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Mexican standoff as Veracruz state officials claim cash was legit
 For a map clickBy Chris Covert One week after two Veracruz state political operatives were caught at the Toluca, Mexico state airport with MP $25 million (USD $1.9 million) in cash, the matter appears to be in a stalemate. To read background material on the Mexican Policia Federal seizure of MP $25 million in cash, click here. Wednesday, news reports questioned claims made by Veracruz officials that the two individuals detained last week with the money were state officials. An article in La Reforma news daily reported that neither Miguel Morales Robles nor Said Sandoval Zepeda were listed in the Veracruz state telephone directory of government officials -- which is a legal requirement in Veracruz state. Monday news reports stated that Morales Robles was an employee of Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte de Ochoa as a staff member. Said Sandoval Zepeda was said to be on Governor Duarte de Ochoa's security staff. The money, as far as news reports indicate, is still in impound after Polica Federal agents took possession of the cash last Friday. A spokesman with the Mexican Procuradoria General de la Republica (PGR) or attorney general vowed not to release the money back to Veracruz officials until its origins could be identified. The money had been gathered and stuffed into a suitcase and a backpack, according to Veracruz state officials as payment to a Mexico state-based company for services to be rendered for promotional matters relating to three upcoming celebrations in Veracruz state. Wednesday officials with 3 Industries, which had contracted for promotional services, confirmed that the contract entered into provided for payment either by electronic funds transfer or by cash. A spokesman for the state said Wednesday that the contract for the funds transfer was signed in January. The celebrations covered by the contract were Candelaria en Tlacotalpan, Carnaval de Veracruz and Cumbre Tajin. Ricardo Sanchez Reyes Retana, an attorney for 3 Industries told Mexican press sources he was due to meet with a PGR delegate in Toluca Friday to submit a copy of the contract. Officials with the company told press sources they were unaware that Veracruz state was planning to pay with cash, and that they were unaware of the logistics involved. The cash had been transported on a Friday evening in a Veracruz state owned aircraft. That meeting will quiet the controversy on the payment end, but may not resolve the origins of the cash, nor the actual employment status of the two operatives. The PGR demand, while prudent given the country is awash in illicit drug money, may also be political. Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) politicians in Veracruz state have charged the public money was intended to fund the presidential campaign of current Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) candidate Enrique Pena Nieto. A similar charge had been levelled in the past against disgraced PRI president Humberto Moerira Valdes, and against Pena Nieto himself. Other PAN politicians have charged that PRI governors have been diverting cash from their state coffers to ensure the election of Pena Nieto. Thursday evening Partido Revolucion Democratica (PRD) presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Orbador came out with an accusation that specifically named Mexico, Veracruz and Zacatecas as states for which the MP $25 million was to be used to buy votes. He also said the 45 day break between the end of the primaries campaigns season in February and the start of active campaigning March 30th, would likely be used to refine the PRI's plan to buy votes. The El Diario de Coahuila report did not provide additional elaboration to Lopez Obrador's remarks. On January 17th, 2011, PRD officials filed a complaint with the Guerrero state election board accusing Pena Nieto of using public funds to finance the campaign of Tiempos Mejores coalition candidate Manuel Añorve Baños. His campaign lost by 13 points to PRI candidate Angel Aguirre Rivero during the January, 2011 election.. The apparent, though not stated reason for the PGR refusal to return the cash is the crime of money laundering. Money laundering in Mexico, as elsewhere, is illegal but is a crime that is rarely prosecuted. Currently, no Mexican law exists which makes it a crime for any public official from the president down to city council members to carry unusually large amounts of cash on their person. The protests and explanations made by Veracruz state officials may not completely resolve the matter. In a related development, Aguascalientes PAN senator Ruben Camarillo Ortega has demanded a senate investigation into the matter. Posted by: badanov 2012-02-03 |
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