Former Mexican Governor Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Money Laundering
Tomás Yarrington Ruvalcaba, the former governor of Tamaulipas in northeast Mexico, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. The 66-year-old politician was accused of accepting $3.5m in bribes from individuals and companies in exchange for business contracts in the state of Tamaulipas. The money was allegedly laundered into the US through luxury purchases, including cars, aeroplanes, and properties such as estates and beachfront condos. Yarrington Ruvalcaba pleaded guilty to the charges in March 2021 and has been ordered to surrender a condominium he purchased in Port Isabel, Texas.
The ex-governor served as governor from 1999 to 2005 and is also accused of using nominee buyers to mask his participation in the purchases. He was charged in May 2013 and arrested while travelling in Italy in April 2017. Prosecutors allege he was using a fake name and passport at the time. Italian authorities approved his extradition to the US the following year.
In a statement, US authorities said they expect Yarrington Ruvalcaba will face “removal proceedings” to Mexico, where he also faces an investigation. The state of Tamaulipas serves as the base for one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organisations, the Gulf Cartel.
Recently, four Americans who crossed into Matamoros, Tamaulipas – across the border from Brownsville, Texas – were caught in a shootout and kidnapped by armed men. A Mexican woman was also killed in the crossfire. Authorities searched to recover the kidnapping victims and found one alive, one injured, and two dead in a wooden shack on the edge of the city.
The Scorpions faction of the Gulf Cartel claimed credit for the kidnapping last Thursday, issuing an apology for violating its commitment to “respecting the life and wellbeing of the innocent”. Local media reported that the cartel delivered the five members responsible to authorities, dropping them off with their hands tied on the street.
Federal prosecutor Alamdar Hamdani hailed Wednesday’s decision as “bringing a corrupt politician to justice”. “Even if you are governor of a Mexican state, we will not stand idly by when you use your position to wrongfully fill your pockets and violate the laws of the United States,” Hamdani said in a press release issued by the US Attorney’s Office.
Yarrington Ruvalcaba was a candidate for president in 2005 and was once a member of Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which was once a significant political force in the country.