Cancun mayor arrested
Reuters reports that the mayor of the Mexican beach resort of Cancun has been arrested and charged with money laundering and drug-related crimes, making him one of the highest-ranking public officials swept up in Mexico’s crackdown on narcotics traffickers. “He was moving so much money and it just didn’t match up with the amount he made as a public servant,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Mayor Sanchez is suspected of tipping off and protecting the Beltran Leyva and Zetas drug cartels – gangs known for brutal tactics including beheading rivals. He had taken a leave of absence as Cancun mayor to run for governor of Quintana Roo state, known for turquoise Caribbean waters and white-sand beaches marketed as the Mayan Riviera.
On May 13, gunmen killed a mayoral candidate in a town near the border with Texas after he ignored warnings to quit the race. Several other candidates have received threats, and in some towns near the U.S. border, some parties couldn’t find anyone to run for mayor.
High-level corruption remains one of the biggest impediments in the fight against drug trafficking in Western Hemisphere countries that have become key smuggling corridors. In Jamaica, security forces are fighting supporters of a major drug trafficking suspect who has ties to the ruling party and is resisting extradition to the U.S. In Guatemala, the national anti-drug czar and police chief are under arrest in a case involving cocaine and slain police.
The Sanchez case will be another tough test for Mexico’s judicial system and its ability to successfully prosecute high-profile drug and corruption cases.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64P5ST20100526
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/26/cancun-mayor-arrested-for_n_590013.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-cancun-20100527,0,1967342.story
