Mexico arrests ex-governor sent home after US prison term

MEXICO CITY – Mexican prosecutors say a former state governor has been taken into custody by Mexican agents after serving a prison sentence for money laundering in the United States.

Mario Villanueva was governor of the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo in the 1990s. He was arrested in 2001 and extradited in 2010 to the U.S., where he pleaded guilty to laundering bribes from the Juarez drug cartel through U.S. banks.

Having completed his U.S. sentence, Villanueva was sent home Wednesday, and Mexican prosecutors say he faces a 22-year sentence for fomenting drug trafficking and money laundering.

Villanueva is about 68, and his lawyers say he suffers from a respiratory disease.

He was taken into custody at Mexico City’s international airport after arriving on a flight from the United States.

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