News (Media Awareness Project) - US: Ex-Mexico Official Went to School in Juarez |
| Title: | US: Ex-Mexico Official Went to School in Juarez |
| Published On: | 2010-05-10 |
| Source: | El Paso Times (TX) |
| Fetched On: | 2010-05-18 09:18:52 |
EX-MEXICO OFFICIAL WENT TO SCHOOL IN JUAREZ
Former Mexican governor Mario Villanueva Madrid, who was extradited
Saturday to the United States, spent his college years in Juarez.
Villanueva, 61, graduated from the University of Chihuahua in 1975,
and also attended the former Hermanos Escobar Superior School of
Agriculture in Juarez during the 1970s.
Mexican officials said he graduated as an agronomist, and had
relatives in Juarez while in school.
U.S. authorities indicted him on drug conspiracy charges alleging that
he received protection money from the Carrillo Fuentes cartel. He
denied the allegations.
He is the highest-level former official that Mexico has extradited to
the United States.
Villanueva is one of several Mexican governors mentioned in the 1999
Mexican federal arrest warrant known as the "maxi proceso," one of the
documents the Mexican government submitted for an extradition hearing
in El Paso involving another suspect.
Chihuahua state officials shut down the Hermanos Escobar school in
1996 amid much controversy. Since its founding in 1906, the private
school was a hotbed of political activism. The school also
distinguished itself for graduating some of the country's top
agronomists.
Mexican officials said several of the school's former students got
involved in drug-trafficking. The ex-governor's extradition is the
culmination of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement
Administration.
DEA officials said Villanueva is suspected of receiving and laundering
as much as $30 million in drug proceeds during his term as governor.
He served from 1993 to 1999, the years when the Carrillo Fuentes
cartel grew exponentially.
During Villanueva's administration, drug traffickers used speedboats
to transport cocaine from Colombia to Cancun, Quintana Roo, drug
investigators said. Before he was governor, Villanueva served as a
mayor and senator in Quintana Roo.
In 2002, U.S. authorities indicted a former accounts representative
with Lehman Brothers who pleaded guilty three years later of helping
Villanueva launder $11 million.
Former Mexican governor Mario Villanueva Madrid, who was extradited
Saturday to the United States, spent his college years in Juarez.
Villanueva, 61, graduated from the University of Chihuahua in 1975,
and also attended the former Hermanos Escobar Superior School of
Agriculture in Juarez during the 1970s.
Mexican officials said he graduated as an agronomist, and had
relatives in Juarez while in school.
U.S. authorities indicted him on drug conspiracy charges alleging that
he received protection money from the Carrillo Fuentes cartel. He
denied the allegations.
He is the highest-level former official that Mexico has extradited to
the United States.
Villanueva is one of several Mexican governors mentioned in the 1999
Mexican federal arrest warrant known as the "maxi proceso," one of the
documents the Mexican government submitted for an extradition hearing
in El Paso involving another suspect.
Chihuahua state officials shut down the Hermanos Escobar school in
1996 amid much controversy. Since its founding in 1906, the private
school was a hotbed of political activism. The school also
distinguished itself for graduating some of the country's top
agronomists.
Mexican officials said several of the school's former students got
involved in drug-trafficking. The ex-governor's extradition is the
culmination of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement
Administration.
DEA officials said Villanueva is suspected of receiving and laundering
as much as $30 million in drug proceeds during his term as governor.
He served from 1993 to 1999, the years when the Carrillo Fuentes
cartel grew exponentially.
During Villanueva's administration, drug traffickers used speedboats
to transport cocaine from Colombia to Cancun, Quintana Roo, drug
investigators said. Before he was governor, Villanueva served as a
mayor and senator in Quintana Roo.
In 2002, U.S. authorities indicted a former accounts representative
with Lehman Brothers who pleaded guilty three years later of helping
Villanueva launder $11 million.
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