Chetumal, Quintana Roo --
The Canadian woman accused of being the brains behind a conspiracy to smuggle a son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi into Mexico must remain in jail, according to a Canadian news blog which is monitoring events closely.
In a June 1 story, La politica es la politica ("Politics are Politics") reported that on May 24, a Mexican judge refused to dismiss criminal charges against the woman. (The private trials of Cynthia Vanier).
MGRR has also reported on this case extensively, which unfolded in 2011 and has caused tensions between the two nations. Cynthia Ann Vanier appeared in court in this Caribbean coast city on Feb. 3 to enter a not guilty plea to the allegations. Vanier, a Mount Forest, Ontario native, was arrested in Mexico City in November. She and alleged co-conspirators face multiple charges, including the possession of false documents, human trafficking and organized crime activity. Federal prosecutors claim they tried to establish Saadi Gaddafi and members of his family in Mexico after the collapse of the besieged Libyan regime, by purchasing expensive properties in Mexico City, and near the resort city of Puerto Vallarta.
Ms. Vanier has firmly denied the charges, all of which carry heavy penalties. A Mexican judge completed a preliminary review of the case and found sufficient evidence for a trial on Jan. 31. As a result of the latest court ruling reported last week by La Politica, Vanier will have to remain in jail until the legal process is completed.
Vanier claims that she has been "physically, mentally and emotionally" abused by prison authorities while in custody in a remote penal facility near the country's border with Belize. Bail is not permitted for the offenses under Mexico's criminal code.
Saadi Gaddafi never made it to Mexico. He fled Libya when the family regime collapsed and was later detained in Niger, where he remains. Saadi was a prominent businessman in the country during his father's 42 year reign. He also controlled military units during last year's popular uprising, which resulted in his father's capture and execution in October.
Cynthia Ann Vanier case
Royal Canadian Mounties trek to Mexico
Detienen en Suiza a ligado en caso Gaddafi-Mexico
Mexican president Felipe Calderón opines on Vanier case
Accused Canadian enters not guilty plea; alleges abuse in Mexican jail
Canadian woman, three others to stand trial in failed Gaddafi smuggling plot
Mexico busts plan by Gaddafi son to enter country, allegedly with foreign aid
Canadian in Gadhafi smuggling conspiracy ran an "Instant Response Team"
To bad the Mexican Government doesn't realize that Gillispie and his business parter Boffo had more to do with it than Vanier.
ReplyDeleteIt really is hard to put together even a circumstantial case that implicates Vanier in anything. Considering the reputations of Gary Peters and this "Bertha" character (along with her husband), it is hard to trust any of the spotty evidence. Besides, if Gary Peters had gone to Saadi Gadhafi saying that an inexperienced type like Vanier was now responsible for Gadhafi's post-Libya freedom, does anyone think Gadhafi would think Peters was doing him any favours? Nothing about this case adds up, really, with Vanier part of it. I'm not sure I would believe her if she confessed!
ReplyDeleteYou have an ally in a Canadian writer (I linked his article at the top of this one) who also thinks Vanier is innocent (at least that's the impression I get from reading his pieces).
ReplyDeleteI could not disagree more with both of you. I believe Vanier is guilty just as charged. She likes to portray herself as an international globe trotter who jetted around the world helping resolve disputes at the highest level. I see her as a person with a manufactured CV and a very murky background who was driven by the oldest motive in the world: $$$.
I hope Vanier collects her payment here in Mexico, which is likely to be many years of beans, rice and a malfunctioning toilet to carry away the remnants of both. That'll teach her to get a job next time, just like everybody else.
Yes - I do know that writer, I am not he! I post mainly about this to Bruce Fisher's wrongfully convicted site... for me this is not about how Vanier portrays herself. I'm sure that she may have been blinded at points by SNC-Lavalins' money; the thing I cannot get over is why Saadi Gadhafi himself would trust his fragile post-Libya future to this kind of wannabee? Gadhafi would want ironclad connections with both Mexican g'vt not to mention a powerful cartel or two... clearly connections above Vanier's pay grade. The truest interview Gary Peters ever gave was his first one with Canada's CBC's As It Happens, when he said Vanier in June 2011 got involved in stuff she couldn't hope to understand and was used by "unknown" powers who threw her under a bus... the only thing he didn't admit to was doing it himself, although the interviewer sounded convinced. Besides, what's the evidence against her when anonymous e-mails gets thrown out?
ReplyDeleteThe possibility of this woman being a ring leader in anything of this magnitude - spiriting an entire family away from Lybia - is very far-fetched.
ReplyDeleteNothing she has ever done in her past would begin to suggest that she would have the experience or capability to pull such an effort successfully. This would have to be a CIA type of story to be believable.
She might have been inspired by the dollars to offer her assistance but then how would they have gotten anyone to get involved if there was not a promise of good compensation. Her efforts seem more of a support role to evaluate the Lybian impact on the company, which was mostly completed, and not that of an "insider".
It has all the flavor of a James Mitchner novel with conspiracies and finding a patsy to cover up much, much bigger fish.
I agree with one of your statements - but only one: "Nothing she has ever done in her past would begin to suggest that she would have (had) the experience or capability to pull (off) such an effort successfully."
ReplyDeleteThe issue is not whether Vanier had the ability to get members of the Gaddafi family out of Libya (much in the news today, after the murder of the U.S. ambassador there), but whether she THOUGHT she did. Vanier wanted to run with the big dogs - that explains in part her silly "CV," which consisted of little more than flowery self-adulation reflecting a life of minimal accomplishment.
Cynthia Ann Vanier was a legend in her own mind, as the saying goes, and it got her into big trouble. That's why you're having your morning caffeine at your kitchen table or office desk, I'm having mind in Black Coffee along beautiful Chapultepec boulevard in Guadalajara, and Vanier is having hers in a Chetumal jail cell.