Tabasco prepares disappearance accusation against Hernán N

Reporting and context

Tabasco prosecutors planned to file a formal accusation of enforced disappearance against former state security secretary Hernán “N” on Thursday, October 22, according to Azteca Noticias, citing state attorney general Óscar Tonatiuh Vázquez Landeros.

The announcement concerns the next stage of an existing prosecution. Azteca Noticias reported that a judge ordered the case to proceed in April 2026, maintained mandatory pretrial detention and set a period for the supplementary investigation.

State authorities expect the hearing to open the oral trial before the end of 2026, although the court must set the date. Security requirements and logistical difficulties mean the proceedings will take place by video link with El Altiplano, the maximum-security federal prison in the State of Mexico where the former official is being held, the outlet reported.

Hernán “N,” formerly Tabasco’s secretary of public security and citizen protection, is imprisoned following his capture and extradition from Paraguay. The attorney general said the institution would follow due process as the case advances.

A separate prosecution involves allegations of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated extortion and criminal association. In that case, the state attorney general’s office has asked the court for a combined prison term of up to 154 years, according to the report. That figure is the prosecution’s sentencing request in the separate case, rather than a sentence already imposed or a requested penalty identified here for the disappearance prosecution.

The outlet’s headline describes Hernán “N” as an alleged leader of La Barredora. Its account of Thursday’s planned filing centers on the enforced-disappearance accusation and the arrangements for the trial.

Original reporting by Azteca Noticias