U.S. prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas announced the unsealing of a federal indictment that accuses Mexican nationals legally living in Houston of bribing top Mexican government officials in order to get contracts with that country’s state-owned oil companym PEMEX.
This week, a federal judge unsealed a criminal indictment that had been handed down by a grand jury, accusing 46-year-old Ramon Alexandro Rovirosa Martinez and 61-year-old Mario Alberto Avila Lizarraga of having conspired to pay more than $150,000 in bribes. The bribes were allegedly paid to Mexican government officials associated with PEMEX and its sister oil exploration company PEP in exchange for contracts. Both men are Mexican nationals and were living in Houston as legal residents.
Federal authorities arrested Rovirosa over the weekend, and on Monday, he appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge who formally notified him of the charges. After the Mexican businessman entered a not guilty plea, the judge set his bond at $1 million. Avila is currently listed as a fugitive from justice.
The criminal indictment alleges that Rovirosa bribed at least three Mexican government officials who had influence over PEMEX in order to gain several contracts and to have certain audits and restrictions waived. One of the officials received a Louis Vuitton bag for his wife and a $12,500 Hublot watch, as well as various amounts of cash. Other officials also received various amounts of cash. Most of the conversations between the individuals involved in the conspiracy were carried out using the messaging app WhatsApp.
According to information released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Rovirosa also had alleged ties to Mexican drug cartels.
The case against the two Mexican businessmen comes at a time when U.S. federal authorities have been cracking down on the theft and smuggling of fuel from Mexico, a business favored by drug cartels and corrupt officials from that country. As Breitbart Texas reported, earlier this year, federal authorities arrested a Utah oil magnate and several members of his family for allegedly using their refinery in Texas for a complex oil smuggling scheme where they would sell the smuggled Mexican fuel as if they had refined it. The oil is connected to both the Gulf Cartel and Cartel Jalisco New Generation, two groups previously designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump Administration.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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