U.S. authorities arrested former Sonora official Juan Alan Araujo Ahumada in Los Angeles. Mexican prosecutors allege he diverted 65.6 million pesos in public funds.
U.S. authorities arrested former Sonora public works official Juan Alan Araujo Ahumada in Los Angeles on November 10. Sonora prosecutors allege he diverted 65.6 million pesos in public funds while working in accounting for the state’s public works council, known as CECOP. He was wanted in Mexico on two arrest warrants, one for alleged embezzlement and another for alleged illicit enrichment. Sonora prosecutors said he was also the subject of an international Red Notice.
Prosecutors say 234 electronic transfers between January 17 and April 1, 2025, moved 65,626,697 pesos and form the basis of the embezzlement case. The separate illicit enrichment investigation involves about 120 million pesos. Among the expenses and assets investigators have examined are a 2025 wedding in Hermosillo and a home in a high-end residential development. Araujo Ahumada’s wife, identified as Andrea Fernanda “N,” was detained in September 2025 and remains in custody in Sonora while her case proceeds.
A separate administrative ruling issued January 15, 2026, found Araujo Ahumada responsible for misappropriating public funds. Sonora’s official gazette records a financial penalty of about 134.9 million pesos and a 50-year ban on holding public office or participating in public procurement. The notice describes a right to appeal; whether the ruling became enforceable was not verified. The administrative finding is distinct from the criminal cases that led Sonora to seek his return.
Sonora Attorney General Gustavo Rómulo Salas Chávez said state investigators believed Araujo Ahumada was staying with relatives in the Los Angeles area and shared that information with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. U.S. authorities detained him on his way to work. As of the November 12 coverage, he remained in U.S. immigration custody while Sonora sought his return to face a judge. No transfer date or formal mechanism for returning him to Mexico was verified.
