Court rejected protection of Guillermo Padrés, former governor of Sonora

A federal court rejected an amparo promoted by the defense of Guillermo Padrés, governor of Sonora from 2009 to 2015, who is currently linked to two legal proceedings against him for organized crime and money laundering.

The Fifth Unitary Criminal Court dismissed the legal appeal with which Padrés sought to destroy the evidence for which a prison order had been issued against him in September 2018, when he was imprisoned on charges of money laundering.

As determined by Gabriela Vieyra Pineda, the head of the Court, Guillermo Padrés filed a legal remedy to replace the evidence in the case, which is not legally valid, as communicated by the magistrate:

“These are tests that are aimed at questioning or detracting probative value from existing ones and that were the subject of the formal imprisonment order; this is not the subject of study in the incident of data fading, but - in any case - of the final judgment ending the process,” he reported.

Padrés's new evidence seeks to prove that the money he possessed, and for which he is subject to prosecution, was less than what was determined by the federal authorities, who uphold the accusations against him.

“In addition, the evidence provided by the complainant does not in any way contravene the expert opinions referred to in which it was established that, in the year of 2015, the prosecutor had more income than he declared,” said the Court.

In 2019, Guillermo Padrés Elias left the North Prison on his own foot, in which, since September 2018, he had been prosecuting for the crimes of money laundering; this after it was determined that he could take his trial free under precautionary measures.

It is worth mentioning that before his arrest he was at large for two years and after a radio interview he went to Court 12 in Mexico City, where he surrendered.

On the other hand, in Sonora, the state that ruled from 2009 to 2015, he also faces charges of torture, illegal deprivation of liberty, abuse of authority, trading in influence and criminal association.

It is worth mentioning that Padrés is part of the generation of governors who accompanied during the first part of the six-year term of still President Enrique Peña Nieto, and that after the end of their terms they were imprisoned on charges of crimes such as corruption and money laundering.

The District Court authorized bail after considering the incident of review and replacement of the preventive detention imposed by the defence of Padrés Elias to be well founded.

“The above, having met the requirements established by the National Code of Criminal Procedure and Article Fifth transitional constitutional to replace the preventive detention imposed on him in the criminal case that follows him for the crime of operations with remedies of unlawful origin,” reported the Judiciary of the Federation in a statement.

The former president currently has to appear in court every 15 days, is prohibited from leaving the country and an electronic locator was placed.

In an interview with Milenio Televisión, his lawyer, Antonio Lozano Gracia, said that the family is looking for ways to cover bail so that the former president can get out of prison.

He indicated that they are analyzing the option of going to individuals or companies that are dedicated to granting bonds and that on Tuesday an amparo will be filed relating to the amount of the guarantee that must be paid.

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