Mexico asks for ex-Gov. Borge’s extradition from Panama

PANAMA CITY — Mexico’s attorney general’s office said on Thursday July 27 it asked Panama to extradite a former state governor from President Enrique Pena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), after being arrested there last month on corruption charges.

Roberto Borge, who until last year was governor of the state of Quintana Roo, home to tourist resort Cancun, was detained in early June in the Panama City airport with the aid of Interpol as he was preparing to board a flight to Paris, according to Reuters.

The attorney general’s office has accused Borge of using resources obtained through illegal means, embezzlement and abuse of public office. It said it expects Panamanian authorities to schedule a hearing on the extradition request in the coming days.

Panama’s Foreign Ministry said it was attending to the formal request presented by Mexican authorities.

Borge had long been accused of corruption by opposition parties, although he has denied the allegations.

Javier Duarte, who until last year governed the Mexican state of Veracruz as a PRI member, was extradited from Guatemala to Mexico on July 17. He is accused of embezzlement and organized crime activities.