Javier Duarte, Mexican Ex-Governor Accused of Diverting Money, Is Captured<br />By KIRK SEMPLEAPRIL 16, 2017<br />MEXICO CITY — After a six-month manhunt spanning at least three continents, the former governor of Veracruz state in Mexico was captured in Guatemala<br />and will face extradition to Mexico, where he is wanted on suspicion of diverting millions of dollars to phantom companies, Mexican authorities said.<br />Public disgust with corruption also contributed to electoral losses for the president’s<br />party in elections for governor last year, including in Veracruz, where the P.R.I.<br />But Mr. Duarte’s capture could provide some political capital to President Enrique Peña Nieto, whose approval ratings have plummeted over the past two years<br />and whose party is preparing for a close, fierce fight to hold onto the presidency in elections next year.<br />Tomás Yarrington, the former governor of Tamaulipas state who has been accused by Mexican<br />and American prosecutors of money laundering and racketeering, among other charges, was captured in Italy last week.<br />His party, known by its Spanish initials, P.R.I., is also locked in a tight race for the governorship of the State<br />of Mexico, a historical stronghold for the party, where corruption has become a central campaign theme.<br />During his run from the law, Mr. Duarte, once considered a luminary of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, became a quintessential symbol of malfeasance<br />and a huge embarrassment to the party, which has been criticized for its inability to rein in rampant corruption.
