Doña Carlota, the 74-year-old Mexican woman whose case went viral in 2025, spoke again after being released from prison and continuing her proceedings under house arrest.
The woman is accused over the deaths of two men during a confrontation at a home in Chalco, State of Mexico, which her family says had been illegally occupied. The defense maintains that she and her children acted in self-defense.
After spending nearly a year in custody, a judge modified her precautionary measure mainly due to her age and health condition, allowing her to continue the proceedings from her home. The decision does not mean she has been declared innocent.
Upon leaving, Carlota said she was happy to return home and was blunt when referring to what happened:
“I see it as self-defense”.
Days later, when pressed about the moment that ended with two people dead, she summed up her position in a phrase that reignited the debate:
“It was them or me”.
While her defense prepares evidence to try to prove self-defense, her children continue facing their own proceedings in pretrial detention.
The case continues to divide opinions: for some, Doña Carlota represents a woman who defended her home when authorities did not respond; for others, nothing justifies a response that ended in loss of life.
And now the Mexican justice system will have to determine where self-defense ends and vigilante justice begins.