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| Humberto Moreira, former governor of Coahuila and ex-president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Foto: Cuartoscuro |
Translated by Rachel Alexander
A command made up of elite soldiers of the Mexican government was installed in Madrid, Spain. It goes into the bowels of the laws of that country and operates from a privileged, fortified base with all kinds of resources: the Mexican Embassy on the Iberian peninsula.
The mission has just one objective: to save one of the system's men [Humberto Moreira] from jail, one who has served his party's interests loyally and who helped the rise of the ruling political group to power, with political capital and, it's been said, with the capital of hard cash.
MV Note: Humberto Moreira was arrested in Spain, where he was living, as part of a probe into money laundering, and held without bail. He was governor of the state of Coahuila from 2005 to 2011. He served as head of the Party of the Institutional Revolution from March 2011 to December of that year, when he resigned amid accusations involving the huge debt his administration had left the state, which increased almost a hundredfold to about $2.5 billion by 2011, making Coahuila the state with the highest debt per capita in the country. His brother, Rubén, is Coahuila’s current governor.This "exemplary" soldier must be rescued because, whether he's guilty or not of the charges against him, all that matters is to free him, clear his name and the party's from any legal charge - as is done in Mexico, without batting an eye. Whatever the cost, there's money for this, and lots; there is influence, and lots; there are lawyers, and many.
With the orders sent from Mexico, the Embassy becomes the war room to save the soldier Humberto Moreira Valdés, ex-governor of Coahuila, ex-national president of the Institutional Revolution Party (PRI) just at the time when Enrique Peña Nieto was a presidential hopeful for the party and nobody could remove him from candidacy.
Only the scandal surrounding the soldier Moreira could take its toll on the Mexican presidential race. As the former Coahuila governor, he is accused of leaving his state with a public debt of 36 billion pesos [US$1.98 billion at current exchange rates], when the amount was 323 million pesos [US$17.7 million] at the beginning of his term, and of not explaining millions in diverted funds, even including falsification of documents to get bank loans by the treasury.
The PRI soldiers close ranks and Moreira is forced to resign. In this moment, winning the war is the most important thing, and the "Professor" [nickname for Moreira, who started his career as a teacher] knows it. The so-called "Son of the People" is wrapped in a tricolor flag on Dec. 2, 2011 and, in a five-minute ceremony, resigns to avoid "damaging my party."
"I did it because I come from the state which has given the PRI the best results on a national level, and I do it too because I trust in a man who is the hope of Mexico, which is Enrique Peña Nieto," he said. And he ended the moment of his alleged fall with a "Long live the PRI and Peña Nieto!"Later comes the deluge of information about the alleged embezzlement. United States authorities investigate the Moreira case, including for alleged money laundering. But in Mexico, almost one year later in November 2012, and with Peña now president-elect, the Attorney General's Office absolves him for lack of evidence. In Texas, nevertheless, the investigation continues to this day.
As a result, the "Professor" was detained Jan. 15, 2016 by Spanish authorities in the Barajas airport in Madrid, on charges of money laundering and embezzlement, an accusation driven, of course, by the U.S. courts.
Hence the operation to rescue him from the Soto del Real prison, directed from Mexico and organized by ambassador Roberta Lajous Vargas, a diplomat with more than three decades of experience in the Mexican foreign service.
"The entire embassy was geared up for Moreira, unlike for any other detainee," a source close to the case told the Madrid newspaper El País, revealing the new scandal surrounding the PRI soldier. The source said it wasn't only the former PRI national president who received all of the Spanish government's support, but also his family.
Seven days later, on Jan. 22, Moreira Valdés left Soto del Real with the sole restriction that he was not allowed to leave Spain. On Jan. 29, the Spanish prosecutor reports that it will not challenge his freedom so as to not reveal secret facts, and will continue gathering evidence. With this, the ex-leader of the PRI can leave that country when he wishes.
And he does: on Feb. 3, he arrives at the Mexico City International Airport and is received amidst cheers from supporters, but also amidst cries of "Thief, thief, thief!"
Two days later, already in his territory in Saltillo, the "Son of the People" is emboldened and says that if there were the possibility of re-election for governor, he would put himself forward for election. "If I had a chance for re-election as governor, I would submit my name," he said in a radio interview.
"Mission accomplished," the classics say...The PRI soldier is free and he wants revenge...Once again, he is hungry for power.
Climax:
Gonzalo Contreras Rincón is Mexican, from Querétaro. He is currently 29 years old and has been held in Spain since 2012 for alleged narcotrafficking, which he says he was accused of without proof. Graduated from the University of Madrid, Gonzalo was sentenced to nine years in prison and a fine of almost four million euros.
Since his incarceration, his mother, Ileana Rincón Koster, has asked Mexican authorities for help because the case against her child is full of "conjecture" and "prejudices." Nobody, she says, has helped her son's defense, and the Secretary of Foreign Relations has only expressed being alert to his legal status.
Currently, there are 62 Mexicans jailed in Spain, or at least registered with the consulate as having asked for aid. In none of the cases has the Mexican government been known to direct a rescue mission of the size deployed to save Moreira...It is from soldiers for soldiers, then. Spanish original
*Rita Varela Mayorga is deputy director of content for Sinembargo