A federal judge charged nine Veracruz state police officers on Friday, June 13, 2026, with aggravated kidnapping and torture committed against five victims between July and September 2023, according to reporting by Aristegui Noticias based on the court ruling.

The nine officers belong to the Veracruz State Police and were arrested after a three-month investigation coordinated between Mexico's Attorney General (FGR) and local authorities. The crimes occurred in at least three municipalities during the period in question. The five victims reported being unlawfully detained by the officers, transported to clandestine locations, and subjected to torture to extract information or confessions, according to the court order.

The formal charging decision, issued under Mexico's accusatory criminal system, establishes that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for the judge to move forward with the case. The nine officers will remain in preventive detention throughout the proceedings, given the severity of the crimes and risk of obstruction. The FGR, which is handling the federal case, has four months to file formal charges or close out its supplemental investigation.

This case fits a documented pattern of human rights violations by Veracruz state police, a jurisdiction that ranks among the highest in Mexico for complaints filed with the National Human Rights Commission. The simultaneous charging of nine officers represents one of the largest actions against the state police force in recent years and reinforces ongoing criminal investigation efforts against local officers accused of serious crimes.

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