A federal collegiate court overturned the ruling that had allowed the proceedings against Francisco González Arredondo, former prosecutor specializing in human rights in Chihuahua, to continue, determining that the charges against him lacked sufficient legal grounds to justify his being bound over for trial. The decision questions the manner in which the state prosecutor’s office presented the allegations of alleged psychological torture.
Between 2016 and 2021, González Arredondo led the so-called Justice Operation for Chihuahua, a strategy launched during Javier Corral’s administration to investigate an alleged network involving the diversion of public funds linked to the administration of former Governor César Duarte. Following the change in the state government, he was arrested in November 2022 and went from leading anti-corruption investigations to facing criminal proceedings himself.
The judicial ruling, issued on July 30 in a 109-page decision, states that the prosecutor’s office failed to adequately specify when the alleged acts attributed to the former prosecutor took place. According to the judges, this lack of precision affected González Arredondo’s ability to mount an adequate defense against the charges.
One of the primary worries of the court centered on the timeframe utilized by the Public Prosecutor’s Office to determine the dates of the purported acts of torture. Spanning roughly 21 months—specifically between February 2017 and November 2018—the accusations lacked precise calendar dates, specific contexts, and any description of the exact part the former prosecutor supposedly took in every occurrence.
The judges also reviewed recordings of the initial hearings in the proceedings. They observed that the defense repeatedly asked for specific dates to be provided for the alleged acts, while the prosecution continued to refer only to the broad period of nearly two years. The court determined that this lack of specificity directly affected the right to an effective defense.
The ruling also examined the testimony of the person who reported the alleged incidents. The judges found that the account provided an unclear chronology regarding the interrogations, threats and pressures described, without clearly establishing when they occurred or in which of those incidents González Arredondo allegedly participated directly.
The court, composed of Marta Barrios, Mario Gámez and José Cornejo, concluded that the deficiencies concerning the timing and circumstances of the alleged events also made it difficult to determine the former prosecutor’s probable involvement and raised doubts about whether sufficient evidence existed to sustain the charges.
The decision also integrated a communication issued by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico. Throughout the amparo proceedings, the entity voiced apprehension that the criminal charges brought against González Arredondo might amount to payback linked to his anti-corruption investigations. Ultimately, the tribunal chose to append the statement to the legal dossier so it could be weighed during the final judgment.
González Arredondo had remained in pretrial detention since November 2022 until a federal judge ordered in March 2023 that he continue the proceedings while free. The new ruling represents a setback for the prosecution and significantly changes the former prosecutor’s legal situation, given that his career was closely associated with the anti-corruption investigations carried out during Javier Corral’s administration.
The case has gained relevance in the broader debate over the use of the criminal justice system against public officials and human rights defenders involved in sensitive investigations. The ruling highlights the obligation of authorities to formulate precise charges and respect the procedural guarantees of individuals facing criminal proceedings.
Source: EL PAÍS — https://elpais.com/mexico/2026-08-08/la-justicia-desarma-el-caso-contra-el-fiscal-que-persiguio-la-corrupcion-en-chihuahua.html
