17 Jan 2021 / 13:11 H.
(Adds Mexico s latest data release)
By Mark Hosenball and Anthony Esposito
WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said it is deeply disappointed by Mexico s decision to close its investigation of ex-Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos, after the Mexican attorney general decided not to press charges.
The decision, which Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador publicly backed on Friday, and a document dump by Mexico s government of U.S. evidence against Cienfuegos, threatens to strain strategic U.S.-Mexico security ties.
On Friday, on Lopez Obrador s instructions, the foreign ministry tweeted the link to a 751-page document that included detailed logs of alleged Blackberry communications.
World News: U S deeply disappointed Mexico closed probe of ex-defense minister
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The Fiji Times » U S deeply disappointed Mexico closed probe of ex-defense minister
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Mexico accused of violating treaty after releasing US evidence against Cienfuegos US Department of Justice stands by its investigation and the charges against ex-minister
Published on Sunday, January 17, 2021
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The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has rejected President López Obrador’s claim that the drug trafficking case against former defense minister Salvador Cienfuegos was fabricated and accused the Mexican government of violating a bilateral treaty by releasing U.S. evidence against the retired army general.
The federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) announced Thursday that it had exonerated Cienfuegos, defense minister between 2012 and 2018, of drug trafficking and money laundering charges less than two months after he returned to Mexico from the United States. He was arrested in Los Angeles last October but under pressure from Mexico the U.S. dropped the case against him and allowed Cienfuegos to return home to be investigated here.
Mexico Slammed by U.S. After Documents Released in Drug Case
Bloomberg 1/17/2021 © Photographer: Lujan Agusti/Bloomberg Salvador Cienfuegos speaks in Mexico City in 2018.
(Bloomberg) The U.S. Department of Justice criticized Mexico’s decision to publish information the agency says was given in confidence, and questioned whether the countries should continue to share documents.
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In a statement, a department spokesperson said the DOJ was “deeply disappointed” in Mexico’s decision to close an investigation into former Defense Minister General Salvador Cienfuegos, who was arrested in 2020 on charges of working with drug traffickers.
Charges were dropped in the U.S. at Mexico’s request, and the general was sent to Mexico to be investigated by local authorities in November.