Mexico’s former defense minister was arrested in the United States and indicted on drug trafficking charges. On Nov. 17, the U.S. Justice Department said it would drop the charges against former Mexican Defense Secretary Cienfuegos and would return him to Mexico for potential prosecution. Mexico subsequently accused the U.S. of arresting the former defense secretary on the basis of falsified evidence. Documents released by Mexico show the case against Gen. Cienfuegos is definitely not unfounded, the U.S. Justice Department said Jan. 16.
In mid-October 2020, Mexico’s former Defense Secretary Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested in the United States and accused of accepting bribes from a Mexican drug trafficking organization to provide protection for drug traffickers trafficking into the United States.
Cienfuegos was arrested on the 15th as he arrived at LAX on a flight with his family and made his first court appearance on the 16th. He was indicted in the United States in August 2019, but the indictment was not made public until after his arrest.
Cienfuegos, 72, served as defense secretary from 2012 to 2018.
He is charged with multiple counts, including drug trafficking and money laundering. The U.S. alleges that he accepted bribes from the H-2 drug cartel as an umbrella to help smuggle “thousands of kilograms” of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States.
In addition, according to the indictment, Cienfuegos helped the H-2 cartel fight drug rivals, tipped off U.S. drug operations, and introduced the leader of the criminal organization to Mexican officials.
Investigators intercepted numerous cell phone communications between Cienfuegos and the H-2 cartel, and he claims to have provided protection to another Mexican drug trafficking organization.
The H-2 cartel is known in Mexico as the “Beltrán Leyva” cartel. The complaint states that this criminal group often engages in serious violence, including murder.
Recent Comments