Mexican First Lady's Florida Home Owned by Potential Government Contractor Jose Luis Montenegro and Julio C Roa - The Guardian
go to original August 9, 2016

Rivera’s unorthodox relationship with Grupo Pierdant echoes aspects of her purchase of a $7m mansion in Mexico City from another government contractor in 2014. (Aristegui Noticias)

Update: The Guardian Forced to Retract Story About Mexican President, First Lady (teleSUR)

Mexico’s first lady is using a luxury property in Florida bought by a company that is expected to bid for lucrative government contracts, the Guardian has learned.

Angelica Rivera, the wife of President Enrique Peña Nieto, is using the $2.05m apartment in Key Biscayne, south of Miami Beach, with the apparent blessing of Grupo Pierdant, which is a contender to run Mexico’s ports.

Ocean Club Tower One at Key Biscayne (Handout)

The company has also paid the property tax on an additional Key Biscayne apartment bought by a holding company set up by Rivera.

The arrangements echo aspects of Rivera’s purchase of a $7m mansion in Mexico City from another government contractor, the so-called Casa Blanca (White House) scandal.

The first couple’s perceived conflict of interest with the government’s contracting process landed like a bombshell in 2014, wrecking Peña Nieto’s popularity and reformist credentials and reviving long-standing concerns about corruption in the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

The Guardian’s investigation into the Florida properties reveals an unorthodox relationship between the first lady and Grupo Pierdant, centered on Ocean Tower One, a gated community with a pool, tennis courts and white glove concierge in Key Biscayne, an affluent enclave in Miami-Dade County.

Read the rest at The Guardian

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