Mexico’s Attorney General on Tuesday urged lawmakers to strip the Governor of Tamaulipas, Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca, of his immunity over alleged links to organized crime and money laundering. The leader of the majority in Congress Ignacio Mier Velazco attached a copy of the letter in a recent Twitter post saying that Congress has received the attorney general’s request and that lawmakers had probable cause to investigate.
García responded in a Twitter post saying, “I have never broken the law,” and that he had never been notified of what he believes to be politically motivated charges. He continued:
Morena is leaking a supposed accusation against me. Factional use of justice again where there is no crime. A political attack is being orchestrated. I will wait to be notified [of the allegations] in order to have details and establish my position. I have never violated the law. I will defend myself against any abuse.
Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero guaranteed full transparency throughout the trial. “There won’t be a lack of transparency, there won’t be any kind of political revenge,” Manero said. He continued, “…The trial will be public before the Congress with all the evidence of those who made the complaint.”
Tamualipas is among the most dangerous areas of Mexico due to heavy gang and cartel activity. Despite being the shortest route into the US, Tamualipas is notorious for its gangs, which have been known to abduct, extort and kill migrants journeying to the US border. In January 2019 authorities discovered 24 corpses—15 of which were charred—in the town of Miguel Aleman in Tamualipas. In August 2010, authorities found 72 migrants who had been massacred by the Zetas cartel, which was one of the country’s most powerful cartels at that time.
Violence in Mexico has skyrocketed in recent years as 34,523 murders were documented in 2020 while 34,608 were recorded in 2019.
