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Duarte denied appeal after charges of kidnapping filed by FGE

Mexico City, Mexico — A federal judge has denied an appeal filed by the defense of former governor of Veracruz. The judge denied an appeal filed on behalf of Javier Duarte, who remains imprisoned in Mexico City.

The former governor of Veracruz, who continues to serve his sentence in North Prison for other charges, was hit with an additional charge in December after a warrant for his arrest was issued for kidnapping.

On December 15 (2021), the former governor resorted to the protection of justice against the arrest warrant related to the disappearance of 19 people, whose bodies were found in a ravine in the Veracruz municipality of Emiliano Zapata in January of 2016.

According to the Veracruz Justice Prosecutor’s Office, the former governor tried to hide the discovery of a clandestine grave with the remains of 19 people, which delayed justice and hindered the investigations of the case.

A federal judge definitively dismissed the appeal. Duarte de Ochoa will remain in the North Reclusorio prison where he is serving a nine-year sentence for criminal association and operations with resources of illicit origin.

His ex-wife, Karime Macías who fled to the United Kingdom, continues to wait for a decision on extradition to back Mexico after being accused of fraud for 112 million peso to the detriment of the state of Veracruz.