Procampo: Drug traffickers' families benefited from welfare programs

In July 2009, EL UNIVERSAL documented irregularities and the embezzlement in two government programs: ProÁrbol and Procampo . For years, the financial aid was granted to politicians , government officials , but also drug traffickers and their families during different administrations.

The government program Procampo was created by then-President Carlos Salinas de Gortari in 1994, and then maintained by Ernesto Zedillo , Vicente Fox , and Felipe Calderón.

Eleven years ago, this newspaper revealed that Procampo granted public resources to drug traffickers from the Sinaloa Cartel, Juárez Cartel , Gulf Cartel , Milenio Cartel , as well as to their families for years and until 2008, according to information provided by Sagarpa .

According to the information published by EL UNIVERSAL in 2009, “El Mayo” Zambada ’s family received MXN 998,267 from Procampo between 1998 and 2003.

One of El Mayo’s daughter, María Teresa Zambada Niebla , asked for a government subsidy to plant 80 hectares without mentioning what she would plant in her land, information required to obtain the resources.

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Zambada Niebla was also invested in a daycare facility located in Culiacán, Sinaloa , and which was surrogated by the IMSS . Furthermore, Vicente Zambada Niebla, who was arrested in March 2009, received MXN 555,220 in financial aid.

On the other hand, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán ’s siblings received MXN 376,198. Jesús, Ofelina, and Aureliano Guzmán obtained federal resources up until 2008.

The Carrillo Fuentes family, linked to the last leaders of the Juárez Cartel , received between MXN 2,607 and 2,450,581.

Ventura Valencia

, whose brother was Milenio Cartel founder Luis Valencia , received MXN 50,000 to plant grass in four hectares.

Humberto García Ábrego

, the brother of the former leader of the Gulf Cartel , received MXN 342,384 to plant corn and sorghum.

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