( CNN ) -- A imprisoned former Mexican general has been released for lack of evidence nearly a year after his arrest on corruption charges . Retired Gen. Tomas Angeles Dauahare , along with three other high-ranking military leaders , was accused of ties to drug traffickers . He was arrested in May and formally charged in August . The arrests shook confidence in the military , which under former President Felipe Calderon had done the heavy lifting in the offensive against drug cartels . The military was chosen to go after the cartels because it was seen as less corruptible than local and state forces . At the time of the arrests , lawmakers lamented what they said could be one of the highest-level corruption cases in Mexico 's recent history . Since then , a new president and new attorney general assumed posts , and in January prosecutors said they had no evidence to incriminate Angeles Dauahare . A judge on Wednesday ordered the retired general 's release , and the attorney general 's office agreed with the order . Angeles Dauahare walked out of prison Wednesday night wearing gray sweats and tennis shoes . The accusations against him were defamatory and false , he told reporters , calling himself `` a victim of the last ( presidential ) term . '' Other generals who remain in custody for alleged ties to organized crimes will also be freed , he predicted . Angeles Dauahare was arrested last year together with Brig . Gen. Roberto Dawe Gonzalez , retired Lt. Col. Silvio Isidro de Jesus Hernandez Soto and retired Gen. Ricardo Escorcia Vargas , a former deputy defense secretary . CNNMexico 's Mauricio Torres and CNN 's Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report .
Retired President Tomas ##i Dauahare faced charges of corruption . He was accused of ties with a drug cartel . Police said they had no evidence to charge Angeles himself .