Masto says trip to Mexico to help battle transnational organized crime

CARSON CITY — Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said a meeting of state attorneys general with their Mexican counterparts over two days this week has produced tangible results in the fight against transnational organized crime.

The meetings in Mexico City resulted in the signing of a letter of intent with the National Banking and Securities Commission of Mexico to establish a bi-national working group on money laundering enforcement.

But she said the meetings, also attended by the attorneys general from California, Colorado, Florida and New Mexico, have also allowed personal relationships to be furthered with their counterparts in the Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua, Campeche, the Federal District, Zacatecas and Jalisco.

Those relationships now extend to federal Attorney General Jesús Murillo Karam as well after a positive meeting with him during the trip, Masto said Wednesday after returning to Las Vegas.

These relationships have allowed Masto to seek assistance from the attorney general of Jalisco as well as Karam to try to find Eduardo Estrada, who is alleged to have killed his estranged wife, Stephanie Gonzalez Estrada, in Elko in 2011. Estrada has family in Jalisco and is believed to be residing there.

“When criminals cross the border one way or the other I can pick up the phone and say, ‘I need help,’” Masto said. “We are able to talk because of our cooperation.”

The purpose of the yearly trip by the Conference of Western Attorneys General was to enhance efforts to combat crime across the U.S.-Mexico border, focusing on drug and human trafficking and cybercrime, as well as money laundering.

The U.S. group is part of an alliance that has provided training to Mexican investigators and prosecutors to assist them as their justice system transitions from a wholly paper-based to a trial-court system.

The alliance includes the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the United States Agency for International Development and numerous public and private entities aimed at strengthening the legal systems of both the United States and Mexico.

In 2013, using $2 million in funding from INL, the alliance partnership trained more than 1,200 members of the Mexican legal and law enforcement communities.

During the meeting with the attorneys general from the Mexican states, Masto said there was agreement that communication, cooperation and training must continue.

The attorneys general also visited one of two human trafficking shelters funded by the Mexican government during their trip.

Intellectual property crime, such as the sale of counterfeit goods including pharmaceuticals, is another area where the group is seeking cooperation. The outreach by the group, which includes attorneys general from outside the Western U.S., began in 2006.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Follow him on Twitter @seanw801.