The Grand Jury Commission, Instructing Section, of the Congress of the State of Nayarit unanimously approved the report to decide on the request for trial of removal against magistrate Rodrigo Benítez Pérez, a member of the Superior Court of Justice of the state. The decision will be passed to the Plenary in the next five days. The magistrate is accused by the Attorney General's Office (FGR) for his alleged involvement in serious crimes, such as obstructing investigations into enforced disappearance, aggravated assault, and influence trafficking when he served as Deputy Prosecutor of the Attorney General's Office of the State of Nayarit and general director of Ministerial Investigation of the state's attorney's office.
On October 9, the request for declaration of admissibility was delivered to the Thirty-Fourth Legislature by two federal public prosecutors, initiating a procedure that could culminate in the withdrawal of his immunity and removal from office. Deputy Salvador Castañeda Rangel explained that the Special Commission of the Grand Jury in its Instructing Section began the procedure on October 15 and summoned the parties involved to present their arguments on the 18th of the same month. The deadline expired on November 14, and the full Congress will have an additional five business days to make a final decision on the withdrawal of immunity.
Castañeda emphasized that the Congress respects the rights and procedural guarantees afforded to magistrate Benítez, clarifying that the intervention of the Legislature does not imply judgment, but an action in the administrative and legislative sphere, while the criminal investigation remains under the jurisdiction of the FGR. The Attorney General's Office of the State of Nayarit, led by Petronilo Díaz Ponce Medrano, has also been following up on the ongoing federal investigation, collaborating in the delivery of documentation and materials requested by the FGR.
Magistrate Benítez, in a later deleted post, expressed his concern for the safety of his family, mentioning threats and pressures that have led him to be on "red alert." In his message, the magistrate stated he was willing to defend his honor, even describing himself as "suicidal when it comes to defending his ideals." The process followed by the Legislature is defined by the Law of Justice and Administrative Procedures of the State of Nayarit, and it will be the FGR that judges the criminal investigations.
