JAKARTA - The security authorities of the United States (US) arrested the former Minister of Defense of Mexico, General Salvador Cienfuegos. The man was arrested on the orders of the US Narcotics Agency (DEA).
Cienfuegos was arrested while with his family at the airport. The arrests took place three weeks before the US presidential election on November 3, 2020.
Cienfuegos was a minister during President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration. He is one of the most influential figures in the war against drug cartels in Mexico.
However, several former officials who were involved in the war on drugs in Mexico were involved in the illegal business. Information on Cienfuegos' arrest was confirmed by a number of sources from the US and Mexican diplomats who were contacted, Thursday, October 16.
US President Donald Trump, who is running again, has made war on cartels one of his priorities. However, since taking office in 2017, Trump has not announced many accomplishments.
Current Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the US Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau had conveyed information about the arrest. He announced the info via Twitter.
"The Consulate General in Los Angeles will provide information on the reasons for the arrest in the next few hours. We will offer consular assistance to the suspect. I will share the progress later," Ebrard said.
A source from Mexican diplomats confirmed information that Cienfuegos was "detained at Los Angeles Airport at the request of the DEA." Information from US diplomats also confirmed the arrest warrant issued by the DEA as the basis for the arrest.
According to sources from Mexican diplomatic circles, members of Cienfuegos' family, who traveled with him during the arrest, have been released. The DEA spokesman said he did not know further information about the arrests.
He also could not confirm whether Cienfuegos planned to leave or had just arrived at the airport. He also did not know whether the one traveling with him was a family member or someone else.
The US Department of Defense has not yet responded to questions regarding the arrests. "The arrests will have implications for Mexico," said military observer Raul Benitez.
Official in the drug business
Cienfuegos was defense minister in the government of President Peta Nieto until his term ended. Pena Nieto served as president for six years until December 2018.
Many ministers and members of their supporting parties have been involved in legal cases, including corruption and organized crime. Under the command of Cienfuegos, Mexican soldiers are believed to be responsible for the execution of a number of suspects without going through trial.
Of the several cases, one of which is the Tlatlaya massacre that killed 22 members of the drug cartel in 2014. Security authorities in Mexico last month issued arrest warrants for soldiers involved in the 2014 kidnapping and alleged murder of 43 students in Tlatlaya, a city known as a hub. heroin trade.
The army is quite involved in eradicating drug cartels in Mexico and the public thinks they are not easily bribed by drug kingpins. However, a number of soldiers in Sinaloa are reportedly linked to the Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman cartel, which is currently in a US prison.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador suspects that many previous government officials were involved in corruption cases. President Lopez Obrador is still deploying troops to eradicate the cartel, which was responsible for the deaths of nearly 35,000 people in Mexico last year.
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