Videos debunk alleged mega-operation against drug dealing in Cuernavaca

MORELOS ( Proceso ) – On July 3, residents of the Lienzo del Charro neighborhood in Cuernavaca saw their routine interrupted by what seemed like an episode of a police drama: helicopters hovering overhead, dozens of officers deployed in streets and avenues packed with patrol cars. It was a mega-operation that, according to authorities, was intended to arrest dangerous drug dealers. Although the initial deployment lasted less than an hour, it was extended with searches and inspections of various properties in the area.

According to the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Morelos, Miguel Ángel Urrutia Lozano, the mobilization was prompted by a citizen complaint alerting them to the presence of armed individuals. However, days later, in a court hearing, the official version began to crumble when the detainees' defense team claimed it was all a presumed setup.

That day, Adrián Rivas Millán, a former Cuernavaca police officer known as "El Belicón" and currently a dorilocos merchant, was arrested. Jesús Antonio, a citizen walking his dogs, noticed the operation and began recording it with his cell phone. This action caught the attention of the police, who ultimately arrested him and charged him with allegedly helping Adrián escape.

Adrián's defense maintains that it was a media operation and that the authorities sought to justify it with fabricated arrests.

Below, Proceso presents the results of a hearing in which the judge dismissed all the evidence presented by the authorities. The work of an interdisciplinary team also provided evidence of the illegalities committed during the detention of these two individuals. Adrián also shares his personal testimony about what he experienced.

At the hearing on July 7, 2025, specialized control judge César Augusto Galán Delgado decided not to charge Adrián Rivas Millán, accused of drug dealing for commercial purposes, resisting arrest, and illegal possession of a firearm, to criminal proceedings.

During the hearing, the judge recalled that, according to Article 19 of the Constitution, "no person may be detained for more than 72 hours without justification by a court order, which must contain the criminal act, the circumstances of the time, place, and manner of its execution, as well as evidence that proves the defendant's probable involvement."

The judge emphasized that, although the Prosecutor's Office filed the charges in a timely manner and notified the defendants of their rights, "the necessary substantive evidence to order the prosecution was not established." In this regard, he specified that "Adrián Rivas Millán exercised his right to testify within the constitutional period, while Jesús Antonio López Morales decided to remain silent, and this circumstance cannot be considered tacit acceptance of the alleged facts."

As a fundamental part of the analysis, the approved police report presented as the main piece of evidence was reviewed. According to statements by agents from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, Primitivo and Artemio Manuel, on July 3, they received a report about a gray pickup truck with apparently armed individuals driving in the Lienzo Charro neighborhood.

The officers reported arriving at the scene at 11:00 a.m. and, upon observing the vehicle, they identified a man "approximately 40 years old, dark-skinned, athletic build, wearing a black polo shirt, jeans, and tattoos on his arm," who was handling an object without looking up. After identifying themselves as police officers, they explained there was a 911 report.

According to the police report, upon inspecting the truck, "the serial number plate on the dashboard was altered, with scratches on the last digits." Additionally, "several Ziploc-type packages containing apparent crystal cocaine, as well as a pill of the same substance, were found in the center console."

The officers reported that during the intervention, Adrián Rivas Millán "lunged at Primitivo and hit him in the head with his fist, then pulled a handgun from his pants," and began shouting at the neighbors, "Fuck the dead." At that moment, another man, identified as Jesús Antonio López Morales, emerged from a nearby building carrying a fanny pack, and the two quickly entered the home, securing it with a chain and threatening to kill the officers.

Faced with the threat, the officers requested backup via radio and proceeded to enter the home. According to the report, at 11:22 a.m. they were able to arrest López Morales, who attempted to assault an officer, subduing him with minimal force. Primitivo, meanwhile, pursued Rivas Millán, who ignored verbal commands and fled through a courtyard until he was caught and disarmed after a physical struggle.

During the hearing, the defense presented testimony and expert reports in computer forensics and field forensics, which were considered effective in challenging the official version. It was pointed out, for example, that the C5 log indicated that the call for help was recorded at 10:49 a.m., while the police stated they had knowledge of it since 10:42 a.m., raising doubts about the chronology of events.

An expert report also established that Miguel Hidalgo Street, where the police unit allegedly entered, is a pedestrian walkway with a diameter of three meters, which would make it impossible for the vehicle to pass, contradicting the officers' version of events, who claimed to be 15 meters away from the vehicle under investigation.

