Mexico Confirms 'Historic' Cartel Fuel Seizure Was 'Flawed'

Mexico’s top security official Omar Garcia Harfuch confirmed that last week’s “historic” cartel fuel seizure was not what they led people to believe.

According to Harfuch, the raid at the facility took place two weeks before it was announced to the media, and after the scandal, the regional delegate for the Attorney General’s Office, Juan Francisco Vera, was removed from his post. Harfuch revealed that the regional delegation and state authorities carried out the raid, not any of the FGR’s specialized crime units. Harfuch also admitted the case had not confirmed that the fuel was, in fact, huachicol, as they had initially claimed.

The admission confirmed a report by Breitbart Texas revealing that Mexican authorities had raided a legitimate oil storage facility with valid permits and a history of government contracts, and not a clandestine cartel operation. Mexican news outlets have since pointed to the raid possibly having been an attempt by corrupt officials to extort the oil company. The case fell apart under scrutiny.

The report by Breitbart Texas revealed that Mexico’s government was manufacturing raids and seizures in an attempt to divert attention and relieve some pressure from the U.S. government. The United States is pressuring Mexico to eradicate drug cartels.

While Mexico has gone after several known cartel figures, its government continues to protect the political elite, which has allowed cartels to proliferate and shift their operations. One of the main operations that grew exponentially after the Morena Party came to power involves the illegal fuel trade known colloquially as huachicol.

As Breitbart Texas has reported, a current illegal fuel investigation has revealed that the top brass from Mexico’s Navy was allegedly complicit in allowing large ships full of illegal fuel to enter the country. Currently, Mexican authorities have turned two naval vice-admirals into scapegoats and are trying to keep the case from reaching the former Secretary of the Navy, Rafael Ojeda, who is the uncle of the two vice-admirals. Various news outlets and politicians in Mexico claim that, if allowed to continue, the case will include not only Ojeda but also the sons of former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and other key members of the country’s ruling party, Morena.

The issue comes at a time when Mexico has been actively trying to prevent the arrest and extradition of Sinaloa’s Governor Ruben Rocha Moya, who is wanted in the United States on a federal criminal indictment accusing him of drug trafficking conspiracy and weapons charges for allegedly working for the Sinaloa Cartel, Breitbart Texas has reported.

 Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected]. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].