MEXICO CITY — A former Mexican governor linked to at least one real estate investment in the Phoenix area has been sentenced to nine years in prison. He was accused of money laundering and criminal association, but some in Mexico say the sentence is not enough.
Javier Duarte was the governor of the state of Veracruz, on the gulf coast of Mexico. He ran away after facing accusations of corruption and abuse of power and hid until April 2017, when he was arrested in Guatemala.
On top of the jail time, the judge also ordered the seizure of several properties in Mexico.
But Duarte will only spend seven years in prison, as he already spent some time in jail.
The court’s decision has been criticized by civil organizations and politicians, including president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who stated that the sentence is just a show, and not a punishment.
