Cartel Leader Freed Over Torture Claims

Cancún — A case file circulating on social media details the elements used by Magistrate Sara Olimpia Reyes García of the Specialized Unitary Court in Criminal Matters to authorize the release of the alleged leader of the Cancún Cartel, Leticia Rodríguez Lara, also known as "La 40" and/or "Doña Lety," along with her son Rafael Socci Rodríguez, also known as "El Socci" and/or "El Doberman."

A message accompanied by photographs began circulating on social media, identifying Rafael Socci Rodríguez, alias "El Dober," as an alleged criminal operator in the Alfredo V. Bonfil ejido, alongside his mother, Leticia Rodríguez Lara, better known as "Doña Lety."

The citizen advisory warns that both individuals would be responsible for serious crimes such as drug sales, homicides, kidnappings, assaults, disappearances, and even femicides. It invites the population to report them with the warning: "The next victim could be you."

These allegations are not new. In 2017, an anonymous complaint led to the creation of an investigation file linking "Doña Lety" to the sale and distribution of cocaine in the hotel and tourist zone of Cancún, allegedly under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel.

That case file also mentioned her son José Rafael "N", Fernando "N", and Rafael "N".

The judicial process, however, ultimately favored the alleged criminal leader. In 2019, the defense for "Doña Lety" filed a nullity motion alleging torture, which led Magistrate Sara Olimpia Reyes García of the Specialized Unitary Court in Criminal Matters to exclude key evidence.

Finally, in November 2022, a Trial Court issued an absolutory ruling in her favor and in favor of her son José Rafael "N", based on the argument of insufficient evidence.

This ruling was heavily questioned, as the prosecution had based a significant part of its case on a witness who, in the end, admitted to not knowing the accused personally, thereby weakening the accusation. The case is currently under appeal.

The resurgence of these messages against "El Dober" and his mother brings back into focus the influence of organized crime in Cancún, particularly in areas such as the Alfredo V. Bonfil ejido, where residents assert that violence linked to the struggle for control of retail drug sales persists.