Judge approves U.S. request to drop drug case against Mexican ex-defense minister

A federal judge on Wednesday granted a U.S. government request to drop drug charges against former Mexican Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos, a move Mexico said would restore trust in severely strained security cooperation ties.

A federal judge on Wednesday granted a U.S. government request to drop drug charges against former Mexican Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos, a move Mexico said would restore trust in severely strained security cooperation ties. U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon granted the request at a hearing in Brooklyn, New York after Tuesday's abrupt announcement by U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Mexico Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero that the U.S. case would end.

"Although these are very serious charges against a very significant figure, and the old adage 'a bird in the hand' comes to mind, I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of the government's decision," the judge said at the hearing. Appearing in the court, Cienfuegos, 72, said he was in agreement with the request to drop charges.

Seth DuCharme, the Acting U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, said his office "stands behind its case" against Cienfuegos, but that its interest in the prosecution was outweighed by the "broader interest" in maintaining cooperation between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities.