Conditions and corruption in Mexico sound vaguely familiar to well…..home…The United States….sigh
Report: Juarez Cartel Used Shell Companies to Finance Mexican President’s Election
An in-depth investigation has revealed that through the use of shell companies, members of the Juarez Cartel financed the political campaign of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. The cartel members appear to have also used government programs to launder money and profit form their networks of contacts.
Breitbart: The bombshell revelation was made this week by the independent news outlet Aristegui Noticias who claim that top officials of the Juarez Cartel financed thousands of cash cards that were handed out by Mexico’s Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) during the 2012 political campaign that resulted in the victory of Enrique Pena Nieto. According to the Mexican journalists, the cash cards were provided by a company called Monex. They were reported to be financed through a series of shell corporations by key players with the Juarez Cartel.
Through a three part series, the Mexican news organization identified Rodolfo David “El Consul” Avila Cordero as a key figure in the financial scandal that implicates the leading figures in Mexico’s ruling party the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI).
Avila Cordero was arrested in 2005 in Mexico City in connection with the seizure of almost $750,000 in cash. At the time authorities had identified him as a top tier operative with the Juarez (Carrillo Fuente) Cartel who worked as their financial operator an a key figure in their connections with Colombian drug lords. Avila Cordero had earned the nickname “The Consul” because of his links to high ranking officials within the Mexican government and acted as an ambassador of sorts, Aristegui Noticias reported.
Eight years after his arrest, Avila Cordero became a contractor for a government funded program called Crusade Against Hunger. Using a company called Conclave SA de CV and Prodasa SA de CV, Cordero was able to secure more than $396 million pesos or $25 million in government contracts through rigged bidding processes by government officials.
The Crusade Against Hunger is a pet project of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto who claimed that with that program he would improve the quality of life for his people.
According to the investigation by the Mexican journalists, Conclave and Prodasa are shell companies that do not have real offices or staff.
As previously reported by Breitbart Texas, Carmen Aristegui, the founder of Aristegui Noticias, was a top rated radio journalists in Mexico, however her investigation into properties given to Pena Nieto as bribes led to her news outlet firing her and her staff. Despite being off the air, Aristegui continues reporting through her website.
As part of the investigation Aristegui Noticias also confirmed that Conclave was involved in the trading of soccer players with European soccer clubs.
Mexico’s ‘Anti-Corruption’ Guerrillas Declare War on Politicians
But one state governor said the shotgun-toting gunmen are a ‘joke’
InSight: An armed group declaring war on Mexico‘s corruption has sprung up in a regional hotbed of organized crime and insurgency, where public distrust in state institutions continues to stir conflict.
The group, which calls itself the Insurgency for Institutional and Social Rescue (Insurgencia por el Rescate Institucional y Social — IRIS), has declared a “war” against politicians with alleged ties to organized crime in the southern state of Michoacán, Proceso reported.
IRIS, which has released at least three short videos on social media, recently granted Proceso an interview with its representative and spokesperson, who calls himself José María.
“Our objectives are corrupt politicians,” María stated. “We will not kill them, we are not terrorists, we are not assassins. We will expose them.” Although armed, María told Proceso that the insurgents will only use their weapons for self-defense.
The group has accused Michoacán governor Silvano Aureoles and former Michoacán security commissioner Alfredo Castillo of links with drug-trafficking organizations.
IRIS first announced its existence via banners and social media postings in February 2016. This was around the same time other banners appeared, announcing the creation of the “Nueva Familia” organization, a group that some government officials said had criminal ties.
Following the publication of Proceso‘s report, Michoacán Attorney General José Martín Godoy Castro stated that there was no evidence of a guerrilla insurgency in Michoacan, and that this was a case of false video recordings. State governor Silviano Aureoles Conejo also dismissed the group as a “joke.”
InSight Crime analysis
It is so far unclear whether or not this new armed group should be considered a genuine threat, or whether they are a small mix of idealists who pose no danger to the state.
As security analyst Alejandro Hope has pointed out, although IRIS appears to be poorly armed and low in numbers, the group should not be immediately be given the brush-off.
While the group’s motives may appear to be too vague to appeal to a large following, “anyone looking at the autodefensas [the self-defense forces of Michoacán, which IRIS members participated in] in early 2013 would have probably said the same thing,” Hope stated.
The comparison is a significant one. Michoacán’s vigilante movement was created to fight violent organized criminal groups in the region. Although it managed to gain significant power and local support, it later became embroiled in drug trafficking and in 2014 it was integrated into a questionable rural police force.
The disappearance of 43 students in the nearby state of Guerrero further fueled widespread distrust of the government, sparking concern that this dissatisfaction could feed broader insurgent movements.
Michoacán remains in disarray, and its weak institutions are unable to prevent numerous small armed groups from taking shape. With tensions still bubbling under the surface, how much influence IRIS or other new armed groups will amass remains to be seen.
