Mexican Cops Kidnap LDS Mother Yanira Maldonado, Accuse Her Of Smuggling 12 Pounds Of Marijuana; Judge Releases Her After Reviewing Security Video Exonerating Her

The use of the term "kidnap" is justified by the fact that I consider Mexico to be a kleptocracy and assume every Mexican cop and public official is on the take until they prove otherwise. The massive immigration of Mexicans to the United States is not driven solely by economics. This post represents a composite of stories from KSAZ Channel 10 in Phoenix, the New York Daily News, and KNXV Channel 15 in Phoenix, and CNN. The story has gone international, with the Daily Mail picking it up. Update May 30th: A judge released Yanira Maldonado after viewing security footage which showed she and her husband did not carry the drugs aboard the bus.

Screenshot of the Maldonados

On May 22nd, 2013, Gary and Yanira Maldonado, who head up a family of seven kids from Goodyear, Arizona, traveled to Mexico to attend the funeral of Yanira's aunt. They were on their way back to Phoenix when the Tufesa bus they took was stopped at a checkpoint near Hermosillo. Mexican federales searched the bus and claim they found drugs under a seat that the Mormon couple was sitting in. Initially, the federales accused Gary of possessing the drugs. But after Gary contacted his father Larry Maldonado, who in turn contacted the U.S. Consulate in Hermosillo, the federales changed their minds and charged Yanira instead, claiming the pot was under her seat. The bus driver was briefly detained, but released. Yanira was taken to a women's prison in Nogales. Her interrogation included putting her in a non-air-conditioned room and waking her up several times in the middle of night to get her to sign documents that she said she couldn't read. At one point a Mexican attorney suggested that Gary Maldonado offer cash to the police, but when he raised $5,000 to hand over to a judge as a bribe, the money was refused, with the judge allegedly saying "Oh, it's not about the money anymore".

Yanira Maldonado appeared in court on May 28th in what can be described as a preliminary hearing. The hearing will continue of May 29th, when Yanira's husband Gary is expected to testify and say his 42-year-old wife, who is a U.S. citizen of 17 years, a devout Mormon and mother, had nothing to do with the marijuana allegedly found on the bus. The cops who claim they found the marijuana are also expected to testify. A final resolution is expected by Friday May 31st at the latest; the judge could either release her or send her to a prison in southern Mexico for four months until an actual criminal trial.

Update May 29th: During Day Two of the preliminary hearing, Yanira Maldonado's lawyer Francisco Benitez Paz argued that soldiers had presented inconsistent testimony about two packages of marijuana that they had recovered, with some saying both were found under his client's seat and others saying they were found under two separate seats. Benitez described the packets of drugs as attached to the seat bottoms with metal hooks, a task that would have been impossible for a passenger boarding normally as Yanira Maldonado did. Benitez also said he had requested a list of the bus passengers and video of the passengers boarding to show she was not in possession of drugs. He presented letters from people he described as prominent American officials vouching for Yanira Maldonado's character and said he was awaiting financial information proving she would have no need to earn cash smuggling drugs. In response, Mexican officials provided local media with photos that they said were of the packages Maldonado is accused of smuggling. Each was about 5 inches high and 20 inches wide, roughly the width of a bus seat. The marijuana was packed into plastic bags and wrapped in tan packing tape.

Update May 30th: Good news! After court officials reviewed security footage that showed Yanira Maldonado and her husband boarding a bus in Mexico with only blankets, bottles of water and her purse in hand, the judge determined that she was no longer a suspect and all allegations against her were dropped. She spoke briefly to reporters clustered outside the jail, saying she thanks God, her husband and her lawyer. With that she and her husband walked hand in hand to a waiting car, departing for the U.S. border several miles away. While there's no indication she's been barred from ever returning to Mexico, Yanira said on May 29th that it's unlikely she'll ever return back to Mexico after she is released.

The Maldonado family vociferously denies that Yanira had anything to do with the drugs. There are witnesses who saw them board the bus without packages, and this is allegedly backed up by video. An unnamed Mexican official from the state of Sonora also thinks Yanira Maldonado was set up, telling CNN "A passenger by himself or herself would have been unable to carry almost six kilos of marijuana onto a bus without being noticed. She must've been framed." The local LDS network has mobilized in support of the Maldonados; church leaders at the state and local level have offered spiritual and material support to the family. A Facebook page (must log in to read) founded to support Yanira Maldonado had garnered more than 12,500 members as of Tuesday afternoon, many of whom are fellow Mormons. A number have offered to connect the Maldonados with Mormon leaders in Mexico or media in the United States. Some in the Facebook group said that they are refraining from eating and drinking for a day on the family's behalf.

