After Mothers’ Protest, Francisca Mariner Femicide Case Moves to Trial in Quintana Roo

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Members of the Madres Buscadoras de Quintana Roo collective occupied Courtroom 2 of the city’s oral courts in protest after a judge moved to postpone the intermediate hearing in the femicide case against Ángel Conrado Salas Blanco for the fourth time, said María Patrón, mother of Francisca Mariner.

Patrón warned that the defense was likely trying to stretch the case to the two-year mark since her daughter’s body was found, the point at which the law would allow the accused to have his precautionary measure changed.

After several hours, the hearing resumed and the court admitted all the evidence presented by the victims, a ruling that moved the case into the trial stage.

The intermediate hearing for the femicide of Francisca Mariner had been scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and had already been postponed three times, including once because a transcript contained a seconds-long audio error.

When the judge granted the defense a postponement, Patrón refused to accept it. As authorities prepared to return the suspect to prison, collective members blocked the exits of the parking lot so the security convoy could not leave the oral courts, located on Avenida Nichupté about five kilometers from the Cancún Social Reintegration Center.

Those present unfurled protest banners and shouted slogans, including: “Ángel Salas is going down, going down, going down.”

Patrón argued that the attempted postponement was part of a legal strategy by the defense, noting that this December will mark two years since her daughter’s body was discovered — the point at which the law would grant Salas the benefit of continuing the proceedings under house arrest.

The intermediate hearing finally resumed at 3 p.m., with the court leaving the start date for the trial open.

Salas has already been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the forced disappearance of Francisca Mariner. After her body was found at Forensic Medical Service (Semefo) facilities in December 2024, authorities opened a new case against him, now for femicide.

Francisca Mariner disappeared on June 22, 2020, when she was 17 years old. Her mother and relatives spent years searching for her and, after she was found, have pressed for justice.