In a remarkable demonstration of ICE’s authority and determination, Tomás Jesús Yarrington Ruvalcaba, a former governor of Mexico and a presidential candidate, has been returned to Mexico after completing a prison sentence in the United States for money laundering. The ex-politician now faces further charges in his native country.

To provide context, Yarrington served as the governor of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2005 and later ran as a presidential candidate for Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party in 2005. Sixteen years later, in 2021, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in a U.S. court, admitting to accepting bribes during his tenure as governor and using the illicit funds to anonymously acquire properties in the United States.

Fox News reported that Yarrington was extradited to the U.S. by Italian authorities in 2018 following his arrest in Italy. He had attempted to resist extradition but was ultimately compelled to return to the U.S. Upon his arrival, Yarrington was taken directly to federal prison.

At 68 years old, Yarrington was initially apprehended in Italy in 2017 while traveling under a false identity. After his arrest, he was sentenced to 108 months at the Federal Correctional Institution in Thomson, Illinois, where he remained until his transfer to ICE custody in February 2025, which led to his deportation back to Mexico.

Press reports indicate that Yarrington was ordered to be removed from the U.S. by the Department of Justice’s Executive Office on April 9, 2025. According to Breitbart, his prosecution was managed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division, the FBI, and the Texas Attorney General’s Office, highlighting that Yarrington’s deportation was a significant collective effort.

ICE officials issued a statement that detailed Yarrington’s criminal charges, affirming that he utilized bribe money during his tenure as a governor of Mexico. ICE remarked, “Yarrington employed the bribery funds he acquired while in office to buy properties in the United States. He arranged for nominee buyers to acquire these properties in the U.S. to conceal his ownership and the illicit bribe money used for their purchase.”

Further commenting on the situation, ICE officials provided additional insights into Yarrington’s dubious transactions, which encompassed several high-value acquisitions in the United States. An ICE spokesperson informed Fox News, “Yarrington laundered his unlawfully obtained bribe funds in the United States by acquiring beachfront condominiums, expansive estates, commercial properties, aircraft, and luxury automobiles.”

In conclusion of their official statement, ICE officials noted that Yarrington was transferred directly from federal prison into ICE custody on July 3, 2024, and has been awaiting the outcome of his immigration proceedings since that time. ICE also confirmed that Yarrington did not contest this, stating, “He waived his right to appeal.”