Fronteras

A high-level official of the previous administration to govern the neighboring Mexican state of Sonora was arrested Monday in Tucson.

Roberto Romero was second in line to the former Sonora Gov. Guillermo Padrés who left office in 2015. That administration has been systematically dismantled under ongoing corruption charges. Even former governor Padrés was a fugitive up until he surrendered last year and his spokesman, Jorge Morales was imprisoned for more than a year on corruption charges.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Romero and his wife in Tucson on Monday. He has not been charged with a crime in the United States, but according to Mexican prosecutors he is wanted on corruption charges and is accused of using his influence in government to divert water from a river that later flooded several homes in Sonora.

Current Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich told reporters in Mexico on Tuesday that the couple would be extradited to face charges in Mexico.