‘King of the Brothel’ Lives Lavishly in Cancún House Arrest

Cancún, Mexico — Argentine former spy Raúl Martins Coggiola, alias the "King of the Brothel," has returned to a luxurious area of Cancún, where amidst noisy parties he continues his judicial process for the crimes of human trafficking and money laundering. A new tenant is disrupting the peace for residents who were enjoying life by the sea in the Mexican Caribbean, in the exclusive Maralago subdivision in Cancún.

According to an investigation by journalist Oscar Balderas for Milenio, since September 1, 2025, Martins Coggiola has been able to continue his judicial process under house arrest, accused of the crimes of human trafficking—specifically sexual exploitation—and money laundering. This is the same city where, 20 years earlier, he ran an empire of illicit businesses with establishments like The One, Ellegance, Divas, and Mix Sky Lounge. These venues pretended to be nightclubs but were actually safe houses for women forced into prostitution under the threat of being killed if they did not meet a high daily quota of sexual services for wealthy clients.

He was previously held in the Reclusorio Norte prison, where he had lived since his arrest in 2019, but he has now managed to move to a warm, luxury apartment in Quintana Roo with a sea view.

House Arrest in a Noisy Penthouse

Residents of the Maralago subdivision suspected they had an undesirable new neighbor when, overnight, several National Guard vehicles appeared, notes the work by Óscar Balderas. Martins enjoys house arrest in apartment F on the 10th floor, one of the most expensive units for its high-level balconies with a view, and where Estela Noemí Percival, the alleged partner and business associate of the former Argentine spy, has lived for years, according to South American justice officials.

Mexican taxpayers' money is being used to fund approximately 40 uniformed officers who accompany Raúl Martins in morning, afternoon, and night shifts to guard the entrances and exits of this residential complex located at kilometer 9.5 of the highway that crosses Cancún's Hotel Zone. When questioned about the security deployment, the agents revealed they had orders to guard a recently relocated man with serious charges in his native Argentina, to prevent his escape.

Despite the presence of the military forces, neighbors told the media that loud music is frequently heard until the early hours, along with shouts of "¡Martins, Martins!" in the Cancún paradise.

Testimonies from Victims of the "King of the Brothel": He's Allowed Back Where He Caused Harm

The journalist Óscar Balderas collected testimonies from the victims of the "King of the Brothel." To preserve their identity, one of them will be called "Fabiola" for fear of reprisals and a lack of trust in the Mexican justice system that allowed Raúl Martins to choose Cancún as his residence.

"The people should know: Raúl Martins is back in Cancún," said Fabiola. "Incredibly, they allowed him to return to the place where he caused the most harm to Mexico. It is no coincidence: this man has the connections to relaunch his criminal career, because he doesn't know how to do anything else. He is here to do dirty business, there is no doubt about it."

Raúl Martins thus broke with 6 years of confinement, after being detained on October 3, 2019, in a last stretch of Mexican territory before fleeing to Belize. Mexican agents who were looking for him with an international arrest warrant identified him despite a black wig to disguise his baldness, dark glasses, and a feigned Mexican accent.

Secretly Recorded Wealthy Clients for Extortion

Raúl Martins was sought as an extremely violent "VIP trafficker" who served the elite of Argentina and Mexico, whom he secretly recorded in his table dance clubs to later extort them.

Since his detention at 71 years of age, he predicted to his legal defense that he would not die in a cell and that there would not be sufficient political power in his native Argentina to make him return and face the accusations against him. A few weeks ago, he fulfilled his prophecy: the prodigal son of sexual exploitation is sunbathing in the Mexican Caribbean.

Neighbors Feel Insecure, But the Former Spy Lives Comfortably

"Everyone is very upset and uncomfortable with the situation. They feel insecure and that their privacy is under attack," said Fabiola, who asserts that the precautionary measure of house arrest was long dreamed of by the accused, as it represents one more obstacle for the Cámara Federal de Casación Penal of Argentina to issue a sentence that would lead to a life sentence in his country.

But Raúl Martins has not softened with age. On the contrary. At 77 years old, accounts say he is the same ruthless man who in 1974 became an agent of the Secretaría de Inteligencia del Estado of Argentina—a kind of espionage center—to combat democracy activists, the one who charged the Argentine dictatorship for disappearing young Peronists, the one who fled to Mexico to turn Cancún into a massive brothel.

