Ricardo Fernandez Acostaundersecretary of the penitentiary system, prevention and social reintegration of Chihuahua and Major General Graduate of the General Staff in retirement, he is a partner of the company Black Mamba Special GroupS. de RL De CV, sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department of the United States due to its relationship with the Sinaloa Cartel.
According to US authorities, the private security company established in 2010 is controlled by the businessman Alfredo Orozco Romerosecurity advisor Armando de Jesús Ojeda Aviléswho allegedly leads a money laundering network for the Sinaloa Cartel.
According to a review at Public Registry of Commercethe undersecretary has been a partner of the company since February 2022, after Jesus Alfredo Orozco Beltranone of the founding partners, transferred, through onerous transfer, his share of the company to the undersecretary and Liliana Orozco Romero, who was also sanctioned by OFAC after being identified as part of the Cartel’s laundering network.
Since then, Fernández Acosta assumed the position of president of the Council of Managershaving the power to manage and direct the company’s business. The documents consulted in the Public Registry of Commerce show variations regarding his percentage of participation in the company, however in the last document available, dated August 2022, he is registered with 19% of the share capital.
Assembly minutes in the Public Registry of Commerce. Image: Screenshot.
Patrimonial Declaration of Ricardo Fernández Acosta. Image: Screenshot
consulted by THE UNIVERSAL Regarding his relationship with the sanctioned company, the Chihuahua official issued diffuse and contradictory responses, as he claimed not to remember the details given the time that had passed since he became involved with the company.
“They passed it on to me (Black Mamba Group) as if it were a security company. but they scammed me,” he said at the beginning of the interview with this newspaper without detailing exactly how the alleged scam was carried out.
According to Fernández, a few years ago, in Chihuahua, he was introduced to a man named Alfredo Orozco (he did not specify his full name) and they told him that he “could work” with him because he knew people with an established security company. Orozco would have linked him to the sanctioned company, of which he admitted having agreed to serve as legal representative.
“The one who sold me (Alfredo Orozco), well, the one who supposedly associated with me, is a guy (who) I believe left here in Chihuahua through bad tricks. I have tried to communicate with him and he never answers me. I imagine he is in the United States,” explained the undersecretary.
Fernández said he sought to “deregister” from the company before a notary, but was unable to do so because the presence of all partners was required.
However, when asked specifically, the official claimed to be unaware that he is currently listed as a partner of the company before the Public Registry of Commerce. The undersecretary also stated that he was unaware of the company’s links with the Sinaloa Cartel; Likewise, he said he did not know Liliana Orozco Romero, the alleged handler of Alfredo Orozco Romero, according to US authorities.
In addition to Grupo Especial Mamba Negra, Fernández Acosta has been a partner in at least four other companies, according to a query to the Public Registry of Commerce: Seguridad Privada Quac, Iksa Servicios De Seguridad Privada y Limpieza, Renta De Vehiculos Fervillan Sociedad Anónima De Capital Variable, and Huevos y Aves Acosta.
Ricardo Fernández did not report any of these companies in his latest financial statements since 2021 available in the National Transparency Platform. However, he did report income from a company that he registered as “AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER.”
The business, stated in its 2025 declaration, left it with income of 29 million 700 thousand pesos according to the document; In that same year, the undersecretary reported a net annual income of 372 million 96 thousand 446 pesos, of which 190 million 356 thousand 446 pesos were reported as annual income for his public position.
consulted by THE UNIVERSAL, The official evaded the question about why his companies are not reported in his asset declarations. However, he assured that the reported income of more than 190 million pesos for his position in his 2025 asset declaration was due to “an error by the secretary” and that the correct amount is approximately one million 900 thousand pesos.
Income declared by Ricardo Fernández in his 2025 asset declaration. Image: Screenshot.
Participation in companies declared by Ricardo Fernández in 2025 in his asset declaration. Photo: Screenshot.
Ricardo Fernández Acosta, is a graduate of Heroic Military College as an Officer and later obtained the rank of Division General with a Diploma of General Staff.
According to his profile on the official website of the Chihuahua Security SecretariatFernández Acosta has two bachelor’s degrees, one in Military Administration, and another in International Relations, in addition to a Master’s Degree in National Security.
In his resume available on the National Transparency Platform, it is indicated that from 2008 to 2009 he served as Deputy Director of the National Military Service, from 2010 to 2014 he was a military advisor and garrison commander, later he was zone commander in Ixtepec, Oaxaca, from 2015 to 2016.
After that, he served as commander of the 5th. Military Zone in Chihuahua between 2016 and 2018. A statement from the official portal of the Government of Chihuahua shows that in January 2017 the then governor Javier Corral welcomed him.
From February to September 2021, he served as director of Road Police at the Chihuahua Security Secretariat. On July 1, 2022, he assumed the position of Director of Strategic Affairs at the same institution, already under the administration of the current governor, Maria Eugenia Campos.
In 2023, the Secretary of Public Security of Chihuahua, Gilberto Loya Chavezappointed Fernández Acosta as head of the office of the Penitentiary System of the State of Chihuahua, a position he currently holds.
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