With $120,000, Javier Corral avoids arrest and having to testify

Jesus Estrada

The newspaper La Jornada
Saturday, August 17, 2024, p. 13

With a payment of 120 thousand pesos, former governor Javier Corral obtained yesterday the temporary protection of the federal justice system so as not to be arrested or forced to appear before any authority, after the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Chihuahua obtained an arrest warrant against him for alleged embezzlement of 98.6 million pesos, used in the hiring of an office to restructure the state public debt.

The fifth district court, based in Mexico City, in charge of Judge Patricia Marcela Diez Cerda, granted the appeal in favor of the current elected senator of Morena, who justified his refusal to appear arguing that the accusation of aggravated embezzlement that was brought against him is political persecution and a lie. in which a spirit of revenge prevails on the part of Governor María Eugenia Campos.

On social media, Corral accused the prosecutor’s office of fabricating the investigation three years after he allegedly committed the crime.

He assured that the prosecution uses Eduardo Fernández, Undersecretary of Expenditures of the Ministry of Finance in his administration (2016-2021), a protected witness since last year, after being linked to criminal proceedings, and Now, forcibly and hastily, they want to impute responsibility to me (…) with an emerging testimony, used to say that I had authorized that hiring and to obtain an arrest warrant..

Regarding the irregular contract that he signed with the López Elías office Finanzas Públicas SC to restructure state liabilities, he said that Both former officials of my government and the office itself have been prevented from presenting evidence.

He stated that the hiring he made was correct, and countered that the current governor of Chihuahua is corrupt. Unlike this fabrication against me, we should shed light on the 10 contracts for 33 million that María Eugenia Campos has given to Ernesto Cordero (an official of Felipe Calderón’s federal administration) in payment for financial advice to acquire more public debt and restructure credits..

Last Wednesday, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Chihuahua tried to arrest Corral at the Gin Gin restaurant in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, which was prevented by the head of the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office, Ulises Lara, who went to the scene.

Since then, Governor Campos has maintained a private agenda without making any statements.

The state government secretary, Santiago de la Peña, said that Corral speaks with language schizophrenicand reminded him that the criminal case against him was initiated by the State Superior Audit Office and auditor Héctor Acosta, whose powers were proposed by the former president himself in 2018.

According to records from the Judiciary, the former president’s rights under Articles 1, 14, 16, 17, 189 and 20 of the Constitution have been violated.

The court set September 27 as the date for the constitutional hearing, at which time it will announce whether to grant Corral the suspension that would indefinitely halt the execution of the arrest warrant.