On January 12, Cruz Reyes went to the Attorney General's Office of Veracruz in Xalapa for questioning and to issue his declaration on the case. He went with the PAN's State President José de Jesús Mancha Alarcón, congressman Domingo Bahena Corbalá, and his lawyer, Sergio Rodolfo Vaca-Betancourt Archer. The mayor's attendance was invitational and voluntary; however, because he had political impunity under the Constitution of Mexico. Bravo clarified that the PGR and the federal government can strip the mayor from political immunity without any restrictions. Municipal officials claimed that the mayor was seen sporadically at work for least three days because he had attended several meetings related to the case. In the declaration, Cruz Reyes stated that he was not involved in organized crime and that he had nothing to do with Sánchez's disappearance. He said that he had no differences with him, citing that the relationship between them was good and cordial. In addition, Cruz Reyes lamented that the case was politicized. That next day at a press conference, the mayor stated that authorities were using him as a scapegoat. He asked authorities to be impartial and consider other lines of investigations too, like his publications on social media that reported about self-defense groups in Medellín de Bravo.
