Historic Return: Cortes Manuscript Makes Its Way Back to Mexico

The FBI returned a priceless manuscript signed by Hernan Cortes to Mexico. Stolen from Mexico's national archives, the document resurfaced in the US. It marked Cortes' conquest of the Aztec empire and was one of 15 pages missing since the late 20th century.

Nearly five centuries after its creation, a valuable manuscript signed by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes has been returned to Mexico by the FBI, decades after it disappeared from Mexico's national archives.

The manuscript page, believed to have been stolen between 1985 and 1993, was part of a larger collection housed at Mexico's General Archive of the Nation. Archivists discovered the missing document while microfilming in 1993.

In a collaborative effort, the FBI's Art Crime Team, along with the New York City Police Department, US Department of Justice, and Mexican authorities, located the manuscript in the US. This marks the second significant return from the FBI to Mexico of a Cortes-related document.