Fausto Corrales Hearing Closed to Public
Original reporting: Publimetro México
What happened
Publimetro México reports that a federal judge closed Fausto Corrales Rodríguez’s initial hearing after prosecutors cited possible national-security information and open investigations. The FGR accuses Corrales of false statements and concealment related to its inquiry into the killing of Héctor Melesio Cuén.
Reporting and context
Publimetro México reports that a federal judge ordered the initial hearing for Fausto Corrales Rodríguez closed to the media and public on Thursday after the Attorney General’s Office, known as the FGR, argued that the proceeding could involve national-security information. Control Judge Mario Elizondo Martínez directed attendees to leave the courtroom, and Corrales’s defense agreed to the private hearing. The order means the evidence and arguments prosecutors present at this stage will not be publicly available for now.
According to the report, the FGR accuses Corrales of probable involvement in making false statements to law-enforcement authorities and concealment in connection with the killing of Héctor Melesio Cuén. The report stresses that the accusation does not directly concern the alleged abduction of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. Prosecutors say the false-statement and concealment allegations are linked to their investigation of the events surrounding Cuén’s death and Zambada’s deprivation of liberty.
The FGR has said Corrales is relevant to the inquiry because he allegedly accompanied Cuén to a July 25, 2024, meeting where, according to federal investigators, events tied to Cuén’s killing and Zambada’s deprivation of liberty occurred. Federal investigators have connected both episodes to a meeting at an estate known as Huertos del Pedregal in Culiacán. Cuén, a former rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, was killed in Sinaloa that day, while Zambada ended up in the United States.
Publimetro México notes that the initial account of Cuén’s killing described an attack at a gas station, while the FGR later presented a different account of the location and circumstances. Corrales has been described as a key witness because of his reported presence at the events under investigation.
Prosecutors also told the court that the case is connected to other investigations that remain open and said disclosure could affect ongoing work, according to the outlet. The judge cited those arguments in barring media and public access, leaving details of the prosecution evidence confidential at this stage. Corrales’s legal status and the scope of the FGR’s accusations are to be determined through the judicial process.