Mexican Official Says Original Arrest Was Invalid

The woman that has been held in Mexico for over 24 months was not arrested legally, and her detention could have been voided within 72 hours. This was the word from a Mexican Senior Federal Justice Official

Edmonton- The woman that has been held in Mexico for over 24 months was not arrested legally, and her detention could have been voided within 72 hours. This was the word from a Mexican Senior Federal Justice Official.

According to the Mexican Senior Official, there were a number of blunders, both on the part of the Mexican authorities, and the Canadian Consulate. The Canadian Consulate did not represent Brenda Martin in the proper way, and the actions of the Mexican Attorney General’s Department were also inept and wrong.

What has resulted is a mess that is very tangled and confusing, and the only apparent swift way out of prison for Brenda Martin may be from a pardon from the President of Mexico.

“I think that no one wants to find her guilty, but there have been so many screw ups that the case is very fouled up,” said the Senior Mexican Federal Official, speaking through an interpreter. The official spoke without giving his name for fear of reprisal.

Brenda Martin has been in jail since February of 2006, and is charged with criminal conspiracy and money laundering. She was employed in the town of Puerto Vallarta as a cook for a Canadian man, Alyn Waage. Mr. Waage posed as a rich investor and ran a large Internet fraud, bilking as much as $60 million dollars from investors.
Waage is currently serving a 10-year sentence in a North Carolina prison. Martin does not appear to have any connection to Waage, but despite this she was arrested in 2006, nearly five years after she had stopped working for Waage.