Héctor 'El Güero' Palma Under Interrogation in Mexico City; His Legal Status Will Be Determined on Saturday

“MX” for Borderland Beat

After he was released from prison and re-apprehended, Sinaloa Cartel founding member Hector “El Güero” Palma (age 80) was sent to Mexico City for his future legal proceedings. He is currently under questioning by the Specialized Attorney’s Office for Organized Crime (SEIDO). His legal situation will be determined this upcoming Saturday.

Sources from the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) indicated that Palma will be placed before a judge by the Public Ministry of the Specialized Unit for the Investigation of Health Crimes (UEIDS). That judge will determine if Palma should be placed under preventative detention (Spanish: arraigo) or released.

The SEIDO has 96 hours to review all investigations and possible charges that could implicate Palma with other crimes. It is very likely that UEIDS will ask the judge to grant the SEIDO a 40-day preventative arrest to gather more evidences against Palma.

As determined by Mexican law, a person detained under arraigo may be held without formal charges for up to 40 days with a judge’s approval, or up to 80 days with further judicial approval, just as long as the detainee is suspected of organized crime involvement.

Last Saturday, a district court in the state of Jalisco ordered the immediate release of Palma, who spent 26 years imprisoned in Mexico and the United States.

Who is Héctor ‘El Güero’ Palma?

Palma was born in La Noria de Abajo, municipality of Mocorito, Sinaloa, where he met Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, (‘The Godfather’), who recruited him as a hitman. He eventually met Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán and both became business partners.

In 1995, he was arrested while heading to a wedding on his private jet. While flying his jet suffered engine problems and he had to do a forced landing near the Jalisco and Nayarit state borders. His arrest confirmed what many Mexicans had long known: in Mexico, the police are for sale and drug lords are purchasing them. When Palma was arrested, most of his entourage were active members of the Federal Judicial Police (PJF).

Palma was imprisoned at the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 2 (“Puente Grande”), the infamous prison where El Chapo escaped in 2001. In Mexico, Palma won several appeals and had his charges dropped multiple times.

However, in 2007, Palma was extradited to the U.S. and sentenced for his drug trafficking involvement. He was deported back to Mexico in 2016 and was re-arrested by Mexican authorities who were waiting for him at the border crossing. He was released from prison this past weekend and re-apprehended for charges that have not been revealed.

Sources: La Razon; Zeta Tijuana;