Mexico prosecutor reveals ex-military officer’s influence in fuel-smuggling network

Mexico’s federal prosecutor says a former navy vice admiral did more than participate in a fuel-smuggling operation. Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna allegedly used his influence over appointments, promotions and personnel transfers to help the network operate inside the country’s maritime customs system and the Navy.

Attorney General Ernestina Godoy said the brothers Manuel Roberto and Fernando Farías Laguna, known as “Los Primos,” stood out in a criminal structure that imported, moved, stored and distributed fuel brought into Mexico illegally. The operation, known locally as “huachicol fiscal,” allegedly brought hydrocarbons mainly from Texas using falsified paperwork, with support from colluding public officials and customs agents.

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Roberto ‘N’, in particular, directly managed those appointments and promotions.

Godoy said the brothers intervened in appointments and promotions within maritime customs, Mexico’s National Customs Administration and the Navy itself. “Roberto ‘N’, in particular, directly managed those appointments and promotions,” she said.

Investigators found luxury goods, maritime customs lists, personnel files belonging to naval staff and senior commanders, classified national-security documents and weapons without proper registration in a warehouse rented by Roberto Farías Laguna in Mexico City. Godoy said public servants and customs agents received payments for every shipment they allowed through.

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Behind the illegal operation of that vessel was not a lone smuggler, but a complex criminal network, in which Manuel Roberto ‘N’ and Fernando ‘N’ stood out, to secure the capacity to import, transport, store and distribute fuel brought in illegally.

The investigation began in 2024. An early breakthrough came in March 2025, when authorities seized a vessel carrying 10 million litres of diesel at the port of Altamira in Tamaulipas. Godoy said the vessel’s operation pointed not to a lone smuggler but to a complex network designed to secure the import, transport, storage and distribution of illegal fuel.

Roberto Farías Laguna was arrested in September 2025 and remains imprisoned at the Altiplano prison in the State of Mexico. His brother Fernando, a rear admiral, was arrested in Argentina in April 2026 and transferred to Mexico in August. Prosecutors have identified operations linked to the same network in Tamaulipas, Baja California, Sonora, Colima and Mexico City.

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Colluding public servants and customs agents received payments for every shipment they allowed through.