Ernesto Ruffo Appel, former governor, accused of fiscal fuel smuggling

The apprehension of Ernesto Ruffo Appel, a former governor of Baja California, has ignited a political firestorm in Mexico, with accusations of benefiting from fiscal fuel smuggling, or 'huachicol'. The federal government claims Ruffo led a criminal organization involved in contraband fuel, while the opposition decries the move as "political persecution."

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the government assures that Ernesto Ruffo was “the leader of a criminal organization” that smuggled liters of fuel by declaring less quantity.

The scandal centers on a network that facilitated the illegal entry of millions of liters of diesel and gasoline into Mexico. This was allegedly achieved through false declarations at customs, where the fuel was declared as a different product or in lesser quantities to avoid taxes and duties.

Key seizures that brought the network to light include the confiscation of the vessel Challenge Procyon in Tampico in March 2025, carrying 10 million liters of diesel. Later, in July 2025, authorities seized 129 tank cars containing over 15 million liters of fuel in Coahuila.

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Ruffo, “leader of a criminal organization”: FGR; he is accused of receiving 18 million pesos for fiscal huachicol.

These operations have implicated high-ranking officials, including those from the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar), which has overseen customs since former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's term. Over 100 companies have been linked to fuel smuggling, with Ruffo's company, Ingemar, being one of them. The Attorney General's Office (FGR) has been building cases against more than 200 individuals, including officials and businesspeople, allegedly involved in this scheme.

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Ingemar lied in its logs to bring gasoline into Mexico from the United States, according to documents.