Mexican federal prosecutors are seeking the arrest of Raúl Rocha Cantú, the owner of the Miss Universe Organization, after revoking a cooperation agreement that had temporarily shielded him from prosecution.
According to reporting by Reforma, the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, known as the FGR and now led by Ernestina Godoy, has formally rescinded Rocha's status as a cooperating witness and obtained a new arrest warrant accusing him of organized crime. Authorities allege that Rocha played a leadership role in an illegal network involved in fuel trafficking and weapons smuggling.
The decision marks a dramatic reversal for the Monterrey-based businessman, who had secured a deal with federal prosecutors earlier this year after admitting in writing to participating in fuel smuggling operations from Guatemala into Mexico. That cooperation agreement, negotiated under former Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero, remained in effect for only 26 days.
According to the report, prosecutors withdrew the deal for three primary reasons. First, Rocha failed to appear for questioning by the Ministry of Security on December 8 and December 12, requesting instead to be interviewed by videoconference. The interviews were intended to obtain new information related to the investigation, a key requirement of his cooperation agreement.
Second, Rocha did not attend a scheduled interview before the Special Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime, where defense attorneys for Mari Carmen Ramírez Rodríguez sought to question him. Ramírez Rodríguez, a former prosecutor, is currently imprisoned on charges of selling sensitive information to a criminal organization.
The third factor cited by prosecutors involved a formal request from Alejandro Fabián Cordero, legal representative of Mexico's state oil company Pemex. Cordero petitioned the FGR to revoke Rocha's protected status, arguing that he failed to meet the legal requirements necessary to qualify as a cooperating witness.
Federal authorities allege that Rocha admitted to transferring approximately 2.1 million pesos, about $125,000 at current exchange rates, on two occasions in late 2024 to Jacobo Reyes León, who surrendered to authorities earlier this week. Rocha reportedly received the return of his principal investment plus agreed-upon interest in February 2025, reinforcing prosecutors' claims that the payments were part of an illicit fuel trafficking scheme known in Mexico as huachicol.
A federal judge in Querétaro, Octavio Alarcón Terrón, authorized a new arrest warrant earlier this week, charging Rocha with organized crime related to arms and hydrocarbon trafficking. If detained, Rocha would face mandatory pretrial detention under Mexican law.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that her administration is aware of the case but emphasized that the responsibility to provide details rests with the FGR. "The prosecutor's office has to inform the public. It is a matter for the Fiscalía," Sheinbaum said, adding that while the federal government has information, it is not responsible for disclosing investigative details.
The legal developments come just days after Rocha announced the temporary closure of Miss Universe's administrative offices in Mexico City. In a public statement issued Sunday, he said the organization would move its operations to New York, citing what he described as unfounded attacks and an environment of legal uncertainty in Mexico.
Prosecutors now consider Rocha a fugitive. The charges he faces carry severe penalties and signal one of the most high-profile intersections in recent years between international entertainment business and Mexico's ongoing battle against organized crime.
Miss Universe has not issued an additional statement beyond confirming the relocation of its offices.
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