Mexico presses drug charges against 7 mayors, 20 officials

Three other mayors detained in raids across the state May 26 have not been charged, but will continue to be held pending investigations, officials said.

The seven mayors are the largest group of Mexican elected officials arrested on drug charges in recent memory. They and the other suspects charged will be taken to a federal prison in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit to await trial.

Federal Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora alleged the officials charged Thursday helped the La Familia drug cartel.

“These 27 people took advantage of and misused their public office to carry out acts that favored and helped the drug trafficking activities of the criminal organization known as La Familia,” Medina-Mora said.

He did not provide details on the charges, but officials have said the suspects allegedly leaked sensitive information to the drug gang.

The mayors governed several mid-size cities in Michoacan, a largely rural state that is home to the La Familia cartel.

Former state Attorney General Miguel Garcia Hurtado was among those charged, as was an assistant prosecutor and other high-ranking police and state officials.

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