Judge issues arrest warrant against Javier Duarte over enforced disappearance charges 

A judge has issued an arrest warrant against former Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte over the enforced disappearance of former police officer David Lara Cruz.

Duarte launched a legal process to obtain information and confirm a local judge issued an arrest warrant against him.

According to legal documents, Javier Duarte faces criminal charges for his alleged involvement in the disappearance of David Lara Cruz .

A judge notified the victim’s family and asked them to appear in court. Meanwhile, Duarte filed a motion to prevent his arrest.

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Javier Duarte

Javier Duarte de Ochoa is a Mexican politician formerly affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as Governor of Veracruz from 2010 to 2016.

Duarte resigned as Governor and fled the country. Guatemalan authorities arrested him and extradited to Mexico in 2017.

Authorities have accused the former Veracruz governor of watering down medicines for child cancer patients to divert resources, embezzlement, and organized crime. He is currently serving a 9-year prison sentence.

Violence, crime, mass graves, and violence against journalists characterized Duarte’s administration. Throughout his administration, authorities discovered hundreds of bodies inside mass graves in Veracruz.

Journalists also went missing or were killed by criminals during his administration. In fact, Veracruz became one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist in the world.

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A federal tribunal confirmed Duarte's 9-year prison sentence in May 2020. He was charged with money laundering and organized crime.

Sources confirmed that a Mexico City tribunal ratified the jail sentence after Duarte’s legal team contested the sentence issued in September 2018, when the former Governor was sentenced to 9 years in prison.

Although Javier Duarte will spend 9 years in jail, authorities will no longer seize 40 properties since there are ongoing legal processes concerning the properties, as in the case of an apartment owned by Moisés Mansur, who was identified as Duarte’s chief financial operator.

Despite the charges against Javier Duarte, he was sentenced to a short jail sentence after he made a deal with the Attorney General’s Office to declare himself guilty.

Javier Duarte will be released from jail in six years but will keep 40 properties.

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