Justice that vanishes (again)
“Let’s react.” Thus, with three words, President Claudia Sheinbaum responded this Monday. The trigger: the confirmation that Karime Macías Tubilla, ex-wife of former governor Javier Duarte, will not set foot in Mexico to face charges. The United Kingdom granted him asylum.
In his morning conference, Sheinbaum clarified a technical—and revealing—point. >”They have not notified us, but we are not in favor, obviously, and we are going to react to it,” he said. That is to say, the British government made a crucial decision on a Mexican case… and didn’t even bother to give formal notice. Diplomatic courtesy? Zero.
And why was the extradition stopped? Here comes the classic legal labyrinth that so benefits the powerful. Sources consulted indicate that Macías’ defense argued two things:
- That the process had prescribed (legal time ran out).
- That the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) did not notify correctly during the application.
In other words, it is not that she has been declared innocent. The thing is that, according to his lawyers, the Mexican State screwed up the paperwork. Again.
The accusation against her is not minor: it is accused of an alleged fraud of 112 million pesos during her management as head of the state DIF in Veracruz. Money that should have gone to the most vulnerable.
Sheinbaum promises to “react.” The question that floats in the air, with a bitter taste of repeated history, is: how? And above all, will it be of any use this time? Justice for major corruption cases in this country has a curious tendency to evaporate into borders and technicalities.
