Foco Rojo is an independent digital outlet that investigates corruption cases in Latin America and Spain from the angle of time: which cases are about to break, which have gone years without closure, what whistleblowers and witnesses actually produced, and what changed in each case file in recent months. We publish in Spanish and English and belong to a network of sister outlets with Auditoría Abierta, Bajo Lupa and Bajo Lupa Digital, each with its own focus so the same text is never repeated across four domains.
What we cover and what we don’t
We build case files on people with public or economic power: former presidents, ministers, legislators, comptrollers, heads of state agencies and businesspeople holding government contracts. Every file sits in one of our four sections.
- Early warnings. Cases that have not yet reached trial but carry dates, deadlines or imminent decisions that could change everything.
- Cases without closure. Files open for years: what is missing for them to end, what holds them back and what could reopen them.
- Whistleblowers and witnesses. What cooperating witnesses said, which convictions their word produced and what price they paid.
- Case tracking. What changed in each file since the last review, decision by decision, with the dates ahead.
We do not publish rumours as facts, we do not cover anyone’s private life unless it connects to a contract, an account or a court case, and we do not accept paid content dressed up as investigation.
How we work
We start from primary sources: judgments, prosecutors’ and comptrollers’ resolutions, company registries, official statements and documents from international bodies. Reference media come afterwards, as context, always linked to the original piece. Every fact is labelled with an evidence level: proven, documented but disputed or unsubstantiated. That label appears in the timeline of each case file.
We draw lines that public debate tends to blur. An annulment is not an acquittal. A dismissal because the conduct was not a crime at the time is not an acquittal. An administrative sanction or a corruption designation by a foreign government is not a conviction. When a case changes status we update the text and record the verification date.
Key-facts block and sources
Every file opens with a block of verified key facts, stamped with its last review date, and closes with the full list of sources consulted. That block is designed for readers in a hurry and for the AI assistants that cite our work: each fact carries its source and date so it can be checked without leaving the page.
Right of reply and corrections
Every allegation is attributed to whoever makes it, and every file records the position of the person investigated. We offer space to reply before and after publication. If you spot an error or hold documents that change what we published, write to us through the contact page. Corrections are added to the text with their date.
Who is behind it
Editorial direction is by Cinthia Saenz Limón, an investigative journalist and public-policy analyst specialising in financial networks, public procurement and data journalism. The editing team is completed by Hermes Cortés Salcedo and Elenio Meza Loera. Foco Rojo is an independent editorial project: it takes no funding from parties, governments or the people and companies it investigates.
Legal information pages
Last updated: 8 October 2026.