Gynecologist Jesús Luján was arrested this Thursday in Tijuana, Baja California, after being deported by the United States. The arrest took place this morning at the Chaparral border bridge, which connects Mexico and the United States. The doctor was transferred to the facilities of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) in the Río de Tijuana region and will be handed over to the Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office, which issued an arrest warrant for him in 2024. Luján had been on the run for almost a year when, on October 10, ICE arrested him for failure to comply with his immigration documents. Since then, he has been detained by American authorities at the Otay Mesa detention center in California.
The gynecologist faces five complaints for improper exercise of medical service (which motivated the arrest order), in addition to six others for revealing secrets, for allegedly disclosing information on social networks about the women who were his patients. Likewise, he faces a complaint for local procedural fraud, in which he is accused of having presented false medical certificates, and another for an offense provided for by the FGR protection law.
The Con Ovarios collective, which brings together more than 70 women affected by Luján’s medical practices, celebrated the news of his arrest. “We hope that he will not be released during his first hearing and that justice will be served to us,” Liora Anderman told EL PAÍS: “This is a historic moment for us, which many did not believe possible.”
The search for Jesús Luján is over. A few months ago, one of Mexico’s most famous gynecologists began to flee. Dozens of women have accused him of bad practices since 2023 for providing medicines without consent, performing unnecessary surgeries and hiding medical records, in addition to being accused of being behind the deaths of babies and serious health complications in pregnant women. The scandal devastated the doctor, who went from the status of national reference in terms of so-called humanized birth to that of “king of induced birth”.
Five of these patients filed a complaint with the capital’s prosecutor’s office, which closed the prosecutor’s office and issued an arrest warrant against them. Luján requested protection and a federal judge granted it in exchange for paying 3,500 pesos (about $180), signing in court every Monday and continuing his criminal proceedings. It only met the first requirement.
The doctor never went to sign or respond to requests to appear or attend any hearing, according to court documents to which EL PAÍS had access. He did not do so in person or via video call, as had been proposed after citing health concerns. After months and with 13 medical certificates, the gynecologist tried to suspend “sine die” the criminal proceedings against him because of his state of health. The judge denied it and on December 20, 2024, the arrest warrant was active again. However, at that time Luján was already in the United States.
After months without news, the Con Ovarios collective learned in October that the gynecologist had been arrested by ICE, after his visa was canceled in June. Since then, the women have hoped he would be extradited or deported and held there. This Thursday, they were able to celebrate the second. Luján is in Mexico and is about to appear before the judge.
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