Edgar Veytia

{{short description|Mexican politician}}

Edgar Veytia Cambero (born c. june 14 1970) is a Mexican criminal. He held the position as Attorney General of Nayarit, from 2013 to 2017.{{cite news|title=Mexican attorney general arrested in San Diego on New York drug trafficking charges|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/sd-me-mexicanag-arrested-20170329-story.html|accessdate=March 30, 2017|work=The San Diego Union-Tribune|date=March 29, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Hamilton|first1=Matt|title=Mexican state attorney general arrested at U.S. border in San Diego on drug trafficking charges|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-arrest-border-drug-trafficking-20170329-story.html|accessdate=March 30, 2017|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=March 30, 2017}}

Veytia was born in Tijuana but was raised in San Diego, California, where he attended elementary, middle, and high school. He attended law school at the Universidad de Alica in Tepic, Nayarit.{{Cite web|last=Dibble|first=Sandra|date=|title=Mexican state attorney general accused of drug trafficking grew up in San Diego|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/sd-me-veytia-san-diego-20170411-story.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-11-27|website=San Diego Union-Tribune|language=en-US}}

Veytia was known to many in Nayarit as "La Bestia" (the beast) or "El diablo" (the devil), and had been described as leading the "military arm" of the state government of state governor Roberto Sandoval Castañeda, through the Nayarit Police.{{Cite web|last=MVRP|date=2020-11-24|title=Nayarit and the Making of a Narco State|url=https://www.mexicoviolence.org/post/nayarit-and-the-making-of-a-narco-state|access-date=2020-11-27|website=Mexico Violence|language=en}}

On March 2, 2017, Veytia was charged with manufacturing, transporting and distributing heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana" from 2013 to February 2017 by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He was arrested on drug trafficking charges at the Cross Border Xpress on the Mexico–United States border on March 27, 2017. He was condemned to 20 years in prison and fined US $1,000,000 (MXN $18,350,000) on September 26, 2019. His lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, who had previously defended Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán called Veytia "the perfect scapegoat," insisting that the real leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel are still free.{{citation|website=El Pais Internacional|date=Sep 26, 2019|accessdate=Sep 28, 2019|language=es |title=La justicia de Estados Unidos condena a 20 años al exfiscal mexicano Edgar Veytia por narcotráfico |url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2019/09/26/actualidad/1569516224_129923.html|trans-title=United States court condemns former Mexican Attorney General to 20 years for drug dealing}} He is currently incarcerated at United States Penitentiary, Marion.