In stunning move, U.S. to drop drugs case against ex-Mexican defense minister
Source: Reuters
NOVEMBER 17, 2020 4:31 PM
UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
By Drazen Jorgic, Mark Hosenball
3 MIN READ
MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors will drop drug charges against ex-Mexican Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos and turn over the investigation to Mexico, saying sensitive foreign policy considerations outweighed the interest in pressing the case.
The surprise decision to dismiss the charges in the politically explosive case was announced in a joint statement on Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Mexicos attorney generals office.
The United States has determined that sensitive and important foreign policy considerations outweigh the governments interest in pursuing the prosecution of the defendant, prosecutors from the U.S. Eastern District of New York said in a court document unsealed on Tuesday.
. . .
The arrest of Cienfuegos, who for years worked closely with U.S. counterparts on highly sensitive cross-border criminal matters, put a severe strain on security ties between the two countries.
Read more: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mexico-corruption-usa/in-shock-move-u-s-abandons-drugs-case-against-ex-mexican-defense-minister-idUKKBN27X318
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,988 posts)sandensea
(21,624 posts)God only knows how many more Cienfuegoses there are in those lists.
mpcamb
(2,870 posts)sandensea
(21,624 posts)I suspect those two bad hombres know each other.
sandensea
(21,624 posts)Colombian kingmaker - and a favorite of both GOP lawmakers and kingpins (as you know better than anyone here, Judi!).
Judi Lynn
(160,516 posts)Trump has his connections, Uribe was BFF with Pablo Escobar, mega criminal for ages, in Medellin, as governor, and in the Senate, etc.
Completely unnaturally dead inside, too. So creepy, sandensea!
PSPS
(13,590 posts)Sneederbunk
(14,289 posts)a la izquierda
(11,791 posts)Shit is...not good in Mexico. I had some vague hope the human rights issues might improve somewhat under AmLo, but thats not the case.
This is just a new level of weird, given the animosity towards Mexico from our government.