The First District Court for Criminal Matters in the State of Mexico, based in Toluca, ruled that the indirect *amparo* petition filed on behalf of Eduardo Arellano Félix (“El Doctor”) was to be treated as never having been submitted. This decision followed the detainee’s refusal to ratify the legal action filed in his name against authorities at Federal Social Readaptation Center (CEFERESO) No. 1, Altiplano.
The filing alleged psychological torture, harassment, abuse of authority, failure to provide medical care, and violations of Article 22 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.
Initially, the court granted an immediate suspension (*suspensión de plano*) solely regarding the allegation of psychological torture, ordering a halt to any rights-violating acts; however, it denied the protective measure regarding the remaining allegations, as the case file lacked supporting evidence.
To verify the inmate’s physical well-being and request ratification of the petition, the court dispatched a judicial officer to the Almoloya de Juárez prison. During the notification proceedings, Arellano Félix expressly stated for the record: “I am withdrawing the *amparo* petition, given that I have already received medical attention.” Faced with this statement made before a public official, the court accorded full evidentiary weight to the declaration, revoked the previously granted suspension, and dismissed subsequent filings regarding an alleged lack of medication. The ruling on *amparo* (constitutional protection) case 1011/2026 upholds the conditions of the defendant’s confinement at the Altiplano prison as of September 2026. Arellano Félix’s history at this federal penitentiary dates back to his initial arrest by the Federal Police in Tijuana on October 30, 2008. During his time there between 2008 and 2012, he filed various legal challenges alleging incommunicado detention and a lack of medical care; these proceedings were ultimately dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
Pursuant to the extradition process initiated in May 2007, the Mexican government handed Arellano Félix over to U.S. authorities on August 31, 2012. Subsequently, on August 19, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California sentenced him to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges, and ordered the forfeiture of $50 million.
After serving nine years of his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, he was released by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons on August 18, 2021. On August 24 of that same year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) transferred custody of the individual to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office (FGR) at the Brownsville-Matamoros International Bridge.
At the border, agents from the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) executed an arrest warrant against him for organized crime, drug-related offenses, and criminal conspiracy. That same night, he was returned to the Altiplano prison and placed at the disposal of Enrique Beltrán Santés, the Second District Judge for Federal Criminal Proceedings in the State of Mexico; on August 28, 2021, the judge issued a formal order of imprisonment against him under the traditional criminal justice system—the legal proceeding under which he remains subject to prosecution to this day.
