U.S. drug charges against former Mexican defense minister are dropped

A federal judge on Wednesday granted a U.S. government request to drop drug charges against former Mexican Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos and return him to Mexico, a move Mexico said would restore trust in the countries' 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 and return him to Mexico, a move Mexico said would restore trust in the countries' severely strained security cooperation ties. The dismissal came one day after a surprise announcement by U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero that the U.S. case against Cienfuegos would end, just one month after being announced.

"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," U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon said at a hearing in Brooklyn, New York. Cienfuegos, 72, was Mexico's defense minister from 2012 to 2018 under former President Enrique Pena Nieto.

The charges prompted Mexico's current government to threaten a review of agreements allowing U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents to operate in the country. Seth DuCharme, the Acting U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, said his office "stands behind its case" against Cienfuegos but that its interest in prosecuting him was outweighed by the "broader interest" in maintaining cooperation between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement.

Speaking in Spanish, Cienfuegos told the judge he agreed to be moved to Mexico and did not expect to face persecution there. His lawyer Edward Sapone said he expected the retired army general to be returned to Mexico later on Wednesday.

"Today is a day of justice, because today there are no charges against him, either here or in Mexico," Sapone told reporters after the hearing. Cienfuegos faces no arrest warrant in Mexico, where the government has said the case was based entirely on evidence provided by the United States.

Wednesday's dismissal was without prejudice, meaning the U.S. government could charge Cienfuegos again. Cienfuegos was arrested last month in Los Angeles International Airport, becoming the first Mexican former defense official taken into U.S. custody for drug-related corruption at home.

U.S. prosecutors alleged that Cienfuegos abused the power of his office to protect a faction of the Beltran-Leyva cartel, while ordering operations against rival gangs. Cienfuegos had pleaded not guilty to drug and money laundering conspiracy charges.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Cinefuegos' arrest had damaged the trust needed for bilateral cooperation fighting drug gangs, and the dismissal of the charges laid a foundation for future cooperation. "You can't have close cooperation with all of Mexico's institutions, and do this at the same time," Ebrard said. "You have to choose."

While in office, Cienfuegos had worked closely with U.S. counterparts on cross-border criminal matters and was a leading Mexican figure fighting that country's drug war. His arrest came without warning to Mexico and shocked that country's security establishment, where Cienfuegos has maintained close ties.

Following the arrest, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador questioned the work of DEA agents in the country, saying they had been close to Cienfuegos for years. The case set off a flurry of frantic calls between Barr, DEA Acting Administrator Timothy Shea, and Mexican officials to calm tensions.

Cienfuegos' arrest came 10 months after U.S. prosecutors charged Mexico's former top public security chief, Genaro Garcia Luna, with taking bribes to protect the Sinaloa drug cartel once run by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Garcia Luna has pleaded not guilty.