Hailing from the city of San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, Laura Mojica Romero won the title of Miss Oaxaca 2018 and represented the province at Miss Mexico 2019 where she won the chance to represent Mexico at International Queen of Coffee 2020 in Colombia.
The beauty queen has been detained for alleged links to a criminal gang involved in kidnapping and could face 50 years in jail. Laura is 25-years-old and is currently being held in Veracruz as her name emerged after investigations led authorities to make an arrest in kidnapping crimes across the city. The official statement claims Romero is one of “eight alleged members of a criminal organisation specialising in kidnap.”
A judge ruled out on Saturday that Laura along with seven other individuals arrested will remain in prison for the next two months while the official authorities will continue to investigate the case and gather evidence. If proven guilty, the members of the group could face 50 years of prison each. The statement read, “The capture of Luis Antonio ‘N’; Raúl ‘N’; María del Rosario ‘N’; Ana Martha ‘N’; Laura ‘N’; César Enrique ‘N’; Diego ‘N’ and Jossiel ‘N’ took place in Veracruz when personnel specialised in tackling kidnapping carried out an operation to capture those now linked to this judicial investigation.”
Prosecutors said an elite anti-kidnap unit had acted to ensure there was “no truce for people who cause serious harm to Veracruz.” Laura’s link with the kidnapping gang comes as a big shock to several of her fans given her public profile. It's still unclear how she got linked to the gang that is involved in high-profile kidnappings in Veracruz.
The diva is a graduate of Veracruz University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Her resume says she is fluent in English and a spokesperson for associations fighting breast cancer and cancer in children. She said previously that her priorities included tackling the problem of violence against woman, “We can't stand idly by, we have to eradicate violence against women, through campaigns and educational talks that make men aware of this issue.”
According to federal statistics, Veracruz occupies one of the top spots in the country for kidnappings, on average 15–20 per month, only surpassed by México state.