Roberto Garduno
Newspaper La Jornada
Thursday June 23, 2022, p. 8
Coming from Mérida, Yucatán, the remains of General Clemente Ricardo Vega García, head of the Secretary of National Defense during the Vicente Fox administration (2000-2006), were received at military air base 19 –located at the International Airport of Mexico City – and from there transferred to the military wake, behind the back of the Sedena.
The death of the military command occurred after suffering from a degenerative mental illness. To recognize his passage through the military entity, he received the highest honors that are given among the military; Now, before his death, the military commanders remember him as an exemplary character who leaves a legacy of values and virtues.
It was the head of the Sedena, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, who announced the death yesterday on Twitter: We say goodbye with regret to an exemplary soldier, who leaves a legacy of values and virtues that make clear the institutional commitment and dedication to service that every soldier must show in the fulfillment of his responsibilities.
During the passage of Vega García through the ownership of the Sedena, processes were carried out that linked members of the Army with organized crime activities.
The most significant occurred in 2001, with the arrest of General Ricardo Martínez Perea, who headed the 21st Motorized Cavalry Regiment in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and even then-President Vicente Fox accused him of cooperating in drug trafficking activities with the Gulf cartel. The commander was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a military court, but he was finally acquitted of all charges.
Years later, after succumbing to Alzheimer’s disease, diagnosed in 2017, García Vega’s remains were received by a long fence of soldiers and cadets at the Lomas de Sotelo military complex, northeast of the country’s capital.
The carriage that moved the coffin was parked in front of the wake and a guard lifted it to place it on a wooden pedestal on the avenue, while the command’s widow, her daughter and grandchildren watched and listened to the tribute.
After four minutes that the interpretation of the silence and funeral calls lasted, accompanied by a guard of cadets, on whose arms rested three golden eagles, the same military guard lifted the coffin and took it inside the wake, where in private the family and his acquaintances gave him the final goodbye.
