Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca

In 2021, the Attorney General of Mexico (FGR) asked the Congress of Tamaulipas to remove García's fuero (parliamentary immunity) from prosecution, claiming there was evidence of ties to drug cartels, money-laundering, and tax fraud. The request was confirmed by MORENA's deputy, Ignacio Mier, on 23 February 23, 2021, although representatives of the PAN party insisted the move was politically motivated in light of the 2021 Mexican elections.[15] Early in 2021, when he was accused of money laundering, the Financial Intelligence Unit in Mexico claimed Garcia Cabeca de Vaca had numerous properties in Mexico and Texas, with the governor in March saying none of the homes in the report were his.[16] On 22 March 2021 he appeared before the FGR to hear the accusations against him, gaining access to the investigation files against him that he'd previously been denied access to. Garcia Cabeza de Vaca affirmed he would prove his innocence.[17]

By April 2021, while he had been accused of organized crime and money laundering by the Mexican District Attorney's Office, but there had been no evidence found to support the accusations. At the end of April 2021, the House of Representatives voted 302 in favor of, 134 against, and 14 abstaining for removing Garcia Cabeza's immunity against federal charges, which could lead to him being potentially charged with tax evasion.[18]

An arrest warrant was issued for Cabeza de Vaca on 19 May 2021 by the Attorney General's Office of Mexico, which accused him of corruption.[5] His bank accounts were also reported frozen by federal prosecutors[16] and the National Migration Institute (INM) announced it had issued an immigration alert to track Cabeza de Vaca's movements.[19] In response to the media noting the warrant originated in the National Palace, president Lopez Obrador asserted he had not given instructions for the arrest as "The Public Prosecutor's Office is autonomous" and revenge was "not his strength."[20]

On Twitter the governor rejected the accusations as politically motivated,[5] while the National Action Party said the warrant represented a "break in the constitutional order for political reasons."[21] At the time, "a disagreement between courts, prosecutors and state and federal legislatures [made] it unclear whether the Tamaulipas state governor can be arrested, or whether he still enjoys immunity from prosecution as an elected official." While the federal Congress, dominated by the party of the president, had previously voted to remove immunity, while state legislature refused to recognize the vote. The Supreme Court had desisted on sharing an opinion,[16] which according to the Associated Press, appeared to leave the governor "in a situation of retaining his immunity" only within Tamaulipas.[6] On 20 May 2021, Congress of Tamaulipas agreed to sue the Attorney Generals of the Republic (FGR) and General of the State over the arrest warrant, arguing it violated their sovereignty. PAN politicians in the Congress stressed the Attorney General lacked the jurisdiction to detain Garcia Cabeza de Vaca, and that it was not considering an interim governor appointment.[22]

On 20 May 2021, President Lopez Obrador said that if the United States sent any diplomatic documents concerning the "bizarre standoff" between the president and governor, he would possibly publish them himself, even if they contained sensitive information. He displayed a May 4 letter from the legal attaché of the US Embassy, asking for "information on Garcia Cabeza de Vaca as part of a U.S. money laundering investigation."[16] On 21 May 2021, Milenio reported that the Financial Intelligence Unit had "handed over all information" about Cabeza de Vaca and the entirety of his family to the FBI, the DEA, and FinCEN in the United States.[23]

On 27 May 2021, UIF filed a complaint against García Cabeza de Vaca for embezzlement. After he hired a law firm in Houston, Texas, the FIU asked the FGR to investigate whether he was using public funds to pay for legal advisory services.[24]

On 26 May 2021, a corrupt judge suspended the arrest warrant, preventing the FGR from arresting him. [25] He was reported to hold a videoconference meeting at Casa Tam with governors and the secretary of the interior on 27 May 2021, reporting the meeting on his Twitter account.[26] On 30 May 2021, a judge ruled that despite the pulled warrant, criminal proceedings could not be prevented.[27] On 31 May 2021, he was present at an event to launch a "pilot plan" to re-open schools for young children in the state.[28] On 6 June 2021, it was reported he had ended his contractual relationship with his lawyer and was changing his defense team.[29] On 7 June 2021, the UIF was ordered to unfreeze the accounts of his relatives, including his mother, wife, and brother. The judge argued the freezes were unconstitutional, as the origin and legal support of the action by the FIU was unknown and undeclared.[30] On 22 June, a federal judge is to decide whether the governor would continue to be granted protection from federal arrest.[31]