MEXICO CITY (AP) — A judge on Friday acquitted former Mexican Social Development Secretary Rosario Robles, who since 2019 had been facing criminal charges for alleged embezzlement of public resources. She was detained until last year when she was released after alleged health problems.
The Federal Judicial Council said in a statement that the judge handling the case had ordered a halt to criminal proceedings and precautionary measures against Robles, which included periodic court appearances and a ban on leaving the country. The “total dismissal of the criminal case” was decreed.
The judge considered that Robles, who was part of the team of former President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018), should be subject to the Federal Budget and Fiscal Responsibility Law, with which he would face a possible administrative sanction.
Robles, 67, was arrested in August 2019 after being charged with “abusive exercise of public service” for the alleged embezzlement of up to $260 million of public funds, a case known as the “Master Scam “. In August last year she was released at the request of her defence, who claimed the former secretary was facing health issues.
“Today, it is shown that he was right. I am innocent,” Robles told reporters on Friday as he left his hearing. “I always showed my face. I experienced the injustice first hand,” he added.
Hours after the sentencing was announced, the attorney general’s office said in a statement that it would appeal Judge Roberto Paredes’ decision, file an administrative complaint with the Judicial Council and initiate criminal proceedings against Paredes. .
“Regardless of whether or not the resolution will appeal, the violation of legal principles and the most basic justice cannot be allowed,” the prosecutor’s office said when rejecting the decision.
Robles became the first member of Peña Nieto’s cabinet to go to jail. His arrest was seen as part of the crusade launched by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador when the government arrived in 2018 to fight corruption in Mexico.
Besides Robles, three other members of Peña Nieto’s team have been prosecuted for alleged corruption: former foreign relations secretary and former finance and public credit chief Luis Videgaray, former economy secretary Ildefonso Guajardo, and the former director of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Emilio Lozoya, who has been in pretrial detention since November 2021.
The Attorney General of the Republic announced last year that he was investigating Peña Nieto for alleged crimes of corruption.