MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A former Mexican governor was extradited on Thursday from the United States, where he had been held for nearly two years on charges of embezzlement and criminal association, Mexican authorities said in a statement.
Cesar Duarte, who governed the state of Chihuahua from 2010 to 2016, was arrested in 2020 by U.S. Marshals in Miami, Florida.
Duarte is accused of acting in a group to divert more than 96 million pesos, or the then-equivalent of $6.5 million, from the government between 2011 and 2014.
The former governor’s extradition was the “result of the close collaboration” between Mexico and the United States, authorities said, coming the same day six Mexicans were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for alleged cartel involvement.
Current Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos said in a message on Twitter she “celebrates” the decision, adding that her administration would not “forgive or forget” the actions of past governors.
(Reporting by Diego Ore and Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Sandra Maler)
