Today is a Day to Celebrate. Javier Duarte, ex-governor of Veracruz arrested

By DD for Borderland Beat 

The first question most people are asking about Javier Duarte, ex-governor of Veracruz, and for the last 6 months a fugitive from justice in Mexico.

“Where is Javier Duarte?”
On Oct 10  of last year  he had asked the Legislature for a “leave of absence” from his job as Governor in order to clear his name.of the accusations being made against him.  On Oct. 14 a judge issued an arrest warrant against him for his probable responsibility in the crimes of organized crime and operations with resources of illicit origin. 

After he was no longer seen on the golf course where he used to go and the opposition leader and future governor, Miguel Angel Yunes, reported that he had fled in a helicopter to Puebla and that he flew to Ciudad Juárez . Other versions located him in the area of the Desert of the Leones, in the Mexican capital. In recent days, it was speculated that he was in Canada and in Guatemala. 

It was determined a few days his request to the Legislature that  the interim governor had provided them a helicopter on Oct. 12 and  Duarte and his wife were lifted off the ground and they have not been seen or heard from since then. Some think he may have received a tip that criminal charges were imminent.

The file was issued by Interpol on November 14, 2016. So far, the PGR has been able to secure 112 bank accounts, five companies and four properties that presumably belong to Duarte, as well as relatives, friends and former public servants who Which the former governor are sought after in Mexico and other parts of the world. 

In November a former aide to Duarte was detained near the Guatemala border and he had in his possession 2 fake passports that had photos of Durante and his wife.  From that point on the PGR investigators focused on Guatemala. 
 
While on the lam, Duarte was supported by a network of Mexicans who helped him evade justice, Omar Garcia Harfuch, head of the Criminal Investigation Agency in Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, told a press conference Sunday.

Garcia Harfuch said investigators “identified many homes, telephone numbers and vehicles related to people who supported Javier Duarte from Mexico City in the logistics of his stay and movement in Guatemala.”

“During the investigation, it came to light that various private airlines offering services to the region were charged with transporting (Duarte) to different points in Guatemala,” he said.
 

The question as to where is he can now be answered.  He is either sitting in a jail cell in the capital of Guatemala or en route from Guatemala to Mexico following a extradiciton order issued yesterday by the  Guatemala judge.  The Judge said in a brief statement that it could take up to 24 hours to complete the deportation.

 
Where and how was he found and captured? 

At the feet of a lake and in the middle of a nature reserve of monkeys, hummingbirds and owls, the hotel Atitlan Rivera, promises guests connection 24 hours internet access.   The hotel is rated as one of the top 4 in Guatemala and is located in the Panajachel municipality which has  population of only 10,000 and is located in the center of the country.

On Saturday, the day before Easter the internet connections at the hotel failed.  Duarte left his room and went to the lobby to check on the problem and Interpol Police and Mexican Federal Police were waiting for him in the lobby.  

 He had checked into the hotel under a false name and paid cash for the room.  He argued for 5 minutes with the police telling them he was not Javier Durante.  But he didn’t fool anyone.  Police checked his finger prints and then he admitted to being Duarte.  For some strange reason he seemed pleased with himself as he was taken to a prison in Guatemala City.

 The final clue that led the police investigators to Durante was when his concuno  (brother-in-law rented a private plane in Toluca last Friday night  to fly to Guatemala  and on the paper work involved in renting the plane was a list of 8 passengers and Durante’s children were on that list.     According to MILENIO collaborator Joaquín López-Dóriga fhis flight was to take the three children of the former governor to Guatemala to meet with their  parents.

The next question that needs to be answered is how much Javier Duarte is willing to muddy PRI’s image.  Though he spent his entire political career as PRIista, PRI expelled him from the party and has tried to distance itself from him  when things really got hot. 

NEXT REPORT :  The rise and fall of Javier Durante Ocho.