Mexico's president plans to release a former state governor convicted on drug trafficking and money laundering charges in both the United States and Mexico.
President Lopez Obrador spoke to media on Sunday in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, claiming he is working to secure a pardon for former governor Mario Villanueva. The Mexican president claims the governor is eligible for a pardon due to his advanced age. Noticaribe.mx Reported.
“If he wants, if he really wants, he can get a pardon. He can get a pardon from us,” Lopez Obrador said. “It's just a technicality, if he has no pending cases and the sentence has already been served, he can get a pardon.”
Lopez Obrador said Villanueva deserved a pardon given his age and that he was already exhausted by “many legal procedures.”
Mexican authorities arrested Villanueva in 2001 in a drug trafficking investigation into the state's use as a corridor for cocaine into Mexico. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice Delivered Villanueva was charged with drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to some of the charges and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, but a U.S. judge reduced his final sentence to nearly 11 years in prison by deducting time served in Mexico. After serving his sentence in the United States, Villanueva was extradited to Mexico, where he is being charged with money laundering, drug trafficking and organized crime.
Due to his ill health, judges have allowed the president to serve periods of house arrest. Various courts have rejected the president's requests for pardon and amnesty in 2023 and most recently in June, but President Lopez Obrador claims he is trying to change that.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist at Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas' Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. Twitter and FacebookContact details: email address.
Brandon Darby is Managing Director and Editor in Chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas' Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart executives. Twitter and FacebookContact details: email address.
