Background:

Prosecutions of government corruption initiated under the Calderon administration are falling apart in the early months of the Peña Nieto administration, leading to accusations among Mexico’s political elite. On one side, PRI officials say the Calderon government abused its authority, relied on untrustworthy witnesses, and targeted politically convenient officials. On the other side of the debate are concerns that the PRI is allowing impunity for corruption and harming relations with US agencies that provided evidence and want corrupt officials out of government. Regardless of whether the officials named were or were not working with transnational criminal organizations, the Mexican government’s failure to successfully investigate and prosecute high-level corruption should be a source of concern. Rumors of high level corruption have only increased since ex-President Felipe Calderon declared a war on violent drug trafficking organizations in Mexico upon taking office in December 2006.

In 2008, the Calderon administration set into motion “Operacion Limpieza,” (Operation Clean-up) a major effort to take down corrupt high-level government officials in Mexico. Its most high-profile arrest came on 20 November 2008, when police detained Noé Ramírez Mandujano, the former head of head of SIEDO (the Subprocuraduría de Investigación Especializada en Delincuencia Organizada or Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime), the very agency tasked with combatting major organized crime.

On 15 April 2013, at the behest of current Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam, authorities released Ramírez Mandujano. He originally came under suspicion largely thanks to testimony from anonymous protected sources, including one known at that time only as “Jennifer.” Murillo Karam said his office could not find evidence to corroborate the informants’ information. We now know that Jennifer is actually Roberto Lopez Najera, a star witness cited in numerous prosecution cases, most notably the one against Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal, who faces charges of drug trafficking for the Beltran-Leyva Cartel in the U.S. pending extradition. Critics of the process note that Lopez Najera only had information about the Beltran-Leyva Cartel because he worked as an attorney for La Barbie, before turning on them in the wake of his brother’s murder.

Jennifer and another source, known by the codename “Felipe,” reported that the Beltran Leyva Cartel paid Mandujano and other SIEDO personnel to provide them with confidential inside information about SIEDO investigations. Along with Ramírez Mandujano, police arrested a SIEDO agent, Luis Manuel Aguilar Flores, and Ramírez Mandujano’s secretary, Beatriz Veramendi.

In December 2012, a judge in Nayarit freed Veramendi in a hearing that provided the first inkling of Murillo Karam’s opposition to the use of protected witness testimony as a basis for arrest. In Veramendi’s case, anonymous sources indicated that she was aware of Ramírez Mandujano’s corruption and sometimes held the cash from the cartel for her boss. A court released her after being jailed for just ten days, and Attorney General Murillo Karam said with respect to her case that statements made by protected witnesses without substantial corroborating evidence are not sufficient to convict. He also asserted that his office would move away from holding people in “arraigo” (temporary detention prior to the filing of formal charges). Courts started using arraigo in organized crime cases to prevent suspected criminals from fleeing during an investigation. Mexican media applauded Murillo Karam’s statement when Veramendi was released but if the Attorney General is unable to find and convict corrupt police, military and civil servants, public sentiment will certainly change.

On 17 April 2013, a judge also freed General Tomás Ángeles Dauahare, another person alleged to have aided the Beltran Leyva Cartel nabbed in Operacion Limpieza. Informants said Dauahare used his influence and resources in the military to protect the landing of drug-laden planes at the Cuernavaca, Cancun and Toluca airports. Police took Dauahare into custody on 15 May 2012, on information provided by Jennifer and another source, known as “Mateo.” Prior to his arrest, there was speculation that if Enrique Peña Nieto won the 2012 presidential election, he might select Dauahare as his Secretary of Defense. Some political analysts spread rumors that Dauahare’s persecution was a means of indirectly attacking EPN.
Jennifer swore that he served as a go-between when La Barbie wanted access to the Cancun airport, saying he met with Dauahare, who recommended contacting General Rubén Pérez Ramírez, in charge of that region. Jennifer says he gave Perez Ramirez US$30,000, to which the general responded that “he wasn’t asking for money, but that gifts are always appreciated.”

In the case of General Dauahare, not all the testimony against him came from anonymous sources. Major Arturo González Rodríguez was a member of the Presidential guard arrested in 2008 on information provided by Jennifer, alleging that González Rodríguez received US$100,000 a month to keep the Beltran Leyva Cartel leadership informed of Sedena operations. In turn, Gonzalez Rodriguez reported on the alleged corruption of Dauhare and General Roberto Dawe González. (The latter supposedly conspired to take possession of military vehicles, claiming to recycle them, and passing them on to criminal organizations.) Subsequent investigations could not locate proof of any of the specific allegations against González Rodríguez; an inventory showed that no arms were missing at the arms storage where he worked and alleged spirited away material for the cartel; a search of business registrations could not locate a private security business alleged owned by González Rodríguez; moreover, army records indicate that González Rodríguez, in fact, never had access to highly confidential information about Presidential security. Finally, when authorities arrested and questioned Beltran Leyva leaders El Indio and La Barbie, they did not recognize Major González.

Although Ramírez Mandujano believes U.S. authorities instigated Operation Limpieza (Clean-Up), providing some initial information to Mexico, he lay the blame squarely at the feet of his Mexican compatriots. Almost simultaneous with his arrest, the U.S. approved US$400 million in funding for the Merida Initiative to aid Mexico in combatting drugs trafficking, putting pressure on the Calderon government to find and prosecute high-level officials collaborating with transnational organized crime. Ramírez Mandujano argues that Marisela Morales, the previous Attorney General, conspired to offer him as a scapegoat simply to show progress to her American counterparts, a sentiment shared by Dauahare. Dauahare indicated he is considering legal action against members of the Calderon cabinet for his unjust prosecution.

In the meantime, the other officials taken down by Jennifer’s testimony are awaiting a ruling on their requests to be released. It appears extremely unlikely that a judge would decide their cases any differently.

It is clear that Murillo Karam is making a definitive shift in judicial procedure. He is against detention without substantive evidence. He is against anonymous testimony and testimony from witnesses who are paid by the government or have other conflicts of interest. In theory, this sounds like an improvement from the standpoint of human rights and criminal justice. However, the result may be fewer prosecutions and the liberation of more people tied to organized crime.

Now it will be up to Murillo Karam and his staff to ensure that they take positive steps in identifying and addressing public corruption, bringing cases from investigation to conviction. For Murillo and EPN it is going to be much easier to undo the work of Calderon and Morales than it will be to rid the ranks of corruption.