McCormick speaks to Associated Press about Mexico dropping case against Cienfuegos

January 15, 2021

The Associated Press

Gladys McCormick

History Department

Crime & Violence

Latin America & the Caribbean

The Associated Press

Gladys McCormick

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office announced it was dropping the drug trafficking case against its former defense secretary, retired Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos. Gladys McCormick, Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations, says the only surprise was that Mexico didn’t make a better show of looking into Cienfuegos. "One would think that they would have at least followed through on some semblance of an investigation, even if it was just to put some window dressing on the illusion that the rule of law exists," McCormick says. "From the Mexican side, this signals the deep-seated control the military as an institution has on power. It also shows that the level of complicity at play in this case." Read more in the Associated Press article, "Mexico president accuses DEA of fabricating general’s case."