Mexican presenter Inés Gómez Mont was detained in Miami on Friday, October 30. Mexico's FGR said she has a valid arrest warrant for alleged equivalent tax fraud. She is also wanted on money laundering allegations and had been a fugitive since 2021.
Mexican television presenter and actress Inés Gómez Mont was detained by U.S. authorities in Miami, Florida, on Friday, October 30. She had been a fugitive from Mexican justice since 2021 and had been out of reach of Mexican authorities for more than five years. A photograph said to show the moment of her capture, with her handcuffed and held by two U.S. police officers, was circulated by outlets such as Milenio and journalist Jenaro Villamil.
Charges and warrants
Mexico's Fiscalía General de la República said Gómez Mont was detained in U.S. territory on a valid arrest warrant for her probable participation in equivalent tax fraud. She is wanted in Mexico for equivalent tax fraud and money laundering. Another warrant exists for alleged crimes related to organized crime, money laundering and embezzlement, with charges brought by the FGR and the Financial Intelligence Unit. Mexican security sources told El Universal that she had two arrest warrants in force for matters investigated by the FGR.
The arrest order against Gómez Mont and her husband, Víctor Manuel Álvarez Puga, was issued in September 2021 for alleged money laundering. That month, the FGR obtained from a federal judge the first warrant against her, over the alleged use of shell companies to launder money. Interpol issued a red notice against her in October 2021 covering more than 190 countries, and it had been cancelled in recent months.
According to El País, the investigation covers an alleged diversion of public resources of 2.95 billion Mexican pesos, about 165 million dollars. At least 18 million pesos allegedly ended up in the couple's accounts. The warrant links the couple to a diversion of funds at the Secretaría de Gobernación during Enrique Peña Nieto's term, according to the investigation cited by El País.
Legal challenges
In July 2024, Gómez Mont sought an amparo against a second warrant issued in 2021 for equivalent tax fraud of 6.6 million pesos, for allegedly omitting income tax payment in fiscal year 2015. She appealed after the amparo judge denied her protection. A Tribunal Colegiado admitted the appeal and will decide whether to confirm, revoke or modify the ruling.
How the capture came about
The FGR said the capture was achieved through an exchange of information with the U.S. government. El País investigations documented that both she and her husband were locatable in Miami since 2022. Mexico only formalized its extradition request to the United States in December of last year.
Her husband, Álvarez Puga, was detained in Miami on 24 September 2025 and placed in ICE custody at the Krome North Processing Center. He is under an immigration proceeding after entering the United States without inspection in 2021, and he applied for asylum in 2022.
