A prosecutor in Baja California Sur says the corruption cases tied to past Los Cabos administrations have not gone quiet, even if one branch is currently blocked. Three former municipal officials are already before a judge over a 14.17 million-peso payment tied to services prosecutors say never happened. A separate embezzlement case from 2018 is closer to an oral trial, but even that file faces a federal court challenge. The result is a legal picture that is moving, but unevenly.
Two cases, two speeds
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office in Baja California Sur says two separate Los Cabos corruption files are still active. Together, they involve alleged abuse of authority and peculado, the Mexican crime usually translated as embezzlement. The prosecutor said four former officials are already linked to criminal proceedings. One file, however, is only moving in part. Two other former municipal officials now hold offices with fuero, or constitutional immunity, which blocks the next criminal step for now.
This is not a single case with a single defendant. It is a cluster of allegations from different years and different offices. One file centers on a payment of 14,170,560 pesos for financial intermediation tied to a proposed short-term loan. Prosecutors say that the service was never actually performed. The second file goes back to 2018. It involves 5.7 million pesos that prosecutors say were taken through sham labor awards. That split helps explain why the latest status report sounds active yet unfinished.
The 14 million peso contract
According to prosecutors, the first file begins in October 2022. Municipal officials approved a contract with a company to arrange short-term financing for the Los Cabos government. The case says no real bank work or financial intermediation followed. Even so, prosecutors say the municipality paid the company more than 14.1 million pesos. They frame the accusation as abuse of authority by simulation. In plain terms, the claim is that public officials gave formal cover to a deal that, prosecutors say, had no real service behind it.
That file has already produced several court rulings. Public case reporting identifies the former mayor of Los Cabos, Óscar Leggs Castro, the former treasurer, and the former chief administrative officer as people already linked to the process in the same matter. That is not the same as a conviction. It means a judge found enough evidence to keep the case moving. Judges also imposed precautionary measures, including periodic check-ins and limits on contact with witnesses or municipal offices.
Why one branch is stalled
The same file also reaches two other former municipal officials who now hold protected public posts. Prosecutors sought desafuero, the formal removal of that immunity, so they could press criminal charges. The state Congress rejected the request. For now, that means the case can continue against those already in court, but not against the officeholders who still have fuero.
For international readers, the term “fuero” can be confusing. It is not an acquittal. It is not a ruling that the allegations lack merit. It is a legal shield tied to certain public offices. In practice, it can delay prosecution until Congress removes the protection or the official leaves office. The prosecutor says the file remains open. So the case is not dead. It is paused in part because of legal status, not because a court cleared everyone involved.
The 2018 embezzlement file
The second file is older and narrower. It concerns a former legal director in Los Cabos from the 2018 administration. Prosecutors say he simulated labor awards, obtained a municipal payment of 5.7 million pesos, and kept the money through a subordinate after the check was cashed. He was previously linked to a process for peculado, and the prosecutor now says the case has already reached the stage of opening to oral trial.
That is a major step, but not a final one. An oral trial is the phase in Mexico’s accusatory system in which evidence is presented before a trial court. It is still not a conviction. The prosecutor said the defense has filed an amparo, a federal constitutional challenge, and a district judge is reviewing it. That can slow the timeline. So while this second file is further along, it still faces another legal hurdle before any final outcome.
Why the case matters in Los Cabos
Los Cabos is one of Mexico’s most important tourism economies. Municipal decisions on contracts, debt, legal claims, and public money affect more than city hall insiders. They shape services, business confidence, and trust in local government. That is why these cases matter years after the alleged conduct. They test whether state authorities can turn high-profile allegations into court results, rather than leaving them as permanent political talking points.
The next steps are clear, even if the schedule is not. The 2018 peculado case now depends on how federal courts handle the amparo. The 2022 contract case can keep moving against the former officials before a judge. The branch involving protected officeholders remains frozen unless their legal status changes. Prosecutors also say more Los Cabos investigations are still being built. All accused parties are presumed innocent unless and until a court issues a conviction.
