A federal judge rejected the request for early release from former Veracruz governor Javier Duarte de Ochoa, ruling that he does not meet the requirements stipulated by the National Criminal Enforcement Law.
Ángela Zamorano Herrera, the presiding judge at the Federal Criminal Justice Center in the North Prison, stated that since all the requirements of Article 141 of the law were not met, the request for early release was deemed unfounded.
The former governor of Veracruz filed an appeal seeking to extend the effects of the provisional suspension he had previously obtained.
The former governor of Veracruz was born on September 19, 1973, in Córdoba, Veracruz. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), he was elected federal deputy by majority vote in the LXI Legislature (2009–2012), representing Veracruz’s 16th district. He held his seat until February 2010, when he requested a leave of absence to run for governor of the state.
He holds a law degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana, two master’s degrees—one in Applied Public Management from ITESM and another in Law, Economics, and Public Policy from the Ortega y Gasset Institute—and a doctorate in Economics and Institutions from the Complutense University of Madrid.
In the administrative sphere, Duarte held key positions in the Veracruz government, including Undersecretary and then Secretary of Finance and Planning between 2004 and 2009. He also served as president of the Technical Committee of the Natural Disaster Fund Trust and as a legislative advisor in the Congress of the Union.
Duarte assumed the governorship of Veracruz in 2010, a position he held until 2016. His administration was marred by numerous irregularities, including the use of shell companies to embezzle public funds. He was accused of embezzling more than 1.67 billion pesos from the state treasury, as well as money laundering and criminal association.
In 2017, he was arrested in Guatemala and extradited to Mexico. In 2018, through an expedited procedure, he was sentenced to nine years in prison for the crimes of money laundering and criminal association. Currently, Duarte is seeking early release after having served more than 70 percent of his sentence and claiming good behavior.
Although his defense argues that Duarte has met the legal requirements for his release, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) has presented evidence of indiscipline in prison, such as possession of alcohol and unauthorized electronic devices, which could hinder his request.
Source: milenio
