A Paraguayan judge ordered preventive detention for Hernán Bermúdez Requena, the former Secretary of Security of Tabasco—accused in Mexico of allegedly being linked to the La Barredora criminal group—during a first hearing in which he refused to be voluntarily extradited.
The Paraguayan Prosecutor’s Office reported that Bermúdez Requena’s first hearing took place on Saturday afternoon, and the extradition process to Mexico will begin, which takes approximately 60 days, according to local press reports.
The former official left Mexico last January and is accused of “criminal association, extortion, and express kidnapping.” Bermúdez served as Secretary of Security of Tabasco during the administration of Adán Augusto López, leader of the Morena party in the Senate and close to former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Mexico has requested the extradition of Hernán Bermúdez Requena after he was detained by Paraguayan security forces in collaboration with Mexican authorities in a luxurious neighborhood of Mariano Roque Alonso, authorities from both countries reported this Saturday.
A federal source close to the case, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak, said the extradition process was already underway.
Following the arrest of his former aide, legislator Adán Augusto López said in a statement this Saturday that he is “fully willing to appear before the authorities.”
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña warned this Saturday in a message on the social media platform X that his country “will not be a haven for criminals.”
The president released a video of the arrest operation in which agents with long weapons and military gear can be seen trying to break down the door of the home where Bermúdez Requena was being held.
Who is Hernán Bermúdez?
Hernán Bermúdez Requena was the former Secretary of Security of Tabasco during the administration of Adán Augusto López Hernández as governor of the state. He is accused of founding the criminal group known as “La Barredora,” an organization with ties to the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel.
Prior to assuming control of Tabasco’s security, he served in the López Hernández administration as director of the Investigative Police of the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE). He also served as director of Public Security in 1992 and at the Tabasco Social Rehabilitation Center in 1995.
Bermúdez Requena resigned from his position in January 2024, following violent incidents and a wave of robberies and roadblocks that began to be reported in Tabasco in late 2023.
Source: animalpolitico
