Mexican Governor Indicted By US Government: Tomas Yarrington Accused of Laundering Cartel Money

Former Tamaulipas governor Tomas Yarrington has been accused by the US Government of laundering money for Mexican drug cartels. US prosecutors in Texas announced Monday that they were charging Yarrington of accepting bribes and even participating ind drug trafficking. A federal judge at a Brownsville court charged Yarrington with money laundering, racketeering, drug trafficking and fraud among other crimes. Yarringtong was a former congressman and served as governor of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2004.

Tomas Yarrington is acused of receiving funds from the Gulf Cartel as early as a year before taking office. Prosecutors argue that the 56-year-old was also responsible for large-scale drug trafficking across the US border from Tamaulipas as well as huge cocaine shipments from Veracruz to the US. The case against Yarrington reveals the governor received bribes for drug operations via a company called Materiales Y Construcciones Villa de Aguayo, owned by one of Yarrington's close associates, Fernando Cano Martinez who was also indicted.

Large sums of money from the construction company was transferred to Yarrington, who used the funds to buy property in Texas. The ex-governor also bought a Sabreliner 60 private jet in 2005 for $300,000. Both Cano and Yarrington opened bank accounts, bought property, planes and cars using money transferred to them from drug cartels.

Yarrington and Cano are both being sought by authorities. Yarrington's lawyer, Joel Androphy, stated that he could not believe the American government "would stoop so low and charge a former governor with false accusations by whomever testified to support the indictment." Yarrington is also wanted on charges of bribery and money laundering by Mexican authorities.