Thursday, July 31, 2008

Mexican Deputy AG quits

The second-in-command at Mexico’s attorney general's office resigned earlier today.

Noe Ramirez Mandujano had served as head of the Office for Special Investigation Into Organized Crime (SIEDO) for 20 months before quitting. It was reported that several factors led to Ramirez Mandujano’s resignation including the “poor results” against organized crime. (For instance, Mexican authorities admitted that money laundering “had shot up” in recent years.)

Violence between drug gangs has become one of the key reasons behind Mexico’s high levels of crime; six people were killed execution-style in one massacre on Thursday. Yet rumored corruption in Mexico’s attorney general's office became a more pressing issue in recent months:

A shake-up in the attorney general's office had been rumored since an alleged high-ranking operative for the Juarez cartel nearly succeeded in escaping from the agency's custody in June…

In April, the alleged leader of a kidnapping gang died in the custody of the (SIEDO). The agency said that Asael Alejandre Roldan committed suicide by hanging himself with his jacket. But a videotape obtained by local media showed Roldan dressed only in a T-shirt and jeans at the time of his arrest, raising suspicions about the circumstances surrounding his death.

Image- esmas.com

Sources (English)- Los Angeles Times, Reuters UK

Sources (Spanish)- El Universal, Excelsior, Milenio,


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