San Miguel inmates’ relatives allege extortion

Reporting and context

Relatives of inmates at Puebla's San Miguel prison have alleged extortion, illegal charges and the sale of prohibited goods inside the facility, demanding the removal of director Jorge Ortiz Delgadillo and intervention by state authorities, according to El Financiero.

The relatives described demands for money to avoid beatings, leave particular areas or obtain basic services. They also alleged sales of mobile phones, drugs and alcohol, and possible complicity inside the prison. These are the families' allegations.

El Financiero reported that complaints extend back to 2025. On November 14 that year, about 50 people blocked Camino al Batán, saying some inmates had to pay up to 8,000 pesos a week to avoid assaults. At that protest, relatives accused Rubén and Miguel Primitivo Hernández, known as Los Primitivos, of leading an extortion and drug-sales operation. They also accused Marcos Pavón, known as El Nenuco, of selling mobile phones inside.

Other relatives had reported charges for water, cleaning supplies and basic services in August 2025, along with demands for money from newly admitted inmates. Further testimony in April 2026 described weekly payments of up to 3,000 pesos. On May 31, relatives and inmates alleged payments of 5,000 to 20,000 pesos to leave the punishment area known as estancia. Those amounts concern different complaints and periods.

The report also described Rosario Robles' account on X of her daughter, Mariana Moguel, being forcibly removed from her car on the Mexico–Puebla highway by people participating in prison-related protests. Robles alleged that vehicles had been set on fire. In a subsequent post, she said her daughter was safe.

Robles, a former social development secretary under Enrique Peña Nieto who spent three years in prison in connection with the Estafa Maestra case, criticized road security. Moguel had not publicly commented on the incident at the time of the report.

Source: El Financiero.