Almoloya de Juárez, Mex. At 9:52 a.m. this Friday, Israel Vallarta Cisneros left the Altiplano maximum security prison, after spending almost 20 years in prison without receiving a sentence.

After crossing the security gate of the federal prison, he embraced his son Israel and his wife María Saenz, and later his lawyer Arturo López, who has been his defense attorney for more than five years.

Minutes later, he warned that there would be consequences for each and every one of those who participated in the television rigging orchestrated by Genaro García Luna, Secretary of Security during Felipe Calderón's administration, who maneuvered for fifteen years to keep him in prison.

"Thank you for all these years of support, to all the people of Mexico. Thank you, because you didn't believe all the lies and hidden truths told by those past governments. Without playing politics, I knew the truth would prevail sooner or later," he said.

Vallarta revealed that it was on Thursday night, around 9 p.m., when he was notified of the acquittal issued by the third federal criminal district judge, based in Toluca.

"I never lost hope of being free, never, ever, because I always knew we were innocent, and that was what kept me hopeful that one day justice would be done," he noted.

When asked if he would sue the Mexican government for holding him in prison for 20 years without a sentence, Israel Vallarta responded that he would consider the possibility, but emphasized that the most important thing for him now is to enjoy his family, since during his time in prison, he lost his father, mother, and siblings."What good is it to give me billions of pesos to compensate for the damages if that doesn't help me recover so many people I lost?"

However, his wife, María Sáenz, said they do hope, at the very least, that President Claudia Sheinbaum will offer a public apology, stressing that it is"clearly unjust and inhumane" to keep a man imprisoned for nearly 20 years without sentencing.

Israel Vallarta promised the media he would hold a press conference to answer all questions and discuss everything and everyone.

“I have a lot to say, but there will be time. Right now, all I want is to be with my family.”

He acknowledged that inside the Altiplano prison, he met with Luis Cárdenas Palomino, Genaro García Luna's right-hand man, and clarified that he never complained to him, insulted him, or hit him."My goal wasn't to hit him or harm him or his family. I just want justice to be done, one in which he lives behind bars and suffers the limitations he experienced inside prison, not being able to be with his loved ones."

Vallarta was arrested in December 2005 and was the victim of a television montage orchestrated by the then federal security secretary, Genaro García Luna, who claimed that this person belonged to the kidnapping gang Los Zodiaco.

Along with Israel Vallarta, Frenchwoman Florence Cassez was arrested, but in 2013 she regained her freedom thanks to a direct injunction granted by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.

He indicated that Cárdenas Palomino was transferred from the Altiplano prison to another jail last Wednesday and recalled that after his arrest, this police commander, loyal to García Luna, offered him a financial settlement to keep quiet about the torture inflicted on him during his capture, which he rejected.

He also acknowledged that he did not accept the amnesty agreement offered to him by authorities in 2019 and insisted that he always believed that justice would be served one day, as he had committed no crime.

"Carlos Loret de Mola, you owe me an explanation"

Already inside the vehicle he boarded to head home, Israel Vallarta recorded a short video that he uploaded to social media in which he invited journalist Carlos Loret de Mola to talk about what happened, since it was on his news program on Televisa where the setup of Vallarta's arrest was staged.

“Carlos, we'll talk. I don't hate you because everything falls into place. You know exactly why you left Televisa, you and I know, but I'd like to have that conversation upfront. I would like, Carlos Loret de Mola, for you to listen to this, and I hope you'd invite me to your show, because I'd be happy to accept the invitation right now if you're interested.”

Vallarta stated that the conversation that was left unfinished minutes before the broadcast of the montage, like the one that couldn't be arranged before the judge, must now take place, either on his news program or on another channel or media outlet willing to organize such a meeting.

“Carlos Loret de Mola Álvarez, I'm here. I don't wish you any harm. I wish you blessings from the bottom of my heart, and I think it's only right we talk. You owe me a chat. You owe me an explanation.”