Mexico's attorney general opens casino line of inquiry after Chihuahua governor allegedly accused ex-prosecutor of owning casinos

Updated October 27, 2026: Adds the Chihuahua State Attorney General's Office's confirmation on October 26 that it has an open investigation into the casino allegations against César Jáuregui, and his lawyer's response.

State prosecutor confirms inquiry

Chihuahua's State Attorney General's Office has opened its own investigation into the casino allegations. At a press conference on Monday, October 26, acting head Gilberto Loya was asked about Governor María Eugenia Campos's claims that Jáuregui was linked to illegal casinos run through front men. "All of that is within an investigation file," Loya said, according to La Jornada and El País. He said he could not give more details because the files are confidential. "We are doing what the law allows us to do to determine responsibility regarding what has been publicly alleged," he said, adding that the office acts on formal complaints. Jáuregui's lawyer, Luis Villegas, told El País that his client is not involved. Villegas said the governor's statements "have no immediate legal significance" for the cases Jáuregui already faces, and that his only business is a lawful partnership in a restaurant in Chihuahua. No charge related to casinos has been announced.

What the FGR and the president said

In its statement, the FGR said Attorney General Ernestina Godoy met Campos at the FGR's offices at the governor's request. David Boone de la Garza, head of the FGR's Specialised Regional Control Prosecutor's Office (FECOR), was also present. According to the FGR, Campos held Jáuregui responsible for the events in Chihuahua in which foreign nationals took part, and she said she would hand over information about his alleged corruption involving casinos and front men.

Godoy told reporters that Campos had said "her ex-prosecutor was a corrupt person, that he had casinos, that he had front men, and that she would give us the information, and that led the prosecutor's office to open a line of investigation."

Earlier that day, Sheinbaum described her own private meeting with Campos on 19 September at Ciudad Juárez international airport. "She told me that they had found corruption committed by the prosecutor, she told me that the prosecutor has casinos, that this is what they had found," Sheinbaum said.

The FGR has not said which establishments are involved, whether they are licensed, or what the "front men" allegation consists of. In Mexico, casino and gaming permits are issued by the federal Interior Ministry (Segob) under the Federal Games and Draws Law. Segob has not commented. The allegation has been made in political statements and has not been tested in court.

Responses

Jáuregui's defence has not addressed the casino remarks specifically. Before a federal hearing on 24 October, defence lawyer José Ramón Flores said there was "no conclusive evidence" of his client's responsibility in the treason case. He said the new statements came after charges were filed and that the judge would rule on what is already in the case file. Another lawyer for Jáuregui, Héctor Villasana, has said the prosecution in the separate state case appears to be politically motivated.

In an interview with Azucena Uresti, Campos said Godoy "never" told her which charges would be brought against Jáuregui. That contradicts the FGR's statement that the treason charge was discussed at their meeting. She has said she warned Jáuregui several times about his "legal vulnerability". AskSpinner found no public response from Campos to the casino remarks attributed to her by the FGR and the president.

The cases against Jáuregui

Jáuregui is a former attorney general of Chihuahua state. He was arrested on 17 October and is held at the Altiplano federal prison in the State of Mexico. The federal treason charge concerns the alleged authorisation of US agents to take part in an April 2026 operation against a drug laboratory in El Pinal, in Morelos municipality, after which two US nationals died.

On 22 October, a Chihuahua state judge ordered him to stand trial for unlawful exercise of public service, rejected a second charge of collusion among public servants, and set two months for further investigation. A federal judge, Ricardo Alfonso Santos Dorantes, resumed a closed hearing on 24 October to decide whether to order him to stand trial on the treason charge.

The casino allegation is separate from both cases. It has not been included in any charge announced so far. Mexico's land-based casino sector has faced other licensing scrutiny this year; see our week in Mexican gambling licensing.

Sources: FGR statement 745/26 (23 October 2026); Presidency of Mexico morning press conference (23 October 2026); El Universal; El Financiero; Infobae; Enboga.