HomeNewsBriefMexico Officials Stole Millions From Troubled Prison System: Report
BRIEF

Mexico Officials Stole Millions From Troubled Prison System: Report

MEXICO / 1 NOV 2016 BY TRISTAN CLAVEL EN

More than $2 million were reportedly diverted from Mexico's 2014 federal penitentiary budget by officials who used the money to acquire luxurious vehicles and flights, highlighting how corruption contributes to the problems in Mexico's prison system.

Mexico's federal audit institution (Auditoría Superior de la Federación – ASF) suspects that at least 38.5 million pesos were diverted from the 2014 federal penitentiary budget, reported Animal Político, citing a September 2016 request from the agency asking the Attorney General's Office to open a criminal probe into the allegations.

The diverted funds -- which currently amount to just over $2 million, but which were equivalent to more than $2.8 million based on the 2014 exchange rate -- were stolen from the budget of the Administrative Body for Prevention and Social Rehabilitation (Órgano Administrativo Desconcentrado de Prevención y Readaptación Social - OADPRS), which is part of the Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB).

Among the irregularities noted by the ASF was the acquisition of seven bulletproof pickup trucks for a total of 17 million pesos (roughly $885,000 at current exchange rates) without an established security justification. Three of these vehicles were initially not even received by the OADPRS, but were temporarily used by high-ranking officials of other SEGOB branches.

A flight service worth 1.5 million pesos (about $78,000) for SEGOB officials was also contracted with OADPRS funds due to "the urgency to transport high-ranking public servants to attend matters in federal prisons where ground transportation is complicated." But ASF points to the fact that the public contract was awarded without a bid process as required by law, and that another 20 million pesos (more than $1 million) were spent to acquire four flights for which no justification was provided.

InSight Crime Analysis

The revelations concerning the embezzlement of large sums of money from the federal penitentiary budget during a year which saw a rise in the number of prison incidents illustrate the role of corruption in contributing to Mexico's notoriously problem-plagued correctional system.

The number of attempted escapes, riots, assaults, murders and suicides reached 1,262 in 2014 and involved 2,459 inmates -- an increase of roughly 20 percent compared to the previous year. And although the government has recently made attempts to address the many flaws in the prison system, corruption could frustrate these efforts.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Prisons

One of the most embarrasing examples of how corruption undermines Mexico's prison system came in July 2015, when Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, arguably the most infamous drug lord in the world, escaped from a maximum security facility. (He was recaptured in January 2016.) Juan Ignacio Hernández Mora, who headed the OADPRS when funds were embezzled in 2014, was fired from his post along with two other high-ranking officials following El Chapo's escape.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BRAZIL / 7 OCT 2022

Latin America's environmental and land protectors are routinely murdered by the regions criminals.

BELTRAN LEYVA ORG / 7 JAN 2022

Murders have spiked in Mexico's northern state of Sonora, thanks to the volatile mix of a veteran drug trafficker's alleged…

COLOMBIA / 22 DEC 2022

InSight Crime's GameChangers 2022 looks back at the most consequential criminal stories across Latin America this year.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.