FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2012 file photo, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, left, and Gov. Cesar Duarte, talk following the 30th annual Border Governors Conference in Albuquerque, N.M. A Mexican anti-corruption nonprofit says in a report released Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, that most of a June 2015 shipment of New Zealand cows destined for small ranchers in Chihuahua state instead wound up on the ranch of the now-fugitive ex-Gov. Duarte. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)
Republished October 17, 2017 - 9:38 AM
Original Publication Date October 17, 2017 - 8:56 AM
MEXICO CITY - A Mexican anti-corruption non-profit says that most of a shipment of New Zealand cows destined for small ranchers in Chihuahua state instead wound up on the ranch of the then-governor.
The group says documents that include government cattle tracking records show that some 900 cows made it to the ranch of the now-fugitive ex-Gov. Cesar Duarte. Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity published its investigation Tuesday.
A shipment of 1,400 cows arrived by ship at the Pacific port of Mazatlan in June 2015. The shipment was arranged by the government to help rebuild the state's herds after two years of drought. They were to be distributed to small ranches with fewer than 45 cows.
The group says farmers took out government-financed loans to pay for cows they never received.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017