Raúl Rocha, president and co-owner of the Miss Universe organization, has been formally charged by Mexico's Attorney General's Office on suspicion of leading a criminal group that traffics drugs, weapons, and illicit fuel between Guatemala and Mexico. This report emerged amid a storm of controversies engulfing the Miss Universe stage over recent weeks.
Mexico's Reforma newspaper reported that Raúl Rocha, a Mexican businessman who serves as president and co-owner of the Miss Universe organization and also holds a position as Guatemala's consul in Mexico, was charged by Mexico's Attorney General's Office and is considered a leader of a criminal organization.
The organization is accused of smuggling fuel by boat along the Usumacinta River before transporting it via trucks to Querétaro, Mexico.
According to Reforma's report on 6 August, Yasmin Mayoral Marín, an official at Mexico's Special Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime, requested an arrest warrant for Rocha on charges related to organized crime stemming from drug and firearms trafficking.
As part of the investigation, prosecutors raided several residences where they claim to have seized evidence of donation records showing Rocha's financial contributions to the criminal organization, including a recorded donation totaling 2.1 million pesos.
In the arrest warrant obtained by Reforma, prosecutors allege that members of the criminal group Rocha is accused of leading "have connections with politicians and officials at all three levels of government to deliberately carry out their operations, including the distribution of fuel, drugs, and the large-scale trafficking and sale of war weapons."
Reforma cited federal government sources stating Rocha contacted the Attorney General's Office in October to negotiate a confession in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Rocha and representatives of the Miss Universe organization have not yet issued any statements.
The charges against Rocha add to a series of scandals that have beset the Miss Universe pageant both before and after the final competition in November last year.
On 4 November, several contestants staged a walkout from a pre-event after Nawat Itsaragrisil, the pageant director, publicly criticized Fatima Boche, Miss Mexico (who later won), for refusing to participate in a social media photo shoot. Subsequently, Rocha punished Nawat by barring him from attending the final competition.
Additionally, three days before the contest, Omar Harfouch resigned from the judging panel, accusing via social media that the Miss Universe organization had established a "temporary committee" to select the final 30 contestants before the preliminary round where candidates from 136 countries compete. The pageant denied these allegations.
Harfouch also claimed that one contestant had ties to the pageant's selection committee and said he resigned after requesting Rocha to demonstrate "transparency," which was denied.
In a November 24 interview with Mexican journalists regarding the pageant situation, Rocha admitted he was "very frustrated" after acquiring the pageant in January 2024 and was "looking for someone to transfer the business to."
/Source/PEOPLE