Arizona U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, who is also LDS, is involved; a statement from his office says that he is personally monitoring the situation and has had multiple conversations with the deputy Mexican ambassador. U.S. Senator John McCain has also taken an interest. In response, the Mexican embassy said, "Mrs. Maldonado's rights to a defense counsel and due process are being observed. As the process is ongoing and a preliminary decision by the judge is due soon, no further comments will be made at this time."

Another reason to be concerned is because some American LDS members are required to go to Mexico to perform temple ordinances. The members of the El Paso Texas Stake and the El Paso Mount Franklin Texas Stake are assigned to the Ciudad Juárez México Temple District. This means they are required to go to Mexico to do temple work. While there have been no recorded instances of problems, Church leaders should allow the members of the two American stakes to go to an American temple if they so desire for personal peace of mind. A sampling of pertinent comments from the news websites (after the jump):

AFA's Bryan Fischer Falsely Claims LDS Church Went Soft On Gays In Boy Scouts Because They Secretly Want To Legalize Polygamy

Ever since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints broke ranks with other socially-conservative denominations and announced their acceptance of the Boy Scouts' decision to accept gay Scouts, I've been wondering when the other shoe was going to drop and we would get criticism from those organizations.

Well, the other shoe has now dropped. On May 28th, 2013, Right Wing Watch reported that Bryan Fischer, who was hired in 2009 by the American Family Association (AFA) to serve as their director of issue analysis for government and public policy, is claiming that the LDS Church has gone soft on the homosexual agenda because as the homosexual agenda advances, the next domino to fall is going to be the ban against polygamy, and that because the homosexual agenda may be the secret to restoring polygamy to America, this would vindicate Mormon doctrine on plural marriage from the very beginning. He admits he has no evidence supporting his claim, though. See an accompanying story on HuffPo. Here's a video clip of Fischer making his rather spurious claim on his Focal Point radio show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnrIx5ehmdM



A brief review of the American Family Association website revealed no criticism of the LDS Church by name, so Fischer may be speaking strictly for himself rather than for the AFA. However, Fischer's misinformation still needs to be rebutted. In 1890, the LDS Church issued a revelation indefinitely suspending the solemnization of plural marriages by the Church; this was canonized as Official Declaration 1 and appended to the Doctrine & Covenants. Furthermore, Church officials ask members during worthiness interviews to certify that they do not affiliate with any apostate groups, which also means any religious organizations practicing plural marriages. In addition, any Mormon found to be practicing plural marriage is subjected to a disciplinary council and subsequently excommunicated. Finally, since the 12th Article of Faith states "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law", the Church will not reinstitute plural marriage so long as it is contrary to the law of the land. Don't forget that it was the Savior Himself who said "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and render unto God that which is God's".

Furthermore, the LDS Church has made it abundantly clear that although they will accept Scouts with a homosexual orientation, they will not accept any sexual behavior outside of legal heterosexual marriage, period. In the letter from the First Presidency distributed to all American congregations which announced the Church's decision on the Scouts, the Church reiterated its firm commitment to upholding these standards and to protecting and strengthening boys and young men.

It should also be noted that Bryan Fischer has a reputation for making fanciful and emotional statements at times as he gets carried away in his passion to defend traditional cultural values. This tendency attracted the unwelcome attention of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which expanded its reach in 2010 to designate his American Family Association and other pro-family groups as "anti-gay hate groups". However, many suspect the SPLC widened their reach in order to attract more donations; their chief trial counsel Morris Dees makes over $300,000 per year and lives in a palatial trophy home in Montgomery, Alabama. The SPLC also has a flagrant left-wing political bias, as indicated by the sidebar on their Hatewatch blog which exclusively lists links from hard-left progressive websites.

In the final analysis, I have no desire to pick a fight with the American Family Association, since they line up with us on so many other important cultural and social issues. In fact, as President Boyd K. Packer said back in 1993, feminists and intellectuals within LDS ranks pose a greater threat to the safety and security of the LDS Church than occasionally-misguided allies such as the AFA. But when someone puts out misinformation about our Church, we must rebut it, even if the source is well-intentioned. I hope the AFA will re-direct itself back to confronting the real enemy -- Satan.