Mexican Senator José Manuel del Río Virgen. Photo: senado.gob.mx

By KELIN DILLON

After his arrest on Dec. 22, the secretary of Mexico’s Senate Political Coordination Board (Jucopo), José Manuel del Río Virgen, broke his silence for the first time since his imprisonment in Pacho Viejo prison in a Monday, Jan. 3, phone call with Senator Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar, declaring his innocence against the allegations that he ordered the murder of Citizen’s Movement (MC) candidate René Tovar in Veracruz.

“I am completely innocent, I have nothing to regret,” said del Río Virgen at the time, calling his imprisonment without evidence “an unfair act.”

“They have me kidnapped here in this space,” continued del Río Virgen. “I have shared the cell with more than 27 people inside. They feed me only once a day and I think they are doing this intentionally, but my endurance capacity is very broad. I’m going to resist.”

Del Río Virgen went on to ask Ramírez Aguila to convey his appreciation to the Senate’s members of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), thanking them for their support and relaying his peaceful mindset within prison.