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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Tamaulipas: Governor's Bodyguard Detained |
| 2010-07-07 |
| Google Translate A bodyguard for the outgoing Tamaulipas governor, Eugenio Hernandez, with alleged ties with organized crime was placed in 40 days' detention Tuesday by the ProcuradurÃÂa General de la República (PGR), the Mexican national attorney generals' office, according to Mexican press accounts. Marino Ismael Ortega, was apparently arrested after the US Department of Treasury offocials complained that Ortega had ties to the Mexican criminal gang, Los Zetas. Under Mexican Federal law, individuals can be detained without charge pending investigation of charges for up to 40 days, or until they are formally cleared. The Mexican news daily, La Reforma reported in editions just prior to the July 4th statewide election that Ortega had been placed under arrest following the accusation by officials in Washington. However, a few hours later a Tamaulipas official, Secretaria de Seguridad Pública (SSP), Jose Soberon, announced that Ortega was investigated and had been already cleared of all charges. Officials said that Ortega had up until a few months ago been involved in activities with Los Zetas, but Soberon pointed out and had travelled numerous times to the United States with no problems. In the detention order, Ortega was ordered to actively assist in the investigation while in detention. Tamaulipas has recently been the focus of oragnized crime, when the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) candidate for governor, Rudolfo Torre Cantu, was murdered in a precision executed assasination. His brother took over the campaign and won by a two to one margin over his Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) opponent. Ortega is not under investigation for the murder. |
| Posted by:badanov |