After carrying out several searches in the city, the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) arrested Justo Aurelio Rivera Parrazales yesterday at a residence in northern Mérida. The businessman is accused of alleged embezzlement of public funds in collaboration with former Chiapas governor Rutilio Escandón Cadenas, who is currently Mexico’s consul in Miami.
The operation was led by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Investigation of Operations with Resources of Illicit Origin, Counterfeiting and Alteration of Currency, and Tax Crimes (Feiorpifamf). This followed a search warrant issued by a control judge on July 15 for four properties located in the capital of Yucatán:
The property located at 472-D, 33-A Street in downtown Mérida, where the business known as Inmedicen operated.
The property located at Lot 183 on Ciruelos Street, in the Residencial La Rejoyada subdivision of Komchén, which served as a private residence.
Warehouses located within another property in the same community, on Villa Gabriela Street or the Komchén-Kikteil Highway, with cadastral lot number 33783.
The house located at 315, 29 Street in San Ramón Norte, where, according to confirmed information, Rivera Parrazales was arrested during the early morning hours.
Companies of the businessman arrested in Mérida
It was learned that the detainee owns at least four companies registered in the state of Chiapas:
- Industrias Médicas Chiapanecas,
- Diagnosis Centro de Diagnóstico Integral,
- Inmedicen.
The latter operated for several years at the property searched on 33-A Street in downtown Mérida and would be directly related to the alleged diversion of public funds involving the former Morena governor.
“They closed about a year ago. They never reopened and put up signs saying they had moved, but that’s not true—there isn’t any other store. And about five months ago, from one day to the next, they started taking everything out,” said a person who was nearby and witnessed the operation at the downtown property.
Businessman arrested with luxury vehicles
Of the properties searched, only one—the warehouse—did not have any record directly linking it to him. However, it is believed that high-end vehicles were stored there, so the FGR included it in its investigation, and the federal judge also issued a search warrant for that property.
The FGR reportedly seized those vehicles, as well as two additional pickup trucks found at the San Ramón Norte residence: a Cybertruck and a Cadillac, with a combined estimated value of nearly five million pesos.
On the other hand, it was learned that the property in the La Rejoyada subdivision was sold in 2024 by one of the businessman’s sons, who reportedly holds the bare ownership of the San Ramón Norte residence. The downtown commercial property is legally owned by the detainee.
Alleged links to the Jalisco Cartel
Rivera Parrazales has also been accused of alleged links to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). In March 2025, several media outlets in Querétaro reported that he had been executed. However, this contradicts the arrest officially confirmed by the federal authorities.
It has also emerged that the searches may be related to the death of businessman José Ángel Dávila Bernal, who was murdered in Mérida in September 2024, due to the alleged money laundering ties between them, although this has not been confirmed.
Meanwhile, the detainee was transferred to the FGR facilities located on the Mérida Periférico. He was expected to be transferred to Mexico City in the coming hours to appear before the federal judge who issued the search warrant.
Source: yucatan
