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The FBI said in a statement that the document had changed hands
various times over the years, so no one will be charged.
“This is an original manuscript page that was actually signed by
Hernán Cortés on February 20, 1527,” said Special Agent Jessica
Dittmer, a member of the FBI’s Art Crime Team. By then, Cortés
had conquered the Aztec empire in 1521, two years after landing
in present-day Mexico.
While archivists at Mexico’s General Archive of the Nation were
microfilming their collection of documents signed by Cortés in
1993, they discovered that 15 pages of the manuscript were
missing. They believe it was stolen between 1985 and 1993.
Mexico requested the help of the FBI’s Art Crime Team last year
for this particular page.
The FBI eventually narrowed the search to the United States and
located the document, though the agency did not say who had it.
The New York City Police Department, U.S. Department of Justice
and Mexico’s government were all involved in the investigation.
It is the second Cortés document the FBI has returned to the
Mexican government. In 2023, the agency returned a 16th-century
letter from Cortes.
“Pieces like this are considered protected cultural property and
represent valuable moments in Mexico’s history, so this is
something that the Mexicans have in their archives for the
purpose of understanding history better,” she said.
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