Federal Judge Denies Injunction to Quintana Roo Union Leader Facing Homicide and Human Trafficking Charges

Cancún, Quintana Roo — A federal judge denied an injunction to José Isidro Santamaría Casanova, the leader of the CTM union in Quintana Roo, on Wednesday, ensuring he remains in prison while facing charges of homicide and human trafficking.

The judge dismissed the injunction related to case file 725/2025 from the Eighth District Court, blocking Santamaría Casanova’s attempt to secure release. Authorities accuse him of being the alleged intellectual author in the 2018 killing of one of his subordinates.

“For the reasons stated and founded, it is resolved: SOLE. The present injunction proceeding is dismissed,” reads the judicial agreement issued Wednesday.

This decision complicates Santamaría Casanova’s legal situation further, after a federal district judge recently imposed a second preventive detention order on him for human trafficking involving sexual exploitation.

Authorities initially arrested Santamaría Casanova for this crime in 2019, but released him in 2022 under conditions requiring regular court check-ins. However, the judge later changed that measure to preventive detention.

Santamaría Casanova now remains incarcerated on two separate charges: one under state jurisdiction and another under federal jurisdiction for trafficking.

His next hearing is scheduled for February 18 at 12:30 p.m., where he will present arguments seeking to have the preventive detention order lifted for the trafficking charge.

Even if he succeeds in that case, he cannot leave prison because he remains detained for the homicide charge. Mexican criminal regulations prohibit relaxing precautionary measures for serious crimes like homicide.

Legal observers expect his imprisonment to continue until a sentence is issued, which could take several months or years.