Mexican
president denies 'political persecution'
Mexico City (AFP)
Mexican President
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday denied that he was persecuting figures
linked to the previous government, as authorities began making arrests in his
administration's first major corruption case.
Lopez Obrador, an
anti-establishment leftist, was elected last year on a promise to wage war on
Mexico's deep-rooted political corruption.
This week, his
government made its first high-profile moves to do just that, zeroing in on the
alleged plundering of state oil company Pemex.
Speaking after
prosecutors confirmed an arrest warrant had been issued for Emilio Lozoya, the
former chief executive of Pemex and a top advisor to ex-president Enrique Pena
Nieto, Lopez Obrador insisted the case was not politically motivated.
"There is no
political persecution here. These are alleged crimes that have to be
investigated," he told a press conference.
"Vengeance isn't
my strong suit," he added, saying he did not know either Lozoya or an
alleged co-conspirator arrested Tuesday, Alonso Ancira -- the head of Altos
Hornos de Mexico, one of the country's largest steel companies.
Lozoya and Ancira are
accused of orchestrating a dodgy 2014 deal in which Altos Hornos sold Pemex a
defunct fertilizer plant for $475 million.
Altos Hornos denies
wrongdoing and says the plant was valued properly.
Ancira was arrested on
the Spanish island of Mallorca as he tried to board a flight to Canada, after
Mexico asked Interpol to issue a notice for his arrest on charges of
corruption, fraud and organized crime, according to Spanish police.
A Mexican judge has
also issued an arrest warrant for Lozoya -- though it was later suspended for
up to 15 days, after his lawyer filed an injunction request, demanding more
details on the accusations.
Lozoya's whereabouts
are unknown, though his attorney says he is in Mexico.
Officers raided his
father's house in Mexico City late Tuesday but "found nothing," the
attorney, Javier Coello, told Mexican TV network Milenio.
Lozoya headed Pemex,
Mexico's largest company, from 2012 to 2016, during the Pena Nieto
administration.
Prior to that, he was
chief international strategist on Pena Nieto's 2012 presidential campaign, and
led the politician's transition team after he won.
He is accused in a
separate case of taking millions of dollars in bribes from Brazilian company
Odebrecht, the construction giant accused of paying billions to politicians
across Latin America to win lucrative contracts.
Lozoya is accused of
funneling Odebrecht bribes to Pena Nieto's campaign. He denies the allegation.
 |
Lawyer of Lozoya wants
Peña, to be summoned to testify
MEXICO CITY (AP) - A
federal judge granted an interim suspension to the arrest warrant against
Emilio Lozoya Austin, who yesterday afternoon, was issued an arrest warrant by the Attorney General's Office (FGR) and a
red card from Interpol.
However, this
suspension will not free him from provisional detention, that is to say, from “arraigo”,
since the crimes for which he is accused are considered as serious: operations
with resources of illicit origin, bribery and tax fraud, while he served as
General Director of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).
Meanwhile, Interpol
issued a red card to stop Lozoya, who, according to sources, could have left
the country in recent days.
Derived from the amparo
filed by his lawyer Javier Coello Trejo on the afternoon of this Tuesday, the
Eighth District Court of Amparo in Criminal Matters in Mexico City notified,
according to file 487/2019, that he will be granted precautionary measures
against the deprivation of freedom of his client.
And after a few weeks in jail and under house arrest...he pays up and the charges are dismissed and he returns to Spain and enjoys what’s left of the hundreds of millions he pilfered
ReplyDeleteCorruption is so ingrained in the culture of Mexico not sure it will ever be eliminated...smh
Corruption is ingrained in a lot more countries than just Mexico. The US is just as bad but they are far better at keeping it under the radar. Those super PACs are corruption machines my friend.
Delete5:01 those superPACs promised a lot but they just stole it all. For themselves and their good fellas now they want a credit for running away. They ended suplying dark entrepreneurial Affairs and money laundering.
DeleteVengeance takes to much time off the brain to think about. Persecuting those Pemex plunder though for just taking and not thinking about their people in broad terms is just. Aqui en Texas onde manda la plebada no las mandamos internacional para insartar ah esa pinche hente que se quera poner de pedo. En Laredo se pasa masa peso que en el estow de Cali aya con esos chiquitos muertos de hambre. Ni el chino, ni el moreno, y menos un guero vay a ganar este piso onde el Indio tuvo y tiena y siepre tiendra el pasaje. Ya saben en donde mandarlos.
