“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
More than 1 billion pesos allegedly passed through the law firm belonging to Samuel García’s family as part of a scheme that is now under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office. The accusations suggest that the Governor of Nuevo León utilized this legal and tax firm—a business linked to his family—as a central mechanism to capture public funds and redirect them for his own personal benefit.
According to the allegations, money flowed out of various state agencies, public bodies, and contracting firms, subsequently passing through several intermediaries before ultimately landing in the firm’s accounts. The use of intermediary companies allegedly served to facilitate the movement of funds while obscuring a direct financial trail.
Among the firm’s principal shareholders are Samuel Orlando García Mascorro, the Governor’s father, and Samuel Orlando García Villarreal, his half-brother. Consequently, the Governor’s inner circle now finds itself at the very center of the investigation. One of the initial financial trails identifies state government payments totaling nearly 965 million pesos to *Suministros Mir*; after passing through other companies, 203 million pesos allegedly ended up in the legal and tax firm.
However, this wasn’t the only such operation. Another financial trail points to payments of 243 million pesos to *Axat Latam*, of which nearly 63 million pesos allegedly flowed back—once again—to the same family firm. Yet, the largest case appears to be linked to public works and mobility projects within Nuevo León.
In this instance, payments exceeding 5.851 billion pesos were reportedly made to *Infraestructura y Construcciones de Nuevo León*. These funds subsequently allegedly followed another corporate chain before circling back to the core of the scheme.
Later on, a portion of this money was transferred—first in a sum of 385 million pesos, followed by a second transfer of 700 million pesos—to the aforementioned firm; a fourth financial trail has also come to light.
This final route involves funds allocated to the *El Cuchillo* Aqueduct project and the *Sistema Integral para el Manejo Ecológico y Procesamiento de Desechos de Nuevo León* (Comprehensive System for Ecological Management and Waste Processing). In that specific case, payments totaling 154 million pesos ultimately resulted in transfers exceeding 77 million pesos directed toward the legal and tax firm.
According to the investigation, once the resources were consolidated, the funds were allegedly dispersed into a family trust, land, and real estate assets, involving transfers exceeding 1 billion pesos. Subsequently, a portion of these funds was reportedly sent to various jurisdictions—including the United States—with the aim of hindering their traceability and concealing their origin.
Samuel García transitioned from being one of the rising young stars of Mexican politics and a leading figure within the Movimiento Ciudadano party to becoming one of the country’s most high-profile governors. His public image was carefully crafted to represent a new political generation—one with national aspirations and a strong social media presence, shared alongside Mariana Rodríguez.
Consequently, an investigation of this magnitude would not only place his administration in Nuevo León under intense pressure but could also damage his public image, jeopardize his future political ambitions, and prove to be the most significant crisis of his entire political career.
Source: El Financiero Bloomberg