A judge ordered the immediate release of the former mayor of Santo Tomás de los Plátanos, María del Rosario Matías, after she filed two amparos for the violation of her rights during her detention on Thursday, January 23. However, before leaving the Santiaguito prison, the Attorney General's Office of the State of Mexico notified her of a second arrest order, which will keep her in custody. In an indictment hearing in Tenango del Valle on Sunday, Matías' defense presented the amparos granted by federal justice, arguing that the crime of extortion does not justify preventive detention and denouncing the violation of her fundamental rights.
The judge decided on the immediate release of the former mayor, but agents from the State Attorney's Office executed a second arrest warrant against her for another charge. María del Rosario Matías and her husband, Pedro Luis Hernández, the elected mayor, are accused of offering protection to La Familia Michoacana in exchange for an alleged financing of 15 million pesos for the electoral campaign. Hernández, from the Labor Party, was supposed to assume his position on December 17, but he fled when they attempted to arrest him, and he is currently at large.
The accusations are part of "Operation Swarm," a joint investigation by federal and state authorities aimed at bringing to justice mayors and municipal officials with alleged ties to organized crime. According to authorities in the State of Mexico, the couple led a group that intimidated and extorted residents of the municipality. So far, 15 people, including relatives and former officials, have been arrested for alleged connections with the network operated by the couple.
The former mayor's lawyer, Alexander Becerril, stated that the suspensions granted to Matías would protect her from being arrested, an argument that the State Attorney's Office of Mexico rejected. This Monday, January 27, the hearing for the first charge of extortion will continue to determine the legal situation of the former mayor, while the initial hearing related to the second arrest warrant, which is apparently also linked to a case of extortion, will take place on Tuesday.
