English

The White House asked Mexican officials to get tested for COVID-19

Off the Record features fact-checked news written by journalists and contributors to EL UNIVERSAL

President López Obrador will travel to the U.S. this week - Photo: Rodrigo Buendía/AFP
06/07/2020 |09:34
Redacción El Universal
Pendiente este autorVer perfil

The White House asked Mexican officials to get tested for COVID-19

We’ve been told that as part of the protocols required by the White House for the meeting between President Andrés Manuel López Obrador with President Donald Trump , the Mexican committee was asked to get tested for COVID-19 ; however, it is not clear if President López Obrador also got tested. The Mexican committee includes Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, Economy Minister Graciela Márquez, Alfonso Romo, and Daniel Asaf. Moreover, those covering the Mexican President’s activities will get tested today, so that they can enter the White House.

Newsletter
Recibe en tu correo las noticias más destacadas para viajar, trabajar y vivir en EU

Judges demand evidence 

Magistrate Ariel Alberto Rojas Caballero decided to swim against the tide. Rojas Caballero says that the recording obtained by the Attorney General’s Office, where the mother of drug trafficker José Ángel Casarrubias and his lawyer discuss bribing a judicial official so that her son is released from prison, doesn’t prove there is corruption and said that “if there is other evidence they have to present it immediately and punish those who are responsible.” The recording between the lawyer and the suspect’s mother does not prove that they bribed a government official. Through social media, the magistrate added that the Judicial Branch requires higher ethical and professional standards. Although an investigation was launched, the recording has damaged the Judiciary’s reputation.

López-Gatell’s latest antics 

It was announced that the Health Ministry will change how it presents the information and data regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The information regarding the number of cases, deaths, and active cases will be released every epidemiological week, not every day. As Dr. Hugo López Gatell announced yesterday, Mexican authorities will have a delay, which is the result of the confirmation process, and although all the information will be released, the information will be delayed for two weeks.

Creditors await Lozoya’s extradition

We’ve been told that several creditor companies asked the Attorney General’s Office to take advantage of Emilio Lozoya’s extradition to investigate Alonso Ancira’s frauds while leading company Altos Hornos de México; Ancira was accused of bribing Lozoya so that Pemex would purchase a fertilizer plant from AHMSA at an exorbitant price. According to some of these creditors, Ancira should also be changed with several other frauds and debts while he was the head of the Administration Board at AHMSA. These creditor companies fear the Attorney General’s Office and the Finance Ministry will limit their investigation to the Agronitrogenados case and forget about other lawsuits filed against Ancira before the FGR and the National Banking and Securities Commission, where the businessman was charged with hiding his debts and other financial crimes. So many people are anxious about Lozoya’s extradition.

Recommended: 

gm