In Panama: Authorities moves to extradite Mexican ex-governor in graft case

Panama moved closer Wednesday to extraditing Mexican ex-governor Roberto Borge, putting him in the foreign ministry's hands to be sent home within 60 days' time.

Panama moved closer Wednesday to extraditing Mexican ex-governor Roberto Borge, putting him in the foreign ministry's hands to be sent home within 60 days' time.

Roberto Borge, 37, the former governor of the state of Quintana Roo, is now the sixth Mexican ex-governor currently under arrest for corruption, fraud, money laundering or involvement in organized crime.

He was arrested in June at the Panama City airport as he was about to board his flight, officials said. He sought unsuccessfully to have his arrest overturned.

Borge stands accused of selling state-owned real estate at one percent of its market value, as well as money laundering.

He governed Quintana Roo -- the southern state where many of Mexico's most famous Caribbean beaches are located, including Cancun -- from 2011 to 2016 for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

The PRI, which has governed Mexico for 76 of the past 88 years, has been mired in a series of corruption scandals involving its governors.

Five of the six governors currently in jail hail from the PRI. The sixth is from the right-wing National Action Party (PAN).

Another former Quintana Roo governor, Mario Villanueva (1993-1999), was arrested for involvement in drug trafficking in 2001 and extradited to the United States in 2010.

Panama moved closer Wednesday to extraditing Mexican ex-governor Roberto Borge, putting him in the foreign ministry's hands to be sent home within 60 days' time. Read Full Story