Raúl Rocha, Owner of Miss Universe, Faces Charges for Drug, Arms, and Fuel Trafficking

Raul Rocha.
Credit :

Jaime Nogales/Medios y Media/Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Raúl Rocha, president and co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, faces charges from Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office related to allegations of drug, weapon, and fuel trafficking between Guatemala and Mexico.
• Investigators claim Rocha made monetary contributions to a criminal organization, following raids on multiple properties, as reported by the Mexican newspaper Reforma.
• This development emerges days after the Miss Universe pageant crowned its 2025 winner amid ongoing controversy.

Raúl Rocha, the president and co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, has been charged by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FRG) with allegations pertaining to drug, weapon, and fuel trafficking between Guatemala and Mexico.

This revelation comes just days after the Miss Universe organization crowned its 2025 winner during a pageant that has been marred by multiple controversies, including a public confrontation between a contestant and a pageant official, and high-profile judges withdrawing shortly before the event.

According to Reforma, Rocha, a Mexican businessman also serving as a consul of Guatemala in Mexico, is viewed by authorities as a pivotal figure in a criminal organization that smuggles fuel from Guatemala via the Usumacinta River into Mexico.

On August 6, Yazmín Mayoral Marín from Mexico’s Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime sought an arrest warrant for Rocha due to charges of organized crime linked to drug and firearm trafficking, as reported by Reforma.

Investigators raided several properties, taking records of monetary contributions allegedly made by Rocha to a criminal enterprise, including one amounting to 2.1 million pesos, according to reports.

The arrest warrant suggests that members of Rocha’s purported criminal organization have connections with politicians and officials at all levels of government, facilitating their operations involving the sale of hydrocarbons, narcotics, and weapon trafficking.

Moreover, it has been reported that Rocha approached the FGR in October to discuss a potential plea bargain in exchange for information that could offer him immunity from prosecution.

Raul Rocha.

Joy Malone/Getty 

Neither Rocha nor representatives from the Miss Universe Organization have commented on these allegations.

These charges are the latest incident in a series of scandals that have plagued the Miss Universe organization in the weeks surrounding its November ceremony.

Notably, on November 4, several contestants staged a walkout during a pre-pageant event following a public reprimand directed at Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch by pageant executive Nawat Itsaragrisil over her alleged refusal to engage in a photo opportunity. Subsequently, Rocha imposed sanctions on Itsaragrisil, barring him from participating in the pageant.

Moreover, just three days before the pageant, musician Omar Harfouch resigned from the judging panel, claiming that the Miss Universe Organization had created an “impromptu jury” that pre-selected finalists before the full competition took place. The pageant organization has denied these allegations.

In additional comments, Harfouch noted suspicions regarding a contestant’s alleged affair with a member of the selection committee and expressed his frustration over Rocha’s lack of transparency.

In a recent interview, Rocha indicated his frustration with the ongoing controversies since acquiring the pageant in January 2024, stating he was “looking for someone to pass it on to.”