Regarding the audiovisual evidence, the recording of María del Carmen Jaramillo Ortega stood out. She acknowledged having seen Rivas Millán inside a commercial establishment and not in the truck at the time of the intervention. She said, "Adrián, turn off your truck," which calls into question the version that the defendant was manipulating the vehicle when the police arrived.

The judge stated that "the information provided by the Prosecutor's Office does not meet the requirements to prove the defendant's probable involvement in the events," and dismissed the Certified Police Report as sufficient evidence, pointing to deficiencies in the chain of custody and the integrity of the chemical and ballistic evidence presented.

Regarding the use of force, the judge clarified that, contrary to what some officers had stated, videos from neighbors showed that the arrest was carried out by several officers, not just one.

The ruling also clarified that it does not imply a declaration of innocence or a dismissal of the case, as investigations related to the seizure of an illegal weapon and controlled substances continue. Therefore, the judge indicated that "the case remains open for further proceedings."

Finally, the immediate release of Adrián Rivas Millán and Jesús Antonio López Morales was ordered in this matter, without affecting other ongoing criminal proceedings. The Prosecutor's Office has three business days to appeal the decision.

The weight of the videos

The defense of the detainees was supported by a multidisciplinary team that included attorneys Joel Reyes Becerril and Hugo Patiño, as well as computer and forensic specialists from the Forensic Solution firm, located in Cuauhtémoc, Cuernavaca.

Among the experts were engineer Álvaro and expert Luis Manuel Gómez, who provided scientific evidence that refuted the Approved Police Report (IPH) prepared by members of the State Secretariat of Security and Auxiliary Citizen Protection.

Reyes Becerril explained that the Prosecutor's Office charged Adrián and the other person with carrying a weapon and possession for the purpose of selling narcotics based on an anonymous complaint and an alleged arrest in flagrante delicto. However, the defense presented a sequence of videos legally extracted by a computer expert that contradicted the official version.

"Thanks to a sequence of videos, it was possible to prove that nothing happened as the Prosecutor's Office described. The videos contradicted the arresting officers' version of events and the Public Prosecutor's Office's charges," Reyes said.

The images showed that the arrest did not occur at the time or place indicated in the IPH. "The cameras showed that the officers entered the home at 10:10 a.m., when the Prosecutor's Office claimed the arrest began at 11:20 a.m. This proves that the IPH was not real," he added.

The lawyer clarifies that Adrián was not in his truck, as the Prosecutor's Office claimed, but rather in a store shopping with neighbors. "He was in the store when the officers arrived, and he went inside because he didn't know why there were so many police officers," he explained.

Furthermore, the videos showed the presence of more than 20 officers, including the National Guard and the Sedena (National Guard), instead of just two police officers following a chase, as the Prosecutor's Office claimed.

Hugo Patiño highlighted the innovation that the incorporation of technical experts in these types of hearings represents for Morelos, thanks to the accusatory criminal justice system that allows for freedom of evidence.

We can gather different pieces of evidence to answer them, as was the case with the forensic expert, who conducted two investigations: one on the crime scene and another on the firearm allegedly found on my client.

The forensic expert used unprecedented technology to scientifically refute the IPH. Furthermore, expert Álvaro extracted video recordings from a building near the arrest site, which provided compelling visual evidence at the hearing.

Both attorneys agreed that the videos demonstrated the excessive use of public force, such as when a neighbor recorded the moment Adrián was beaten and deprived of his liberty at a different address than the one indicated by the Prosecutor's Office. Furthermore, the judge determined that the Prosecutor's Office's lack of objectivity and mendacity rendered the evidence obtained from the illegal detention, including drugs and weapons, ineffective.

Reyes Becerril also reported the tampering of evidence, stating that police officers opened the truck before the arrest and tampered with evidence at an unidentified address, where a bulletproof vest bearing the words "BELICOM" was found.

Regarding the second detainee, Jesús, the lawyer stated that "he is not seen at any point in the videos; it was not possible to determine where he was detained," so the judge ordered his release due to lack of evidence.

Regarding the legality of the operation, Patiño clarified that, although the judge at the initial hearing deemed the arrest legal based on the prosecutor's accusation, subsequent scientific evidence demonstrated that there was no flagrancy or ongoing pursuit that would justify the raid and arrest at the home, violating constitutional rights such as the inviolability of the home and the right not to be deprived of liberty without a court order.

