Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR) has decided not to pursue criminal charges following an investigation into the top leadership of the 'La Luz del Mundo' church. The closure of the probe, which began in 2019, means the leaders of the evangelical congregation in Mexico will face no legal consequences.
In a brief document, the agency announced the dismissal of the criminal action without providing an explanation for the decision to close the case. The investigation included allegations against spiritual leader Naasón Joaquín García, as well as family members, politicians, and ministers within his inner circle.
This decision comes while Naasón Joaquín is serving a sentence of nearly 17 years in prison in the United States. The pastor also faces new federal charges in the U.S. for organized crime conspiracy and sex trafficking.
Sochil Martin, a former member who testified before the FGR, denounced the impact of the ruling. "I feel disappointed; once again, I feel afraid and I am losing trust in the prosecutor's office. I feel re-victimized," Martin told EL PAÍS.
Martin and her husband, Sharim Guzmán, have legally challenged the closure of the case. Their appeal will be heard this Thursday at a court in the Puente Grande penitentiary complex in Jalisco.
Operations yield no results
The FGR case file contains over 1,100 pages of investigations conducted between 2019 and 20020. During that period, federal agents went undercover in the Hermosa Provincia neighborhood of Guadalajara, posing as tourists to document alleged abuses at the congregation's headquarters.
Police reports detail operations aimed at locating victims of human trafficking and tracking the organization's money laundering. On one occasion, police attempted to rescue a young American woman who claimed to be the pastor's sex slave—an operation that ultimately led to FBI intervention in the United States.
The investigations also extended to properties in Guanajuato linked to church leaders. However, prosecutors failed to bring charges for financial crimes or child abuse on Mexican soil.
The case also reveals the congregation's influence in national politics. Members of the group are active in the ruling Morena party and are part of the Association of Professionals and Entrepreneurs of Mexico (APEM), a political arm of the church that includes lawmakers and mayors.
