Four State Police Detained for University Student's Murder in Tabasco; Cover-up Investigated

Tabasco's Attorney General's Office has confirmed the detention of four officers from the Secretariat of Public Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) for their alleged involvement in the murder of a university student. The state prosecutor's office stated that the officers could face up to 50 years in prison.

During a press conference, State Prosecutor Oscar Tonatiuh Vázquez Landeros and two other officials provided updates on the investigation into the death of Rodrigo Isidro Ricárdez, a veterinary medicine student at the Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT). Ricárdez died on November 14, 2025. Four state police officers are currently detained, and other personnel are being investigated for alleged obstruction of justice.

Initially, the death of Rodrigo was reported as a car accident in Villahermosa. However, forensic experts determined that the student had sustained three low-velocity impacts before his vehicle collided with a pole. Investigators found no evidence that Rodrigo was under the influence of alcohol or had fired any shots; only a weapon was located on the driver's seat of his car. The state prosecutor indicated that investigations revealed patrol car 7250 pursued the student, who was driving his own car, and that officers subsequently deprived him of his life.

The FGE's investigation has scrutinized the actions of police commanders. It had been reported that Eduardo de la Cruz Ovilla, then director of the State Support Forces of the SSPC, was under investigation. Ovilla died by suicide within SSPC facilities on June 6. The FGE affirmed that investigations will continue, and all personnel involved in the homicide, regardless of their rank within the SSPC, will be punished.