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A few years ago, US officials overheard a member of a Mexican gang refer to a powerful “godfather” and realized that it was a familiar face.
US federal agents watched him for months, suspecting that the “godfather” who played a central role in the drug trade was a high-ranking official in the Mexican military.
One day, a Mexican gang member was suddenly heard saying that “the godfather” was on television at the time. Agents quickly checked and found that the person speaking on television was Salvador Cienfuegos, the Mexican defense minister at the time, according to four US officials involved in the investigation.
Cienfuegos headed the Mexican Ministry of Defense between 2012 and 2018, under President Enrique Peña Nieto, who left office two years ago.
US officials have finally determined that the mysterious magnate “defends” one of the most violent drug cartels in the country as the leader in charge of Mexico’s fight against organized crime.
On October 15, Cienfuegos was arrested by US officials at a Los Angeles airport while traveling with his family. The former defense minister was charged with money laundering, conspiracy to produce and distribute tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana in the United States from December 2015 to February 2017.
Salvador Cienfuegos as Minister of Defense in Mexico in July 2017. Image: Reuters.
The arrest was the result of a multi-year investigation called Operation The Godfather. Authorities say Cienfuegos has allowed H-2, a criminal group that commits many violent acts in Mexico, to transport drugs by sea without being detected.
In exchange for lucrative bribes, Cienfuegos also ordered the Mexican army, a key force in the national anti-drug campaign, not to carry out raiding operations against H-2, but against gangs. his adversary group, at the same time that he alerted the H-2 of the American investigations. He was also accused of introducing gang leaders to other corrupt Mexican officials.
Since 2006, Mexico has allowed the military to become the main force in the war on drugs, after the police were deemed powerless and corrupt against gang crimes. Soldiers are deployed in areas where organized crime rages. The Secretary of Defense was overseeing that effort.
In December 2017, Mexico passed a security law that reinforced the role of the military in the fight against drugs, prompting the United Nations and human rights groups to protest. They warn that the measure will lead to an abuse of power, leave the army in the streets indefinitely, and militarize police operations in the near future.
Cienfuegos played a key role in persuading politicians to pass laws, claiming that the military is the only force that effectively confronts organized crime.
Under the supervision of Cienfuegos, the Mexican military has been accused of carrying out false executions, including the shooting of 22 members of a drug gang in Tlatlaya, central Mexico, in June 2014..
The arrest of Cienfuegos does not appear to be a cooperative activity between the United States government and Mexico. It stems from the US-led investigation in late 2013 of a Mexican drug gang by Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, once a leader of the once infamous Beltrán-Leyva drug gang.
Although a group of US agents at the time identified Cienfuegos as a partner of the Meza Flores gang, law enforcement agencies in the United States and Mexico did not initiate an investigation into him.
But in 2015, the Cienfuegos issue increased. The United States overheard at least two conversations about a powerful man in the underworld called “the godfather” and identified him as Cienfuegos. The H-2 gang is related to the Meza Flores group.
In reaction to the US defense of the former defense secretary, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador vowed to suspend anyone in government regarding the allegations, but stressed the need to avoid instability. “We are not going to cover up for anyone,” he said, before expressing his support for the current leaders of the Mexican army and navy, stating that he personally carefully evaluated and secured them. be an honest person.
During an interrogation in the Los Angeles court on October 16, the judge allowed US officials to continue to detain Cienfuegos, at least until a formal hearing next week. He could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Military commanders in Mexico have great autonomy, rarely “bow” to political pressure, and are often defended by the president. “No Mexican defense minister has been arrested,” said former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda. “The Mexican defense minister is someone who not only runs the army, but reports directly to the president. No one is above him except the president.”
Because of that enormous power, analysts have long suspected that some of the top leaders of the Mexican military are corrupt. But given his status, no one dares to investigate, at least in Mexico.
“This is a big problem,” said Alejandro Madrazo, a professor at the CIDE University in Mexico. “The military has become more corrupt and abusive since the beginning of the war on drugs. It was the first time they were ‘touched’, but not by the Mexican government, but by US officials.” .
Phuong Vu (Follow NYTimes / Reuters)
