Lawyer Javier Coello, who represents the former CEO of Mexican oil company Pemex, Emilio Lozoya, who was arrested last week in Marbella, has accused the former president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, of instructing his client to carry out the alleged acts of corruption and bribery for which he is accused. According to the lawyer, Lozoya was an "instrument" that only followed the "order" of the president, who, according to the Wall Street Journal, is also under investigation by the Mexican Attorney General's office. At the time of his arrest, Lozoya was planning to meet with Peña Nieto, who has a home on the Costa del Sol and who later fled to New York.

This Thursday, upon his release from the Alhaurín de la Torra prison in Malaga, where Lozoya is being held, he said that they will try to stop the extradition of the former executive, "the idea is not to go to Mexico". He also said that it is a matter "to be totally reviewed" once it is analyzed with the lawyers they will hire in Spain, with whom he will design the strategy "of whether he goes to Mexico or we fight here against the extradition". He said he has not yet received any communication from the Mexican Attorney General's Office, nor has he been informed of a possible transfer of Lozoya to another prison. Nor has he said whether his client's bank accounts have been frozen: if so, "they have not yet confirmed it".

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In his statements to journalists after leaving the Malaga prison, Coello reiterated his client's innocence. "He was an instrument, but at the right time and before the judges we will have to clarify it," he said, noting that it was a "complicated" case.



"No government official in Mexico commands himself if it is not by order of the President of the Republic, 50 years ago or today", said the lawyer, who insisted that: "I have served four presidents and I have always known that nothing is done without the will of the president, whoever he may be". The lawyer was accompanied by Lozoya's father, who has also defended the innocence of his son, who is scheduled to be seen in prison this Friday.

Emilio Lozoya, former CEO of Mexican oil giant Pemex.

Emilio Lozoya Austin's whereabouts were unknown in Mexico, where he is accused of allegedly receiving $10 million in fraudulent funds from the Odebrecth construction company, which is implicated in multiple corruption cases in the Americas. He is accused of organized crime, bribery and operations with resources of illicit origin. The Mexican authorities issued an arrest warrant through Interpol, which led to the arrest of the former executive.

The judge put him in provisional detention on the grounds that he posed a flight risk, having at the time a forged document and not having any work or home ties in Spain, where he planned to meet with Peña Nieto.

The judge's order warned that this measure of provisional detention will be revoked if the request for extradition is not submitted through diplomatic channels to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Justice within 45 days. Once this documentation is received from the Mexican authorities, Spain's National High Court will convene an extradition hearing where it will decide whether or not to hand him over.

During this period, the defense of the former Pemex executive may also appeal to the Criminal Court for provisional detention, so that he may be released until his extradition is resolved, as was the case with another Mexican businessman, Alonso Ancira, who was also detained and later released on bail in the summer, though his extradition has not yet been resolved.