Miss Universe Owner Raúl Rocha Charged with Drugs, Arms and Fuel Trafficking: Report

Raúl Rocha, the president and co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, was reportedly charged by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FRG) on allegations of involvement in the trafficking of drugs, weapons and fuel between Guatemala and Mexico.

The bombshell report — published by Mexican newspaper Reforma — comes days after Miss Universe crowned its 2025 winner in a pageant ceremony riddled with controversy, including a heated confrontation between a contestant and a pageant executive, numerous judges dropping out of the pageant days before and allegations of misconduct with scoring.

According to Reforma, Rocha, a Mexican businessman who also serves as a consul of Guatemala in Mexico, is considered by FRG to be an alleged leader of a criminal organization that smuggles fuel in boats through the Usumacinta River and then in trucks to Querétaro, Mexico.

On Aug. 6, Yazmín Mayoral Marín, an agent in Mexico’s Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime, requested an arrest warrant for Rocha over organized crime charges stemming from his alleged involvement in drug and firearm trafficking, per Reforma.

As a part of their investigation, FRG raided several residences, including one where they allege they obtained records of monetary contributions from Rocha to the criminal enterprise, one of which totaled 2.1 million pesos, per Reforma.

In the arrest warrant, which was obtained by Reforma, FRG claims that members of Rocha’s alleged criminal enterprise have “connections with politicians and authorities at all three levels of government to deliberately carry out their mission, which includes the sale of hydrocarbons, narcotics, and the trafficking and sale of large quantities of weapons of war.”

According to Reforma, citing federal sources, Rocha approached FGR in October to negotiate a plea bargain to trade information for immunity from prosecution.

Neither Rocha nor representatives for the Miss Universe Organization responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The news of Rocha’s charges is only the latest in a series of scandals that have plagued Miss Universe in the weeks before and after its November ceremony.

On Nov. 4, several beauty queens walked out of a pre-pageant event after pageant executive Nawat Itsaragrisil publicly called out Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch — who would later go on to win the pageant — for allegedly refusing to partake in a photo shoot intended for contestants to share on social media. Rocha subsequently sanctioned Itsaragrisil, restricting him from participating in the pageant.

Three days before the pageant ceremony, musician Omar Harfouch announced that he was resigning from the judging panel, alleging in posts on social media that the Miss Universe Organization created an “impromptu jury” to choose 30 finalists before any of the participants from 136 countries took the stage for the preliminary round. The pageant refuted his claims in a statement.

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Speaking to PEOPLE, Harfouch also claimed that a pageant contestant had an affair with a member of the pageant’s selection committee, and that he decided to resign after asking Rocha to be “transparent,” and Rocha allegedly declined to do so.

In an interview with a Mexican journalist about the competition on Nov. 24, Rocha admitted that he was “so fed up” after acquiring the pageant in January 2024 and said he was “looking for someone to pass it on to.”