Former Mexican Rear Admiral Fernando Farías arrived in Mexico City this Friday after being expelled from Argentina and will be incarcerated in the Altiplano maximum-security prison. This was confirmed by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) in a statement.
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The 47-year-old former public servant landed at Mexico City International Airport (AICM). After being evaluated by a forensic doctor to certify his state of health, the FGR stated that he will be placed at the disposal of the judicial authority that requested his extradition to face legal proceedings.
Farías Laguna, a former member of the Mexican Navy (Semar), was arrested on April 23 in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Mexican authorities are investigating him for organized crime related to hydrocarbon-related offenses, specifically for his alleged participation in a smuggling, distribution, and illegal distribution network known as “tax-related fuel theft.”
Attorney General Ernestina Godoy explained that Argentine authorities determined their expulsion after analyzing the evidence provided by Mexico.
The investigation reveals that the organization used tankers arriving at ports such as Tampico and Ensenada, declaring hydrocarbons as oils or additives to evade taxes. Public officials and legally established companies participated in the transportation, distribution, and laundering of illicit profits.
To date, Mexican authorities have arrested 15 other people allegedly linked to this smuggling network. Currently, the Attorney General’s Office is seeking new arrest warrants against shareholders, partners, and contacts related to fuel distribution in six states of the country to dismantle the structure.
#IMPORTANTE | Fernando ‘N’ ingresa al Altiplano
El contraalmirante Fernando Farías Laguna ingresó al penal de máxima seguridad del Altiplano, en el #Edomex, tras llegar en helicóptero procedente del @AICM_mx.
La @FGRMexico confirmó su arribo durante la madrugada tras ser… pic.twitter.com/YSW3oWuynf
— Azteca Noticias (@AztecaNoticias) August 21, 2026
The text reads, “Important. Fernando ‘N’ enters the Altiplano Rear Admiral Fernando Farías Laguna entered the maximum-security Altiplano prison, in the state of Mexico, after arriving by helicopter from Mexico confirmed his arrival during the early hours after being expelled from Argentina. The former naval commander is charged with organized crime and allegedly leading a fuel theft network with an estimated embezzlement of 600 billion pesos.”
What is tax-related fuel theft?
According to Guadalupe Correa Cabrera, a political scientist and researcher specializing in organized crime, this activity is defined as the importation of fuels into Mexico, primarily gasoline or diesel, disguised as other products to avoid paying the corresponding taxes, or to pay a lower rate than that established by law.
Because the national infrastructure does not allow for refining all the crude oil extracted to meet domestic demand, Pemex and other companies send the hydrocarbons to refineries in the United States to be returned to Mexico as fuels ready for sale. In this chain of operations, various actors import the energy products using different tariff classifications to evade the Special Tax on Production and Services (IEPS).
To carry out the tax evasion, those involved send the shipments to Mexico disguised as products such as lubricants or oils, since these liquids are not subject to the IEPS.
The scale of this scheme has been documented by the Tax Administration Service (SAT). In its Tax and Management Report for the fourth quarter of 2022, the agency acknowledged that 66.7 million barrels of fuel entered the market illegitimately, a figure that represented 14 percent of the country’s actual demand during that year.
#Mexico | President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the Foreign Ministry will file legal complaints directly in the U.S. following the deaths of 17 Mexican citizens in detention centers and during operations.
Sheinbaum demanded full investigations and accountability for ICE… pic.twitter.com/Wk0vKKYpIJ
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) August 19, 2026
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