Judge orders detention for Fausto Corrales in El Mayo case

Reporting and context

Tribuna Sonora reports that Fausto Corrales Rodríguez appeared before a federal control judge in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico, in a case connected to the alleged kidnapping of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and the killing of Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda. The hearing was closed to the media at the request of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, which cited national-security concerns. Corrales Rodríguez’s defense agreed to the closed proceeding, according to the report.

The prosecution was expected to formally accuse Corrales Rodríguez of alleged concealment and making false statements to investigative authorities. After the hearing, Judge Mario Elizondo Martínez ordered justified pretrial detention, and the proceeding was expected to resume at 10 a.m. on Aug. 24. Federal investigators had transferred Corrales Rodríguez to the maximum-security Altiplano prison after arresting him in Mexico City’s Miguel Hidalgo borough.

Investigators identify Corrales Rodríguez as a key witness who accompanied Cuén Ojeda to a meeting on July 25, 2024, at a property outside Culiacán. The report says that meeting is where Cuén Ojeda was allegedly killed and Zambada was allegedly kidnapped. Because the hearing was private, the report provides limited public detail about the evidence and the prosecution’s case. The proceeding described by Tribuna Sonora was ongoing, with the next hearing scheduled for Aug. 24.