Javier Duarte files injunction to check for arrest warrants

Former Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte de Ochoa has filed a new amparo (injunction) from the Reclusorio Norte prison to determine if there are any outstanding arrest warrants against him. He is seeking judicial protection to prevent the execution of any such orders.

Judge Rubén Darío Noguera, the Eighth District Judge in Criminal Matters in Mexico City, declared himself incompetent to handle the matter and ordered the case returned to the Thirteenth District Court for further proceedings.

Duarte de Ochoa previously faced a judicial setback in November 2025 when a judge denied his request for early release regarding his nine-year sentence for money laundering and criminal association. The denial was based on his failure to meet requirements under the National Law of Criminal Execution and the fact that he faces additional charges for embezzlement (peculado).

Regarding the embezzlement charge, Judge Gustavo Aquiles Villaseñor imposed justified preventive detention related to the alleged diversion of five million pesos from a fund intended for vulnerable populations in 2012.