Bertha Gómez Fong, Wife of Former Chihuahua Governor, Detained in US

Bertha Gómez Fong, wife of former Chihuahua governor César Duarte, was allegedly detained by U.S. immigration authorities for extradition to Mexico. Agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service are said to have captured her on Wednesday, March 25, due to accusations that César Duarte faces for the crime of embezzlement. The events occurred in El Paso, Texas, although no official authority has confirmed the detention of the former official, and the agency Quadratín attributed the detention to the Tiempo de Chihuahua portal. Who is Bertha Gómez Fong? Bertha Gómez Fong was First Lady of Chihuahua between 2010 and 2016. During those years, she assumed the presidency of the state DIF as an honorary position. However, through the DIF, she is said to have contributed to the triangulation of funds in a corruption scheme by César Duarte. This information was made known in 2020 by a judge from the Superior Court of Justice of the district of Morelos in the city of Chihuahua, when an arrest warrant was issued against her. Gómez Fong filed an amparo before a federal judge in Mexico City against her arrest warrant, and the latest reports indicate that she went to the United States. César Duarte is in the Altiplano Penitentiary in Almoloya de Juárez, and he is accused by the Attorney General's Office (FGR) for the crime of operating resources of illicit origin, in the modality of money laundering. It is unknown if Bertha Gómez Fong will be extradited to Mexico and charged with the same crimes as her husband, if her relationship with the alleged corruption networks is proven, or if she will be tried in the United States, as well as whether she will remain in any ICE detention center or some U.S. prison before returning to the country. With information from Quadratín.