The former rear admiral Fernando Farías Lagunas He was arrested on Thursday in Argentinawhere he arrived under a false identity like Guatemalan using a Altered Personal Identification Document (DPI)and where he now seeks to remain through political asylum, as confirmed by his defense, after Mexico requested his extradition.
His capture ends the international search against him and returns the case in which, together with his brother Manuel Robertois accused of leading a fuel smuggling network, known as “fiscal huachicol”which would have generated million-dollar losses to the treasury of the Mexican State.
Both are former high-ranking soldiers of the Mexican Navy and political nephews of Rafael Ojedawho was secretary of that institution during the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), which has increased media interest in a case that has now connected at least four countries, including Guatemala for the alleged falsification of documents.
According to the investigations, Farías Lagunas was part of Since 2023, a criminal structure made up of public officials, private companies and armed forces personnel dedicated to the illegal entry of hydrocarbons into Mexico.
According to the investigation, the network introduced fuel from the United States, passing it off as oils or additives through tankers, in order to evade taxes.
His brother, Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto, has remained in prison for months. Both face charges of organized crime and money laundering.
The Argentine Federal Police reported that Farías Lagunas, 47, was arrested in the Palermo neighborhood, in Buenos Aires, during an operation carried out on the street, confirmed the Argentine Federal Police. “The fugitive had managed to enter the country using a false identity, under the name of a Guatemalan citizen,” The institution reported on the arrest in a capital neighborhood of Palermo under a “discreet operation.”
According to the report, he was staying in a temporary rental apartment “in order to remain hidden and on the margins of justice.”
The Argentine Ministry of Security indicated that he entered on April 1 from Colombia with a false identity in the name of a Guatemalan citizen.
Renap activates verification for false DPI
In Guatemala, after learning about the use of false documentation, the National Registry of Persons (Renap) reported that it activated its General Inspectorate to carry out verifications in coordination with other institutions.
“This process is developed inter-institutionally in accordance with the mechanisms established to clarify the facts”indicated the entity in response to the assertions of Argentine authorities.
He added that, because the investigation is still ongoing, it was limited, and that at the moment it is not possible to provide further details.
Mexico manages deportation
Farías Lagunas is wanted by the District Court Specialized in the Accusatory Criminal System of the State of Mexico, headed by Judge Nancy Selene Hidalgo Pérez, for organized crime linked to hydrocarbon crimes.
President Claudia Sheinbaum stated in a press conference this Friday that her immediate return is sought. “All the steps are being taken… to see if there can be a deportation,” and he stressed that this is the priority because he entered Argentina with false documentation. He added that, if it does not materialize, “the conditions of extradition would be established”.
The president explained that the case arose after detecting a ship that brought in fuel reported as another product to evade taxes, which made it possible to discover the smuggling scheme and led to arrest warrants against those allegedly involved.
Defense alleges persecution and seeks asylum
The defense of Farías Lagunas reported that the detainee seeks to remain in Argentina through political asylum, considering that there is a “advance warning” of guilt in Mexico despite the fact that “there is evidence” conclusive.
His lawyer, Epigmenio Mendieta, stated that the former military man denounced the huachicol network “directly to your hierarchical superior”but “For having reported facts, they incriminate him online, but they also point him out as a leader.”
He also indicated that Farías Lagunas presented a passport that “does not correspond to his nationality,” which “he will have to face” in Argentina, as it is the country where he used the false document.
The defense questioned whether the accused had the capacity to operate a structure of that magnitude and maintained that “the culprits have already been chosen and it has to be them,” referring to Farías Lagunas and his brother.
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