The U.S. Justice Department is dropping a drug trafficking and money laundering case against former Mexican Secretary of National Defense Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday.
The DOJ said Cienfuegos — who was initially charged in Brooklyn federal court — may now be probed by Mexican authorities.
“The U.S. Department of Justice … has provided Mexico evidence in this case and commits to continued cooperation, within that framework, to support the investigation by Mexican authorities,” Barr said in a joint statement with Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero.
Cienfuegos had been accused of using his influence to assist powerful Mexican drug cartels to conduct business with impunity and flood the US market with narcotics.
“As the decision today reflects, we are stronger when we work together and respect the sovereignty of our nations and their institutions,” the statement read.
The decision comes just weeks after Cienfuegos, 72, was arrested last month in Los Angeles for allegedly taking bribes to help drug cartels avoid prosecution.
The general, nicknamed “El Padrino,” or “the Godfather,” led the country’s army for six years starting in 2012 under former President Enrique Pena Nieto.
He reported directly to the president — all while he was secretly communicating with the cartel’s most senior leaders, prosecutors had alleged.
His arrest came as a surprise to Mexican government officials and the current president of the country, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, seemed unaware the military leader would be detained in the US, the New York Times reported.
Mexican government officials were angry at the lack of communication between the US Justice Department and their investigators because of how closely they work together on drug-trafficking cases, the Times reported.
In a motion to dismiss the charges that was unsealed Tuesday evening, Acting US Attorney Seth DuCharme wrote the Justice Department is asking the charges be dropped because of “important foreign policy considerations” between the US and Mexico.
The motion cites the Justice manuel, which explains prosecutors could seek to dismiss a case for reasons of national security of foreign policy.
“Situations may arise where substantial reasons of national security, foreign policy or the like may require the Department to abandon an investigation, forego litigation, or seek dismissal of a case,” the motion states.
In 2014, Cienfuegos endured a major scandal after soldiers under his command killed 22 suspects at a grain warehouse — at least eight of whom were executed after they surrendered, according to a human rights investigation.