Acting Mexican State Attorney General Admits Her Cousin Is a Cartel Operative

The acting attorney general for Veracruz admitted she is the cousin of a top operator for Los Zetas Cartel.

During a hearing before the State Congress of Veracruz, Acting Attorney General Veronica Hernandez Giadans said she was related by blood to Guadalupe Hernandez “La Jefa” Hervis, a woman wanted by federal authorities on multiple organized crime charges. La Jefa is also described as a close ally of Hernan “Comandante H” Martinez Zavaleta.

The questions about Hernandez’s family history came during a heated exchange with Congressman Jose Manuel Posos Castro, who hails from Mexico’s Morena Party, Radio Formula reported.

Hernandez recently took the position as acting attorney general after the former AG became a fugitive. He was outed for allegedly protecting members of Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, Proceso reported.

A video shared on social media by another reporter from Veracruz captured the moment when Hernandez said that she could not answer for her family’s actions and criminal activities, but she would respond to her own actions.

Pufffffff, momento en que la Fiscal de #Veracruz, Verónica Hernández Giadáns admite que es familiar de una operadora de Los Zetas. A Téllez Marié lo andaban despidiendo por llamar por teléfono a una persona ligada al mismo grupo, hoy, hasta primos son y no pasa nada pic.twitter.com/WWbiYSIDe0

— Rodrigo Barranco (@rodrigo_dector) January 21, 2020

“That person–30 years have passed since we have had any contact,” Hernandez said. “I forgot to mention a little while ago, I have no contact with that family.”

The coastal state of Veracruz is a hotspot for violence as factions tied to Los Zetas work to keep their rivals from taking control of the region’s shipping ports and drug distribution routes. Those conflicts led to numerous cartel executions and the discoveries of dozens of clandestine grave sites.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.