Ex-Chihuahua prosecutor Jáuregui formally charged with treason
Federal prosecutors say they presented more than 150 pieces of evidence; Jáuregui stays in the Altiplano prison and his defense will appeal.
Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR) obtained a court order formally charging César Jáuregui Moreno, Chihuahua's former state attorney general, with treason. Prosecutors won the order after presenting more than 150 pieces of evidence, the office said.
The federal judge ruled early Sunday, after a hearing of about nine hours closed to the public at the request of federal prosecutors. It was held at the federal criminal justice center in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico, where the Altiplano prison stands.
The judge kept Jáuregui in pretrial detention, so he remains in the Altiplano. Prosecutors now have two months for further investigation.
His defense will appeal the order and is also weighing an abbreviated procedure. One of his lawyers said the team was "convinced there was no evidence." Under that route, a defendant admits guilt and could get up to a third off a sentence of five to 40 years in prison.
Being formally charged is not a conviction. Jáuregui is presumed innocent until a court rules otherwise.
How it got here
It began in April, with an operation against a synthetic-drug lab in El Pinal, in the municipality of Morelos, Chihuahua. The FGR contends Jáuregui knew CIA agents took part without the authorization the law requires.
- Oct. 19: In the state-level case, a judge declined to order pretrial detention; the FGR's federal case ran separately.
- Oct. 21: A federal judge ordered pretrial detention.
- Oct. 24: The hearing on whether to formally charge him began. It ended early Sunday.
Prosecutors must now close their investigation within the two-month window and file charges or seek another outcome. The defense can appeal the order.
