Mexican Officials Hunt for Governor of Veracruz

The Mexican government is on the hunt for Javier Duarte de Ochoa, the governor of Veracruz since 2010, who has been missing since October 12 in an attempt to escape numerous corruption charges for embezzlement and money laundering. According to Excélsior, the Attorney General’s Office and federal police are in search of Duarte after obtaining a warrant for his arrest last month. On the day of his disappearance, Duarte tweeted, “Veracruz is in need of a full-time governor, a position I have filled for over 5 years and 10 months; it is time to face the truth, false accusations.”

With Duarte’s tweet resembling a crime show criminal’s note, this “Case of the Missing Governor” reads like a comic strip. Mexicans are dealing with it the best way they know how: through memes exhibiting self-deprecating humor by poking fun at their beloved country’s international reputation.

However, Duarte’s case is not being taken lightly overall. According to Excélsior journalist Anabella Pezet, there is speculation that this case will end in impunity just like established precedent. Pezet’s exposé on Duarte, published on November 2, states that hundreds of ghost firms had been created in the US to hide Duarte’s money laundering schemes. Duarte and his accomplices registered 108 properties mostly in the Miami area.

The financial implications of Duarte’s crimes are now out in the open. According to Aristegui Noticias, a ruling made by Veracruz’s Public Auditor and approved by Veracruz’s state legislature, the administration collected 16 billion pesos ($837 million) in state damages during Governor Duarte’s fifth year in office. According to El País, Veracruz’s Public Auditor detected irregularities in budgets allocated for social development, agriculture and livestock development, infrastructure and public works, education, and finances and planification, among others.

Moreover, nine functionaries of Duarte’s administration in Veracruz were charged formally by officials for their involvement.

Father Alejandro Solalinde, a high-profile Mexican priest and human rights advocate known for his critiques of the government, tweeted on October 31, “Want to know where @Javier_Duarte is? Here are the coordinates.” He also published an aerial-view image of the alleged location of the Mexican governor. According to Excélsior, Fr. Solalinde commented in a televised interview saying, “There isn’t much to believe due to all the lies and the complicity . . . Javier Duarte is being protected as well as all the PRI’s new governors.”

Fr. Solalinde’s thoughts align with other Mexicans’, especially in regard to Veracruz’s reputation as a dangerous state for journalists. According to the BBC and Article 19, there have been 17 journalists murdered in Veracruz since Duarte took office, and 99.75 percent of aggressions against journalists in Mexico end in impunity, despite the fact that Veracruz decriminalized defamation in 2010.

Although police searched the alleged location, Duarte’s whereabouts continue to evade authorities, though the Mexican government assures Javier Duarte has not left the country. Still, Interior Minister Miguel Osorio Chong assures, “If we caught ‘El Chapo,’ we can catch Duarte.” Mexicans, however, continue to express skepticism, as their expectations of the transparency of their country’s institutions stay low.