Maru Campos defends Ernesto Ruffo against federal prosecution

Chihuahua Governor María Eugenia Campos Galván has accused the Mexican federal government of using the justice system for political profitability. Speaking in Tijuana, Campos defended former Baja California Governor Ernesto Ruffo Appel, who was detained on July 16 in Ensenada by the Fiscalía General de la República.

Ruffo Appel faces charges related to organized crime and fuel smuggling, a phenomenon known as ‘huachicol fiscal’. Campos criticized the federal government for allegedly ignoring the presumption of innocence and due process, noting that Ruffo Appel is a 74-year-old man with medical conditions currently held in a maximum-security prison.

During the presentation of the Plural Committee for the Freedom of Ernesto Ruffo, his family members also reported irregularities in his detention, including a lack of necessary medication and medical attention. Campos suggested that the legal proceedings against Ruffo Appel serve as a precedent for how the government may target citizens who oppose the current administration.