Supporters of “El Bronco” arrived at the Apodaca prison to show their support and pray for him

In the midst of prayers, batons and blankets, dozens of supporters of the former governor of Nuevo León, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, El Bronco, arrived since Saturday morning in the vicinity of the Apodaca prison, where he has been held for two weeks.

Dressed in purple t-shirts, the supporters unfolded blankets and cardboard with legends such as “We are with you #FreeBronco, #Arre, #ProhibidoRendirse”; as well as flags, with which they showed their support to the former state president.

During their demonstration, they assured that they are “ordinary citizens” who support the former governor, so they clarified that they are not “carried away”.

It should be recalled that on March 15, Rodríguez Calderón was arrested and taken to the Apodaca 2 Prison for alleged electoral crimes, specifically in the case of so-called “bronchosignatures”, for which reason a supervising judge linked him to the trial and imposed pretrial detention on him.

However, the local judge declared himself incompetent in the matter and passed the matter to a federal court.

Gabriel García Pérez, one of the former president's lawyers, said that the Prosecutor's Office Specialized in Electoral Crimes, in coordination with elements of the Civil Force and the State Investigation Agency (AEI), arrested El Bronco because the judge considered that there were enough elements to consider that he could escape after the current governor, Samuel Garcia, said that Rodríguez Calderón tried to escape to Tamaulipas.

“He crossed all of Nuevo León, from Garcia to Terán, in an hour and a half. This guy was going to 180, 200 (kilometers per hour). In Terán, he entered another ranch, in that ranch, according to witnesses, he changes vans, orders everyone to change cars and peel for Tamaulipas,” Samuel García said in an interview with journalist Carlos Loret de Mola.

On Saturday, the lawyer from El Bronco went to the prison to notify his client that the hearing will be held on April 12 at 9:00 a.m. local time before a federal judge, where it will be determined whether he attracts the complaint for the use of illicit resources that he allegedly used to collect necessary signatures and thus obtain his candidacy as an independent for the presidency of Mexico in the 2018 elections.

At the moment, the First District Judge in Criminal Matters dismissed an application for amparo filed by Adalina Davalos Martínez, wife of Jaime Rodríguez Calderón.

With this legal action, Davalos intended to stop any arrest, detention or appearance warrants that may be issued to her, since on March 23, the former first lady of the northern state had already achieved indefinite protection.

Adalina Davalos' legal appeal was filed after elements of the State Attorney General's Office conducted several searches on the properties of Jaime Rodríguez, where 2 million 100 thousand pesos in cash, two safes, a 30x30 rifle and a 357 magnum revolver were seized.

After the searches, Samuel García said that the findings were only “the tip of the iceberg that began with the oldest folders”.

“I will take care of my words so as not to affect autonomy and due process, but I do have the authority to tell you that this is the tip of the Bronco government's iceberg,” said Samuel García.

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