Ex-Quintana Roo governor arrested en route to France

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Roberto Borge, former governor of Quintana Roo. Photo: robertoborgeangulo.net/

A fugitive who was governor of Quintana Roo until just last year has been arrested in Panama, Mexican authorities said early Monday morning.

Roberto Borge was wanted for alleged corruption in connection with the sale of state properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Borge, who was governor of the coastal Caribbean state for five years, was detained at the airport just as he was about to board a flight to Paris, according to the federal Attorney General’s Office. Quintana Roo is home to Cancun, the busiest tourist city in the nation.

Mexican prosecutors seized 25 parcels of state-owned land back in February. The parcels, worth more than US$250 million, were allegedly sold at a deep discount to private parties linked to the ex-governor.

Borge is the third ex-governor from President Enrique Peña Nieto’s governing party, the PRI, detained this year on corruption allegations, notes the Associated Press.

In December, the investigation led the PRI to suspend Borge’s party rights.

Borge’s last 11 days in Panama were spent at the Trump International Hotel & Tower, which is the most expensive hotel in the country, according to media reports.

His use of Uber, the ride-sharing app, made it easier for authorities to track him down, according to those same reports.

Sources: Associated Press, Sipse

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