A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted a former commander of a Mexican intelligence unit for allegedly trading secrets to a drug cartel.
The indictment posted Friday in Chicago charges Ivan Reyes Arzate with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. His Chicago attorney, Joe Lopez, said Arzate will plead not guilty at his Aug. 1 arraignment.
A complaint was unsealed in April after Arzate's arrest in Chicago. It contends he divulged the identity of an informant to Mexico's Beltran Leyva cartel using intelligence given to him by U.S. agents. The informant was later tortured and killed.
Lopez describes Arzate as "a political prisoner" and says his contact with cartel figures was "a proper investigative technique." He denies Arzate ever unmasked an informant. Prosecutors in Chicago declined comment.
