A Mexican legislator is trying to downplay her detention by U.S. authorities and the seizure of approximately $45,000 USD that she allegedly tried to cross into California. The politician claimed it was an oversight and that she was working to resolve the matter with U.S. authorities.
The incident took place on Monday at a port of entry in the Mexicali-Calexico border area when Alejandra Ang Hernandez, a legislator with Mexico’s ruling party MORENA, was attempting to cross from Mexico into California and was detained by U.S. customs authorities. According to Mexico’s Proceso, the detention involved Ang Hernandez carrying a large amount of undeclared cash. News outlets in Mexico point to approximately $45,000 USD. The cash was hidden in two different parts of the legislator’s late-model white GMC Yukon. After spending several hours with U.S. authorities and undergoing questioning, the woman was released and not allowed to cross into California. Reports from Mexican news outlets indicate that U.S. officials have revoked her tourist visa. It is unlawful to carry more than $10,000 in undeclared currency into or out of the United States.
After her release, Ang Hernandez issued a statement saying it was an oversight on her part to forget to leave the money at her house before attempting to cross into California. She claimed that the large amount of cash was from her and her husband’s life savings, as well as from the sale of a vehicle, and that it was intended to purchase another vehicle. She claimed that, contrary to news reports, her visa had not been revoked. For privacy reasons, U.S. authorities have been careful not to disclose when they have revoked visas of Mexican officials allegedly linked to corruption. The only known cases involve politicians who have confirmed the revocations themselves.
As Breitbart Texas has reported, since the start of the Trump administration, several Mexican politicians have had their visas revoked. Most of the politicians and public officials whose travel documents have been revoked are from Mexico’s ruling party, MORENA. The list includes governors, mayors, and legislators, most of whom are linked to corruption or organized crime. However, due to a lack of official U.S. government announcements, it remains unclear how many politicians have lost their travel documents. This has led to widespread speculation in Mexico about which politicians have been affected.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s 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 News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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