This morning, a major operation was reported in the Lienzo Charro neighborhood in northern #Cuernavaca . Members of the Mexican Army, the National Guard, and the Morelos Police, with support from the Ministry of Security's helicopter, are in the area. pic.twitter.com/gXZ1jdkZOT — Reporte Morelos (@_ReporteMorelos) July 3, 2025

Hugo Patiño also warned about recent reforms that expand the National Guard's authority to enter homes without a warrant based on the identification of any person, which he considered a risk to citizens' rights and the presumption of innocence.

The lawyer expressed concern about possible retaliation by authorities against the victims and their advocates, calling for institutional and civic responsibility to prevent a recurrence of these events.

Both defenders considered this case to represent hope for justice in the country, demonstrating that, despite irregularities and corrupt acts, there are objective and efficient judges who guarantee freedom and respect for human rights.

“They fractured me and made fun of me”

Adrián Rivas Millán, a retired police officer from the Secretariat of Citizen Protection and Assistance (Seprac), reported having been violently detained without an arrest warrant during a joint operation in Morelos. He stated that his case demonstrates the deficiencies in the investigative work of state and federal police forces.

In an interview, he recounts that that day he greeted the officers with a "good morning, officers" and continued on his way. However, upon returning, his wife told him that the officers were searching his truck. "I approached, and the officer in charge of the operation told me it had been reported stolen. I told them that was false, since I was a police officer and I know my truck is in good condition; I bought it at Seprac itself and I have the payment records."

However, despite showing documents, the agents insisted.

"The officer became very aggressive, telling me he was going to shit on me and that I was the seller of the economy. I didn't understand what he meant by that," the victim said.

“I kept telling myself I was going to shit myself and that I didn't know who I was messing with, that it was a high-impact operation because the Marines, state police, the High-Impact Crimes Investigation Prosecutor's Office (FIDAI), and the National Guard were there.”

Rivas explains that, in addition to being a retired police officer, he's a merchant who sells dorilocos, corn on the cob, chicharrones, and prepared churros. "I'm also the one who organizes the community fair and I have to go door-to-door to plan it."

Faced with the police warnings, he decided to enter his house to look for the documents. “I went upstairs and, as I was arriving with the papers, I looked out over the balcony and saw a helicopter. I told them they couldn't enter without a search warrant, which they didn't show me. They broke down the door, and I had no choice but to jump into my neighbor's house,” he said.

There he was arrested. "They beat me, tortured me on the floor, hit me about ten times in the ears, kicked me all over my body, hit me with long guns, telling me I'd had enough, that I was the drug dealer and the hitman of the neighborhood."

The victim of the police incident explains that neighbors witnessed the beating and urged the officers to leave him alone. "(My neighbors) told them I wasn't a bad person, that I was a retired police officer and had nothing to hide, that I was very well-liked in the community."

Rivas Millán was later transferred to the FIDAI facilities and then to the Temixco prosecutor's office, where he remained for 48 hours. "It was very inhumane. I spoke with the prosecutors and commanders, telling them I had broken ribs and that my head and feet hurt. They just made fun of me."

Regarding his time in pretrial detention, he mentioned that upon arriving at the Tlacholoya prison, he reported his injuries but received no medical attention. "They ignored him; these are levels of government that just rub shoulders with each other and didn't say anything."

The police are through the roof, and the country is collapsing due to a lack of experienced police officers to investigate real cases. They're just rounding up innocent people and spreading crimes. That's how the current government works.

After regaining his freedom, he said he felt calm, "holding my head high because I have nothing to fear and nothing to owe. I never did anything wrong."

He explains that he is still analyzing whether he will take legal action against the authorities for the violations of his rights.

Official silence

This reporter sought official comment from the Morelos State Attorney General's Office, headed by Edgar Maldonado Ceballos, and the Morelos Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, headed by Miguel Ángel Urrutia Lozano. The Attorney General's Office responded that it would not issue a statement on the matter, while the Security Secretariat did not respond to requests.

Unofficial sources have learned that both agencies are preparing to challenge the judge's ruling. The state government is expected to issue its official position next week. It was also learned that the authority intends to present "additional information that reveals relevant background information about one of the two detainees."