Judge Absolves Héctor "El Güero" Palma of Drug Trafficking; Release Order Pending

“MX” for Borderland Beat

Héctor “El Güero” Palma Salazar, one of the founders of the Sinaloa Cartel, was absolved from his drug trafficking charges by a judge in Jalisco and was ordered for immediate release.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) is verifying if Palma is wanted in other states in Mexico before the judge proceeds with the release order. It also said that the order was sent to various prosecutors and attorneys’ offices throughout the country, with the purpose of verifying if Palma has other pending charges. Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) is verifying if Palma has pending extraditions requests from the US government.

Last February, rumors surfaced that Palma was about to be released after a document surfaced on social media showing his prison release order. The document indicated that Palma – a native of Mocorito, Sinaloa – was about to be released. But the authenticity of the document was quickly called into question and discarded as fake.

It is worth nothing that Palma is still under investigation for the murder of two police officers in Nayarit, but investigators confirmed that this investigation is still its preliminary stages (Spanish: desahogo judicial). This means the prosecution is still gathering evidence against Palma and vetting them with a judge prior to issuing a formal arrest warrant. This investigation is not enough to keep him in prison.

Earlier this year, Palma’s sister-in-law and niece were found dead after they had been missing since December 2019. If the person(s) who masterminded the attack hold a grudge against Palma, a release will likely put him in immediate danger.

Background

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.

Sources: AP Noticias; El Pais; Milenio; Infobae; Borderland Beat archives