FBI returns stolen conquistador document to Mexico

August 14, 2025

The FBI has repatriated a 500-year-old document signed by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés to Mexico, one of 15 pages believed to have been stolen from Mexico's national archives between 1985 and 1993. The manuscript, written in 1527 when Cortés was governor of New Spain, details payments for expedition supplies and plans for exploring what would become Spanish colonial territory in the Americas. The document was discovered in the United States through open-source research after the Mexican government requested FBI assistance in 2024, though no prosecution will occur as the document changed hands multiple times since its theft.

Who is affected

Mexico's national archives
The Mexican government
The historical record of Spanish colonization
Researchers and historians studying Cortés and New Spain
Cultural heritage preservation institutions

What action is being taken

The FBI is actively investigating and working to recover the remaining 14 missing pages
The FBI's art crime team is conducting open-source research to locate stolen artifacts
The FBI is collaborating with Mexican authorities on cultural property repatriation
U.S. authorities are working to counter the trafficking of historical artifacts

Why it matters

The document represents a valuable historical record of Spanish colonization in the Americas
It provides specific details about Cortés's expedition planning and resource allocation
The manuscript is considered protected cultural property important to Mexico's heritage
The repatriation occurs during a period of political tension between the U.S. and Mexico
As a major consumer of antiquities, the U.S. has responsibility to combat artifact trafficking

What's next

The FBI is determined to locate and repatriate the other pages still missing from the collection

Read full article from source: BBC