Former cartel boss says money belongs to Mexico, not US: lawyer
by the El Reportero’s wire services
Convicted drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán wants his money to go to Mexico’s indigenous communities, a lawyer for the former Sinaloa Cartel leader said on Wednesday.
José Luis González Meza said that his client told his mother and sisters via telephone that he was aware that the United States was seeking to seize US $14 billion of his assets.
Guzmán “said the money doesn’t belong to the United States but to the government of Mexico,” the lawyer told a press conference.
González added that “El Chapo” expressed his full support for his wealth to be returned to Mexico on the condition that President López Obrador distribute it to indigenous communities.
The announcement of Guzmán’s wish came two and a half months after López Obrador said that his government would seek to seize the former drug lord’s assets.
To that end, the Senate is proposing the creation of a binational commission to negotiate the return of assets seized from Guzmán and any other Mexican criminals who are tried and convicted in the United States.
The president said on Thursday he liked the idea. “. . . it looks good to me. I applaud the announcement.”
González also said yesterday that he is seeking Guzmán’s repatriation to Mexico. He was extradited to the United States in January 2017 and found guilty on trafficking charges in February.
During his 11-week-trial, jurors heard tales of grisly killings, political payoffs, high living and a massive drug-smuggling operation that resulted in huge quantities of cocaine and other drugs crossing Mexico’s northern border.
At a sentencing hearing in July, federal Judge Brian Cogan handed down a prison term of life plus 30 years and ordered the 62-year-old former narco to forfeit US $12.6 billion, an amount that represents the total amount of illegal drugs the jury determined he shipped to the U.S.
Guzmán is now incarcerated is the so-called “Supermax” prison in Florence, Colorado, the United States’ most secure penitentiary.
Source: EFE (sp)
Former Mexican police officers request million-dollar compensation
Thirteen former Mexican policemen implicated in the disappearance of the 43 student teachers of Ayotzinapa, released without charges in an irregular manner, are now demanding millions in compensation, denounced the Governor of Guerrero, Hector Astudillo, on Friday.
Astudillo called on judges to act in accordance with the law and the seriousness of the acts, in the face of the imminent release of another 50 alleged perpetrators.
This Friday it was reported that in Iguala, search teams have recorded the disappearance of 1,200 people since 2010.
The former officers are demanding compensation from the municipality of Iguala of 13 million pesos for lost earnings, revealed Mayor Antonio Jaimes Herrera, who warned that the figure could skyrocket, leaving the city in ruins, if more officers are exonerated.
The release of Gildardo Lopez, ‘El Gil,’ from the Altiplano prison, by decision of Judge Samuel Ventura, has aggravated this chaotic situation, with the expected release of fifty more police officers and civilians who will also demand compensation, search groups emphasized.
Astudillo condemned the exoneration of El Gil, the main suspect in the case, and recognized leader of the United Warriors hitmen, responsible for hundreds murders, and urged the authorities to halt the releases.
International child pornography raid shocks Panama
Panamanian society woke up reeling this Thursday after learning of the seizure of alleged child pornography material in five provinces during a raid carried out simultaneously in seven countries.
Over 1,100 incriminating pieces of evidence contained in DVDs, computers and other digital media were seized yesterday during the 13 raids in Chiriqui (west), Los Santos and Cocle (center), Panama Oeste and the capital, according to a Public Ministry statement.
The evidence is currently being subjected to expert analysis to determine its link to events.
Despite the substantial material found, so far only one person has been arrested, reported prosecutors involved in the investigations, without mentioning a name or nationality. At a press conference they noted that the arrest took place in the capital neighborhood of Condado del Rey.
