(Source: Tamaulipas government website)
(CNN Spanish) -
The director of the Financial Intelligence Unit of Mexico, Santiago Nieto Castillo, accused this Friday the governor of the state of Tamaulipas, Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca, of having participated in a series of irregularities that include obtaining more of half a million dollars that he did not declare between 2015 and 2019, as well as the alleged purchase of real estate through shell companies used by the Sinaloa Cartel.
Nieto made these statements during a virtual hearing of the Chamber of Deputies called to analyze the request of the Attorney General's Office to defy the governor, whom he points out of participating in organized crime activities and operations with resources of illicit origin.
Cabeza de Vaca, who belongs to the opposition National Action Party, attended the hearing with his lawyer but did not speak during it.
Hours later he defended himself through a video he posted on Twitter.
There he criticized Nieto's report and indicated that information was presented at the meeting that "is not related to the case."
And he added: "Worse still, which also included notoriously false data and guesses."
In the same video, the governor said: «The presentation of the head of the FIU, exceeding his functions, proves once again that this is all about a political onslaught for electoral purposes and a media lynching to distract attention from the serious problems that today are had in our country.
The details of the accusation of Francisco Cabeza de Vaca
During the diligence, Nieto said that the FIU detected that the governor, whom he only named as Francisco "N", did not declare the equivalent of about US $ 515,939 as part of his income between 2015 and 2019. The hearing was held virtually , but it was broadcast on the social networks of the Congress.
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Nieto added that the governor would also have used shell companies to buy properties that were obtained with resources possibly obtained illegally.
Nieto said that the information about the alleged use of mechanisms of the Sinaloa Cartel to launder money came from a complaint that the FIU filed against those companies during the previous government.
However, he clarified: "This does not mean that the Sinaloa Cartel is related to Mr. Francisco 'N', what it means is that the companies that were used ... are companies that have been used by organized crime."
The FIU is part of the Mexican Ministry of Finance.
The Attorney General's Office of Mexico presented the request for the impeachment of Cabeza de Vaca before the Chamber of Deputies in February.
At that time, the governor declared that the investigation against him was the product of political persecution by the government.
The attorney general Alejandro Gertz Manero assured then that there will be no lack of transparency in the case and that this does not represent political revenge.
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also referred to the petition for violation and said that his government is not persecuting anyone.
Cabeza de Vaca did not respond to a request for comment sent this Friday by CNN, made by both emails and social networks.