, Javier Corral Jurado, assured that they have been spent on community impact works.
The fugitive PRI member until July 8, who was detained, acquired several ranches, one with the surface almost like the city of Chihuahua, 30 thousand hectares. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) also detailed that it acquired seven luxury cars, in cash. 2,600 head of cattle were made through the triangulation of resources with direct transfers from the state government through livestock programs.
Meanwhile, in Chihuahua, the scarcity of mountain areas and some of Ciudad Juárez is critical. The rarámuris continue being one of the populations with fewer resources in the country and the most affected are women, boys, and girls. Municipalities such as Morelos, Batopilas, Urique, Uruachi, Guadalupe y Calvo, and Carichí are where most of the poverty is concentrated.
The Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense AC. recently published a study where it can be known that there are more than 86 thousand 300 families in the state in which we only start once a day, and they even go 24 hours or more without trying the food. They survive on just 250 pesos a week.
Likewise, 342 million households do not have access to the basic basket, the complete one with only some products, or the cheapest foods, which do not cover the necessary nutrients and for the same health problems.
César Duarte joined the gang of corrupt politicians thinking that he would never be caught. He left Veracruz mired in extreme poverty and crime. It is also the case of other ex-governors such as Tomás Yarrington, from Tamaulipas; Roberto Borge, from Quintana Roo and Sonora, the PAN artist Guillermo Padrés. A clear example of the new PRI, as former President Enrique Peña Nieto once said.
Egidio Torre Cantú, ex-governor of Tamaulipas who is being investigated for a deviation of 10 thousand mp in resources. False invoices were issued in his government, now known as "factureras", which caused a capital loss of more than 2 billion pesos between 2012 and 2016.
The upcoming arrest of Tomás Zerón de Lucio, former director of the Criminal Investigation Agency of what is outside the Attorney General's Office (PGR), author of the "historical truth" of the Ayotzinapa case, is seen. Recently released images expose him to torture during interrogation. He is also accused of "money laundering" and embezzlement.
This week is also expected the arrival in Mexico, from Spain, of Emilio Lozoya Austin, former CEO of Petróleos Mexicanos, who already said that he is going to tell everything about the corruption network related to the Odebrecht company, which also financed the campaigns of the PRI in 2016 and that brought Enrique Peña Nieto to the presidency.
He is investigated for "money laundering", organized crime and bribery. It also participated in the purchase at a premium of the Agronitrogenados fertilizer plant owned by Altos Hornos de México, for which Pemex would have paid $ 500 million, while it was valued at $ 50 million. According to Lozoya, this inflated sale and purchase would have been endorsed by President Peña Nieto, the former Secretary of the Treasury, Luis Videgaray, as well as the former Secretary of Energy, Pedro Joaquín Coldwell.
And waiting is in the United States, the former Secretary of Public Security, Genaro García Luna, involved in a process for conspiracy and drug trafficking, and falsifying information.
FROM THE CENTER
The Report on the National Registry of graves, published by the National Commission for the Search of Missing Persons, Mexico, updates the number of missing persons to 73,252…. Last week state police subdued relatives of disappeared people while protesting in the Santa Fe roundabout in Guanajuato, Gto. in which five people were arrested, including victims, activists, and a CNDH visitor. Three were injured.
The Clan of the Orihuela about to disappear, politically speaking, currently despised not only by PRI members but also by the peasants attached to the CNPR for the terrible management of Eduardo Orihuela Estefan at the head of this organization ... More Half of the leadership of the Mexican Electricians Union (SME), including its Secretary-General, Martín Esparza, protested this Tuesday for a new period when the results of the internal process carried out in recent weeks were ratified. With this, Esparza will remain in the leadership until 2025 and will accumulate 20 years in this position, which he has held since 2005.
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Staff
Translator: Martin Caballero