The United States Embassy in Mexico reported Wednesday that a stolen manuscript signed by the Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés was returned this day by the Federal Research Office (FBI, in English) FBI to the Government of Mexico.
“The repatriation of this valuable cultural artifact – which the authorities believe was stolen in the 1980s or 1990s – was the result of a close collaboration between the FBI, the New York City Police Department, the Department of Justice and the Government of Mexico,” said the diplomatic representation in a message on social network X.
In addition, the American embassy referred an FBI publication in which Agent Jessica Dittmer indicated that the document “is an original manuscript page that was signed by Hernán Cortés on February 20, 1527”.
According to Dittmer, the document “describes the payment of common gold weights for preparation expenses for the discovery of spice lands, so it really gives an idea of planning and preparation for the unexplored territory of that time.”
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The valuable document is part of those previously delivered to the General Archive of the Nation in July 2023.
On August 26, 2021, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) of Mexico after, from 2017 to 2020, specialists reported as stolen 10 documents in the 1980s or 1990s.
The case broke out that an independent group of historians found that the Swann Galleries auction house in New York offered a real Spanish order addressed to Cortés and Pedro de Alvarado in 1521, the year of the conquest.
Globally, Mexico’s embassies and consulates have recovered more than 14,000 cultural pieces since the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024).
The Mexican Executive has fought auctions in cities such as New York, Paris and Rome, in which stolen objects appear or that belong to the heritage of Mexico.
In addition, demands before foreign governments intensified to recover archaeological and artistic pieces.
Under these guidelines, Mexico seeks to preserve its cultural and historical heritage, in addition to strategic alliances with foreign authorities, which have resulted in seizures and auction cancellation
With EFE information
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