Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. has made a historic cultural heritage announcement: 30 ancient artifacts totaling almost $500,000 have been returned to Mexico. The confiscations were made as part of ongoing investigations into networks that target South and Central American cultural heritage through looting and trafficking.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Bragg stated, “The pieces being returned today reflect the depth and beauty of this ancient cultural heritage,” at a ceremony attended by Homeland Security Investigations New York’s Alexandra deArmas and Acting Consul General of Mexico Joaqu n Gerardo Pastrana Uranga. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners at HSI to find the many more pieces that have been stolen from Mexico and are still in homes, galleries, and auction houses.
Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker emphasized the global reach of their investigations, which have connected thousands of artifacts, including those returned to Mexico, and antiquities trafficking to more than a dozen nations. He claimed that the return of these relics is an attempt to bring justice to a whole country whose history has been turned into a commodity.
Significant historical significance is attached to the returned items, which include representations of the Aztec creator god Quetzalcoatl, a Xipe Totec figure, and a stone Ballgame yoke. With gods like Quetzalcoatl, shown as a feathered rattlesnake, signifying the brilliance of a civilization that could envision the wind taking shape, and Xipe Totec, who was thought to have flayed himself to create life, they provide insight into a society that was closely tied to the natural world and the universe. The cultural significance of returning these items and the motivation they would provide for future generations were emphasized by Acting Consul General Pastrana Uranga.
Under Bragg’s leadership, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit has recovered nearly 2,100 antiquities worth $250 million from 39 countries. In total, the unit has returned over 5,250 artifacts to 29 countries out of a haul worth nearly $460 million, according to investigations led by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos. These investigations include contributions from ADA James Edwards-Lebair and Taylor Holland, Investigative Analyst Charlotte Looram, and Special Agent Robert Fromkin of HSI, among others.
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