High Seas Corruption: Mexican Navy Officer Among Fuel Seizure Arrests

A senior Mexican navy officer, Vice Adm Manuel Roberto Farias Laguna, was arrested along with several business leaders and government officials due to a massive fuel seizure incident in northern Mexico earlier this year, a federal agent confirmed to the Associated Press.

The detention, part of a broader investigation initiated in March, follows the interception of a ship in the Gulf port of Tampico carrying 10 million litres of fuel. The operation marked the capture of the highest-ranking officer under President Claudia Sheinbaum's continuous effort to combat fuel theft, also known as huachicol in Mexico, which has resulted in significant financial losses for the state-run oil firm Pemex.

US authorities have highlighted concerns over drug cartels increasingly smuggling stolen fuel into the United States using intermediaries in Mexico's oil sector. The US Drug Enforcement Administration indicated these powerful cartels fund their activities through such thefts. Following the March 31 Tampico seizure, Federal Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch announced the arrests of company executives and public officials and pledged continued investigations. Mexico's navy maintained a stance of zero tolerance towards corruption but refrained from immediate comment.

(With inputs from agencies.)