Politics · Mexico · 2 hrs ago
Mexico’s Supreme Court to review case over acid attack on María Elena Ríos
Mexico’s Supreme Court will review legal challenges in the case against María Elena Ríos, a saxophonist who survived an acid attack in Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, in 2019.
The case concerns former lawmaker Juan Antonio Vera Carrizal, who is accused of arranging the attack.
The Court will examine whether a replacement judge could cancel an acquittal and order a new trial after the judge who heard the evidence had delivered a decision.
Vera Carrizal was acquitted in August 2024, but that ruling was later annulled; he has denied the charges through his legal defence, which tried to stop the Supreme Court review.
The central legal question involves fair-trial rules and whether a person can be tried twice for the same acts.
Ríos suffered serious burns and needed hospital care, surgery and rehabilitation after the attack; her mother was also injured.
The Supreme Court’s review means Oaxaca’s courts will not decide this dispute alone, but the Court’s ruling on the legal process has not yet been announced.
Mexico’s Supreme Court agreed to review court challenges linked to the attempted femicide case against saxophonist María Elena Ríos.
The case concerns whether a substitute judge could overturn an acquittal and order a new oral trial.
Ríos survived a sulfuric acid attack in Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, in 2019.
Former lawmaker Juan Antonio Vera Carrizal is accused of ordering the attack.
The Court said its review would examine due process and victims’ access to justice.
- Who
- María Elena Ríos, a saxophonist who survived an acid attack, and former lawmaker Juan Antonio Vera Carrizal, who is accused of ordering it.
- What
- Mexico’s Supreme Court agreed to review challenges linked to the attempted femicide case, including whether an acquittal could be overturned and a new trial ordered.
- When
- The Court announced its decision on October 19, 2026.
- Where
- The attack happened in Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, Mexico. The case is before Mexico’s Supreme Court.
- Why
- The Court will clarify the powers of a substitute judge and the principle of immediacy in criminal proceedings, as well as related due-process issues.
Vera Carrizal’s defense
Mexico’s Supreme Court
Review of the case
Vera Carrizal’s defense
The defense filed appeals seeking to prevent the Court from taking up the challenge.
Mexico’s Supreme Court
The Court agreed to review the case.
Ríos was attacked with sulfuric acid at a home in Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca.
A court acquitted Vera Carrizal and ordered his release.
The Supreme Court rejected Vera Carrizal’s appeal seeking to stop it from reviewing the case.
The Supreme Court agreed to review challenges linked to the case.
- Court
- Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN)
- Case
- Attraction Request 566/2026
- Attack
- Sulfuric acid attack on September 9, 2019
- Location
- Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca
- Accused
- Former lawmaker Juan Antonio Vera Carrizal
- Acquittal
- Issued in August 2024, then overturned
2 sources
What people are saying
The intervention of this Supreme Court would make it possible to clarify the scope of the principle of immediacy and determine the powers of a substitute judge to set aside an acquittal and order a new oral trial.
This is a matter of special importance not only because of its implications for due process and legal certainty… but also to guarantee victims of gender-based violence effective access to justice.