Former Progreso mayor and his entire council arrested for acts of corruption

Progreso, Yucatán, (July 09, 2021).- The Special Prosecutor’s Office in Combating Corruption charged the crime of bribery, for events that occurred in 2016, against the former mayor of Progreso José Isabel Cortés Góngora and his 10 councilors.

In a hearing held on Thursday, July 8th, the prosecutors informed the detainees that they initiated an investigation for their probable participation in those events (imputation) based on the following:

“That derived from the process of delivery reception between the outgoing (2015-2018) and incoming (2018-2021) municipal administrations, information was obtained regarding various irregularities in the conclusion of a contract with a company.

From these reviews, it was established that on December 23, 2016, at approximately 11:00 p.m., in their then functions as council members of the Cabildo de Progreso, these people were in the council room of this municipality and each of the defendants today received the amount of 110 thousand pesos in cash for the signing of a contract for the provision of a public lighting service between the city of Progreso and the aforementioned company, the same authorization that they approved with their respective signatures on the official record of council session”.

Subsequently, the prosecutors specialized in fighting corruption asked the Control Judge to resolve the legal situation of the accused (order to be linked to the process), but these and their defenses requested the duplication of the constitutional term, that is, 144 hours before the judge notified the parties that the bonding hearing will be held on July 12 of this year, in this same Oral Justice Center.

Finally, the Control Judge Garrido Colonia imposed on the accused the precautionary measures consisting of the periodic presentation and the submission and monitoring from the State Center for Precautionary Measures and Conditional Suspension of the Process as the prohibition to leave the State. Measures that will be in effect for the entire duration of the criminal process.