A federal judge in New York has granted the US government’s request to dismiss the charges against a Mexican ex-minister accused of drug trafficking. Gen Salvador Cienfuegos, who was Mexico’s defence secretary from 2012 to 2018, was arrested at Los Angeles airport last month. Prosecutors said he had links to the “extremely violent” H-2 drug cartel. But the US Department of Justice said it would seek to dismiss the charges so he could be investigated in Mexico. In a hearing on Wednesday – held just hours after the unexpected news of the Department of Justice’s request to dismiss the charges – Judge Carol Bagley Amon granted the request. “Although these are very serious charges against a very significant figure, and the old adage ‘a bird in the hand’ comes to mind, I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of the government’s decision,” the judge said at the hearing.(BBC)…[+]