The stolen 16th-century manuscript was signed by Hernán Cortés. It’s been decades since it vanished from Mexico’s national archives.
HOUSTON — The FBI’s Houston office announced that the FBI has returned a stolen 16th-century manuscript signed by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés to the Mexican government.
According to the agency, the document includes logistical and planning details related to Cortés’ 1527 expedition—an important journey that contributed to the establishment of New Spain.
FBI Special Agent Jessica Dittmer, part of the bureau’s Art Crime Team, worked alongside NYPD Detective Rigel Zeledon to recover the artifact. The manuscript was originally held by Mexico’s national archives, el Archivo General de la Nación, and authorities believe it went missing sometime between the 1980s and 1990s. The theft was discovered in 1993 during a routine inventory, when 15 pages were found missing from a Cortés collection.
In 2024, Mexico asked the FBI to help find page 28 of the missing documents. With help from FBI Atlanta and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York, they found the artifact and verified its authenticity to coordinate its legal return. No charges will be filed.
This is the second document from the Cortés collection the FBI has returned. Another, involving a purchase of rose sugar, was returned in July 2023.
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