Overview
- The Fiscalía General del Estado de Tabasco formally asked a judge for a cumulative 154-year prison term for Hernán Bermúdez Requena, the former state security secretary.
- The 154-year total is the sum of penalties prosecutors presented as up to 100 years for aggravated kidnapping, 30 years for aggravated extortion, and 24 years for association with a criminal organization.
- Prosecutors told the court they built the request from integrated investigation files that link Bermúdez to the regional criminal group known as 'La Barredora' and allege he used his office to protect its members.
- The June 15 hearing in Villahermosa featured Bermúdez participating virtually from the Altiplano prison but was suspended after his defense said an amparo (constitutional injunction) remains in effect.
- If the case proceeds to conviction, the trial could shift how Mexican authorities prosecute alleged collusion between public security officials and organized crime and is drawing strong public attention.