"Ruthless," Says His Own Daughter Lorena

He is the same man who allied with Los Zetas to lure beautiful women with false promises of employment and kill them without a trace. The one who was denounced by his own daughter, Lorena Martins, as a torturer and serial femicide, points out Milenio. The individual who financed political campaigns for Quintana Roo mayors and governors—like the PRI member and now imprisoned Roberto Borge—in exchange for protection to continue his businesses of "exclusive violations," according to accusations included in an old file from the extinct Procuraduría General de la República (PGR).

A Recent, Not-So-Childish Party and Suspected Escape Plan

One of the noisiest parties organized by Raúl Martins was an open violation of the precautionary measures of house arrest for any person in Mexico: at 14:00 hours on October 18, 2025, he summoned his friends and family to the swimming pool of the Maralago subdivision, whose name is inspired by the luxurious property in Palm Beach, Florida, in the United States, that is now owned by President Donald Trump.

The gathering between friends, partners, and accomplices of the former Argentine spy was under the guise of an event called a "Neón Party," the supposed 11th birthday of Santino 'N', his political nephew. Milenio cites witnesses who narrated that in a dark party hall, the celebration stretched beyond 21:00 hours. Some think that, instead of celebrating a child's birthday, the meeting served to plan, once again, the escape of the criminal who was a very close friend of the businessman and child pornographer Jean Succar Kuri, who died in June 2024 in Cancún, his also center of illegal operations.

The image of the invitation to the supposed children's party organized by the Argentine ended with a "Don't forget your swimsuit." The party followed the tradition of Raúl Martins in Quintana Roo, according to the sources consulted: guests with arrogant attitudes, intoxicated men, women who arrived from clandestine table dance clubs in Cancún. And the children relegated to a corner of the hall, reduced to props for a staged scene.

"Scandalous That He's Taken to a Golden Prison," Sources Say

"It's always a vulgar atmosphere, not nice at all. They drink a lot of wine, a lot of alcohol, a lot of drugs, how can that be house arrest?" questions Fabiola.

"It is a scandal. They take him out of jail to bring him to a golden prison and, on top of that, they give him National Guard escorts; who in Mexico enjoys a privilege like that, when he is accused of serious crimes and collusion with organized crime?"

After Being Reported, He Wanted to Kill His Own Daughter

Even though Raúl Martins is now closer to 80 years old, his victims assure that his criminal life is in full health. He can even be frequently seen in the gym of the Maralago subdivision lifting weights, a habit he acquired when young and continued into his old age in his Mexico City cell.

Suspicions He Runs Brothels From His Comfortable House Arrest

Four victims, through Fabiola, suspect that the former Argentine spy is running new table dance clubs from his prison with a sea view, where Mexican and foreign women are exploited.

"There is one in the 'Callejón de los Milagros' at kilometer 9 in the Hotel Zone of Cancún, and one more on the third floor of the Plaza Fórum, in the same tourist destination."

How the "King of the Brothel" Operates

According to the media's sources, his henchmen "obey everything ordered from the exclusive Maralago subdivision: how to create false job offers, how to retain the women who arrive at the establishments, how to instill fear in them, how to hit them so the bruises don't show, how to instruct them when there is a police operation, and even how to kill them without a trace, in addition to the typical illicit businesses of illicit establishments, such as the sale of drugs, adulterated alcohol, and even bank card cloning."

"The authorities must investigate the illicit establishments at those addresses and their relationship with Raúl Martins' stay in Cancún. If he is behind those brothels, I don't even want to imagine what those women are going through," says Fabiola.

The Horror Story of One of Many Victims

A story told by Raúl Martins' daughter is said to expose the violence the former spy is capable of: a young woman kidnapped by the Argentine's network threw herself from a moving car on the highway connecting Cancún with Playa del Carmen. She preferred that to being handed over to Los Zetas for not meeting the daily quota of sexual exploitation. Upon falling, she split her head open and a car ran over her.

What follows fits well with the description of "ruthless": Her captors abandoned her, believing it was impossible for her to remain alive with so many broken bones, but when they found out she was convalescing in a hospital, three days later they went for her and tortured her for weeks on the orders of the "King of the Brothel." However, she reported him to the Unidad Fiscal de Asistencia en Secuestros Extorsivos of the Procuración General de la Nación in Argentina.

"I still remember a phrase she used to justify testifying against her own father: 'how could I love him after that?' Then, Raúl Martins wanted to kill her, his own flesh and blood! Why do we have to live with a guy like that among us?" complains Fabiola, recalling that the "King of the Brothel," who attempted to murder his own daughter, has returned to luxury and parties in Cancún.

The conclusion for his victims is that every day that passes with Raúl Martins in Maralago, Cancún, is one less day of justice and one more day of the fulfillment of his plan to spend his final days in the Mexican paradise that he dedicated himself to ruining.