by Jose Z. Garcia, Professor of Government at New Mexico State University
During July, newspapers in Cd. Juarez carried a series of articles about the arrest of Filiberto Terrazas, a local attorney accused of "procedural fraud" in a real estate transaction. His bond was placed at $1.5 million (U.S.), an extraordinary amount given that homicide cases in Juarez are bonded routinely at around $25,000 (U.S.). From his jail cell Terrazas held dozens of interviews with reporters from throughout the country, alleging his imprisonment was part of an effort by Federico Barrio (brother of Chihuahua Governor Francisco Barrio) backed by the governor himself, to deprive him of valuable real estate property he owns near the airport. The case has received national attention. Several groups of lawyers in Cd. Juarez publicly denounced legal improprieties they asserted were associated with his arrest, and the president of the National College and Bar Association, in a speech at which the governor was present, declared Terrazas' legal rights were violated and that his organization would defend him.
The property in question is a sizeable 2700 hectares (almost 6500 acres) of land granted to a surveyor at the turn of the century in lieu of cash payment. The land remained undeveloped in family hands until it landed in the hands of Josefina Franco, a US Army Brigadier general who ceded most rights to it in 1978 to Terrazas. Since that time squatters have taken over parts of the property, acquiring title to the land, and in some cases have sold the land. Other parts of the property have for unexplained reasons also been bought and sold in legally recognized transactions. Moreover, the charge against Terrazas was formally made by the Chihuahua state housing institute, IVIECH, which has a claim to parts of the land, and which accused him of acquiring the property under false pretenses. IVIECH has plans to put a 300-house low-cost development of parts of the property. IVIECH claims documents indicate Ms. Franco ceded her rights to the property to Terrazas 15 minutes before the will granting her the property through inheritance was read--the basis for the charge of prodedural fraud.
Terrazas claims the governor's brother, Federico, hopes to sell parts of the property to maquila plant developers if Terrazas is denied his claim to the land. He also claims he went to the governor a few months ago, offering to drop some of his claims to the land in return for which the state would agree that uncontested pieces of the property would remain in Terrazas' hands. The governor, he alleges, asked him to put his offer in writing, and he did, but heard nothing until the arrest. The Juarez bar association questioned the propriety of the arrest and bond placed on Terrazas, asserting that the investigation that led to his arrest was conducted in Chihuahua city, rather than in the local jurisdiction, an extremely unusual procedure; that Terrazas was not questioned in the investigation nor told he was under any suspicion until his arrest; and that the bond was unprecedented. The governor has denied he had any personal interest in the case.
Sources: Diario de Juarez, El Norte de Ciudad Juárez