Mexican federal, military and state agents arrested former Veracruz state attorney general Jorge Winckler on Monday, wanted for the alleged crimes of forced disappearance and kidnapping, local authorities reported.
The Attorney General of the State of Veracruz, an entity in the Gulf of Mexico, explained that the former official linked to the opposition right-wing National Action Party (PAN) was apprehended in the tourist destination of Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, in the Mexican Pacific.
Elements of the National Defense Secretariat (Sedena), the National Anti-Kidnapping Coordination and the National Intelligence Center participated in the arrest in collaboration with the Veracruz Ministerial Police.
The Prosecutor’s Office affirmed that, with respect to his human rights and due process, he will be presented at an initial hearing before the trial judge and oral criminal procedure of the XI judicial district of Xalapa to define his legal situation.
The former prosecutor, who served in office from December 30, 2016 to September 3, 2019, was wanted for the alleged crimes of illegal deprivation of liberty in its modality of kidnapping and forced disappearance, two serious crimes.
After the coming to power in Veracruz of the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena), the Congress of Veracruz, with a majority of that party, determined in September 2019 to separate him from his functions for lacking the control and trust exams, required by law. .
Days later, a judge issued an arrest warrant against Winckler and five other officials from that agency for kidnapping and forced disappearance.
The five former officials are accused of first kidnapping and then disappearing Francisco Zárate Aviña, former driver of the then State Attorney General, Luis Ángel Bravo, who was detained and later released.
With the arrest of Winckler, the former prosecutor specializing in Missing Persons and former regional prosecutor, Luis Eduardo Coronel, and the then Anti-Corruption prosecutor, Marcos Even Torres, are now fugitives from justice.
Since Veracruz promoted legal reforms to appoint state prosecutors for a period of nine years to guarantee autonomy, none of its holders has served the time established by law.
The first to be appointed in this modality during the government of Javier Duarte, currently imprisoned for corruption, was prosecutor Luis Ángel Bravo, who was forced to resign and was later arrested.
Governor Miguel Ángel Yunes’ management was appointed by the majority of PAN legislators, Jorge Winckler, also removed from office and now arrested.
Verónica Hernández currently serves as Attorney General of the State, appointed by deputies of the Morena party, which governs in Veracruz and in the federal government.