• ARREST: Emilio Lozoya, the former head of Mexico’s state-owned oil company (Pemex), was arrested Wednesday in the southern Spanish city of Málaga, months after Mexican authorities issued an international warrant against him for alleged bribery charges.
• CHARGES: One of the closest aides to former President Enrique Peña Nieto, Lozoya is accused of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, and of fraudulently purchasing a fertilizer factory during his term as Pemex chief.
• LOOTING: “These were behaviors that were repeated in a very structured way and with the purpose of plundering the Country. I don’t see any other way to describe it”, said Alejandro Gertz, the Mexican Attorney General, regarding Lozoya’s actions.
• EXTRADITION: According to his lawyer, Lozoya denies any wrongdoing and will decide on whether or not he fights for his extradition to Mexico in Spanish courts. His lawyer, Javier Coello, said yesterday that Lozoya always acted on former President Peña Nieto’s orders.