ReplyDeleteMexico needs onother lazzaro Cardenas
ReplyDeleteLazaro Cardenas was a general turned president, he rode on horse, or walked in most places of Mexico and saw the problems with each state and fixed them. He also fixed the oil problem mexico had at the time..
DeleteOne of a kind genuine guy from michoacan
In Mexico the minimum wage is about 2 dollars A DAY, if you are lucky enough to find a job, and it is a bag if maruchan if you are a Sicario and work diligently, for this "High Executive" to buy a pile of junk that had never worked with millions of dollars in PEMEX CASH that got deposited to his accounts is real nice. It may have been transferred to EPN`s banks already, they will have to follow the money. But Angelica Rivera is claiming her house, La Casa Blanca still may be worth something, hopefully a lot more than the 7 million dollars now that EPN has become a national treasury and goes out with "Uropian Models" much taller than him and with many less miles in the muffler than La Duena Rivera.
ReplyDeleteNooo, ya hasta ha de hablar en ingles el "sinor presidente", ojala y tambien le metan la riata al guey.
5.75 per day min wage in mx
Delete5.75 it is no wonder every one, wants to be in a criminal cartel.
Delete# 7:21
DeleteNot that much off from American minimum wage with costs of inflation.
Why do you think many people in the USA participate in drug trafficking as a side income.
Not all who engage are criminals of the First Degree. Many have legitimate jobs and careers who need the extra money to pay off student debt. Others are overworked and tired of working 2 jobs just to get by.
Economic growth has not been kind for many here in America. An issue which has created its own version of what's happening in Mexico. But not to those extremities.
4:52 $5.00+ dollars A DAY! IS ABOUT $25.00 DOLLARS A WEEK,
Deleteread again, it is not hourly wage, it only very select people get those jobs, most under employed or unemployed or garbage pickers make about 40 peisos a day six or seven days a week.
I applaud his efforts to prosecute those who like in many countries are not so squeaky clean.
ReplyDeleteTook him 6 months to do something.
ReplyDeleteNot counting Lazaro Cardenas and Benito Juarez it took everyone else 500-years to do nothing.
DeleteYou're being ridiculous.
DeleteHis magic wand was on back order. What planet do you live on?
DeleteIt's true ALMo has been offering poems, and no action on quelling the high homicide rate. Now let's see if his National Guard will clean house.
Delete7:19 you are just a little bitch looking for
Deleteinstant gratification, sorry, but no revolution is instant, even maruchan takes a minute to cook.
It is too soon to judge AMLO. Organized corruption is difficult to attack when very few prosecutors and judiciales are on the other side of the law. Mexico has had 500 years for corruption to infiltrate and utterly corrupt every facet of government and business. La gente are responsible for not paying law enforcement enough money.
ReplyDelete"They pay us nothing so we need some way to live"
"Why pay them more when they are going to rob us anyway?"
"I offer you a generous propina for my infraccion of driving a little too fast and now you accuse me of yet another crime. This is crazy!"
OCTAVIO PAZ
"Jódalos antes de que te jodan. Esta es la manera mexicana"
And you expect all this to change overnight? Curing this is going to be a drawn out painful process because there is very little trust.
A little mordida is tolerated but if someone is really trying to milk the cow, tell the comandante the transito demanded three times the ridiculous amount he demanded. Do you believe the supervisor will ever believe anything the transito will ever tell him in the future? The mistrust runs that deep.
What really needs to happen in Mexico is for an alliance of cartels to take over and stop the infighting. Get everyone playing from the same playbook and just concentrate on supplying the US with as much drugs as possible. Twenty years ago I used to drive to Monterrey from San Antonio but today such a trip is unthinkable.
ReplyDeleteWhere is my comment.
ReplyDelete7:43 you know perfectly,
Deletethe dog ate it...
10:50 his wife was waaay more interesting, Elena Garros, accused falsely of selling out the students murdered, kidnapped disappeared or tortured in prison by the real sellouts, some of the leaders of the student strike allied to Fernando Gutierrez Barrios director of the DFS.
DeleteBUT for the real propagandista sonababich in Mexico try "philosopher" propagandista Emilio Uranga, "analysis of being the mexican..." and other select works in BS.
2:42 Elena Garros was accused of snitching by the snitches of the strike council of Mexican students murdered in Mexico 68, they were tortured by director of DFS Fernando Gutierrez Barrios who warehoused Elena Garros and her daughter in a hotel, Octavio Paz was muy macho, he would not let her be the writer she wanted to be, she blamed "Los Tlaxcaltecas".
Delete10:50 Emilio Uranga lent his views to the government propaganda,
I see you share of them, he died alone like a dog, only one of his ex wives would take some food to him out of pity.