Washington, Nov. 18, (dpa/GNA) – US Attorney General Bill Barr said Tuesday that he plans to drop a slew of drug trafficking charges against Mexico’s former defence minister Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda in a surprise turn in the high-profile case.
Barr and his Mexican counterpart Alejandro Gertz Manero said in a joint statement that the US will seek to drop the charges so Cienfuegos can be investigated by Mexican authorities.
“As the decision today reflects, we are stronger when we work together and respect the sovereignty of our nations and their institutions,” the joint statement said, without providing any commitment to charge Cienfuegos under Mexican law.
Last month US authorities arrested Cienfuegos, who served as defence minister from 2012 to 2018, alleging years of collusion with a Mexican cartel that enabled thousands of kilograms of narcotics to enter the US.
Prosecutors in New York said they obtained thousands of Blackberry Messenger communications that revealed a sprawling corruption network, in which Cienfuegos allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for assisting the H-2 cartel.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said his country recognized Barr’s decision. “We do not see it as a road to impunity, but as an act of respect for Mexico and the Mexican armed forces,” he added.
Ebrard said Mexican laws would be applied to the Cienfuegos case once he returned to his country.
Mexico had earlier expressed discontent over the ex-minister’s unexpected arrest, with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador even saying he would revise cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Cienfuegos, 72, is suspected of using powers to ensure military operations were not conducted against the H-2 cartel and initiating military operations against H-2’s rivals, prosecutors said last month.
The US government also said Cienfuegos warned the cartel of an informant who ultimately led to the murder of an H-2 member, whom the cartel incorrectly believed was assisting US authorities.
Cienfuegos was the latest Mexican official to face US corruption charges, as the Mexican government has for years battled against the powerful cartels and internal corruption.
GNA