Consul Rutilio Escandón of Chiapas and Ambassador Omar Fayad of Hidalgo Allegedly Transferred 327 Million Pesos to Financial Network Linked to Suspected Criminal Operator
Consul Rutilio Escandón of Chiapas and Ambassador Omar Fayad of Hidalgo allegedly transferred 327 million pesos to the financial network linked to Justo Aurelio Rivera Parrazales, a suspected criminal operator who was arrested a few days ago in Mérida, Yucatán. They are now part of the diplomatic corps of the Fourth Transformation (4T).
A journalistic investigation by Jorge García Orozco indicates that the funds were channeled while they were governors of their respective states; that is, before President Claudia Sheinbaum appointed them to the diplomatic service.
Rivera Parrazales has been identified as an alleged financial operator for the Northeast Cartel in the Yucatán and Chiapas regions. He has also been linked to similar activities for La Barredora.
In March 2025, he was linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), and rumors circulated that he had been executed in a bar in Querétaro.
However, he was living in Mérida, a quiet city where he openly displayed at least 15 luxury vehicles.
He was also linked to the 2024 murder of a businessman, whose killing exposed a fraud network involving the purchase and sale of vehicles in Yucatán.
After authorities searched several properties last July, the Security Cabinet reported that assets valued at more than 145 million pesos had been seized from him as part of a money laundering investigation.
327 Million Pesos Transferred to Alleged Drug Cartel Financial Operator Arrested in Mérida
Journalist Jorge García Orozco’s investigation for Emeequis provides details of the alleged diversion of 327 million pesos, based on notarial documents and corporate records.
The investigation found that:
“Partners of the companies founded by Justo Aurelio carried out most of the billing as private individuals, while the corporate entities were used to divert attention from potential investigations.”
According to the investigation, the administrations of Mexico’s ambassador to Norway, Omar Fayad in Hidalgo (2016–2022), and Mexico’s consul in Miami, Rutilio Escandón—brother-in-law of Adán Augusto López—in Chiapas (2018–2024), awarded 56 contracts for healthcare goods and services to companies, partners, and executives linked to Justo Aurelio’s businesses, totaling 327 million pesos.
Justo Aurelio signed a collaboration agreement between his company Inmech and the Polytechnic University of Chiapas.
The companies founded by Justo Aurelio, all focused on the healthcare sector, and which allegedly received multimillion-peso contracts from the then-governors and current diplomats, include:
- Inmedicen S.A. de C.V., founded in July 2015 in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas.
- Servimedic del Sureste.
- Inmech.
- Diagnosis Centro de Diagnóstico Integral (Diagnosis).
Some of the partners already had questionable records in supplying medical equipment and healthcare services to the public health sector.
Partners and Contractors
Josué Ortiz Cruz, commissioner and legal representative of Inmedicen, billed 125.39 million pesos as a private individual to Hidalgo’s public health sector in 2020 during Omar Fayad’s administration.
The contracts covered the sale of goods and services, including office furniture, shelving, medical and laboratory equipment, and hospital maintenance services.
Among the awarded contracts were direct awards exceeding 7 million pesos, including contract EML-019-2020 for:
- A 50-bed Rapid Response Modular Hospital for the municipality of Actopan.
- COVID-19 units for the Huehuetla Hospital.
- Another unit for Arista, including office furniture and medical and laboratory equipment.
The investigation also includes contracts awarded through public tenders, such as REPSS/LP/023/2019, worth 72 million pesos for acquiring equipment for facilities under the State Health Protection System. The remaining amount was distributed among 16 additional contracts.
Gilberto Andrés Ruiz Rodríguez became partner and sole administrator of Inmedicen in May 2020 and has served as sole administrator of Diagnosis since October 10, 2019.
Although Diagnosis itself has no registered public-sector contracts, Ruiz Rodríguez, acting as a private individual, billed 25 million pesos to the governments of Hidalgo and Chiapas.
He received three contracts from the Hidalgo government:
- Two direct awards in 2019:
- One (EML-498-2019) worth 20,834 pesos.
- Another worth 5,304,011 pesos for medical and laboratory equipment under the Health Care and Free Medicines Program for the Uninsured Population.
- That same year, he also won several portions of tender EH-SSH-N245-2019 issued by Hidalgo Health Services for 918,056 pesos.
Previously, El Universal also documented contracts worth 23 million pesos awarded by the Hidalgo government to Inmedicen between 2019 and 2020.
Direct Awards Worth Up to 11 Million Pesos
Among the private individuals who billed the Hidalgo and Chiapas governments for medical supplies and services and who are allegedly part of Justo Aurelio Rivera’s financial network is Liz Ariana Juárez Romero.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she works in Purchasing, Bidding, and Recruitment at Inmech and is an “Acquisition Specialist at Inmedicen.”
She has also served as the legal representative of Gilberto Andrés Ruiz Rodríguez in contracts with state governments.
In 2020, Liz Ariana Juárez obtained 15 public health contracts from Omar Fayad’s administration in Hidalgo totaling 15,878,554 pesos, including one contract (MASM-467-2020) worth 11.26 million pesos. Fourteen additional contracts made up the remaining amount.
| Individual or Company | Amount (Millions of Pesos) |
|---|---|
| Liz Ariana Juárez Romero | 179.30 |
| Josué Ortiz Cruz | 125.39 |
| Inmedicen | 23.00 |
| Gilberto Andrés Ruiz | 5.32 |
| Gladys Beatriz Nájera | 0.17 |
| Total | 327.86 |
La Silla Rota also reported that although none of Justo Aurelio’s companies had prior experience in prison management, the Chiapas Public Security Secretariat awarded one of them the task of providing training programs for inmates in state prisons.
Investigation Into the Financial Network Continues
The arrest of Justo Aurelio Rivera Parrazales in Mérida has renewed scrutiny of his business and financial network.
The investigation by Jorge García Orozco adds information about 327 million pesos in contracts awarded during the administrations of Rutilio Escandón and Omar Fayad to companies, partners, and private individuals linked to that network.
To date, there is no public information indicating that the former governors, who now serve in Mexico’s diplomatic corps, have been criminally charged in connection with these allegations.
Source: yucatan
