Three officials from the Tampico port and customs office were removed from their positions following the seizure of 10 million liters of fuel theft in late March in Tamaulipas, a seizure considered historic due to its volume.
One of the cases that drew the most attention was that of Francisco Javier Antonio Martínez, Director of Finance for the National Port System Administration (ASIPONA) in Tampico. His dismissal occurred on May 2, just four days after Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) and the newspaper Reforma revealed that he was a partner in the owners of Intanza, a company linked to the importation of the seized fuel.
Who else was removed from their positions?
In addition to the Director of Finance, Hugo Alonso Rodríguez Aguilar, Deputy Manager of Port Protection for ASIPONA Tampico, an agency under the Ministry of the Navy, was also removed.
Another official who was relieved in previous weeks was Luis Jorge Goicochea Sotomayor, administrator of the Tampico Customs Office. The retired rear admiral had only arrived in January, but after the seizure, he was replaced by Antonio Morales Hernández, according to official documents from the corresponding department.
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What did the investigation reveal about the Finance Director?
According to information published by Reforma and MCCI, Francisco Javier Antonio Martínez went from owning a taco shop in Chimalhuacán and a stand in downtown Mexico City to accumulating, in less than two years, a collection of 18 vehicles. Among them are:
10 classic collector cars
2 luxury pickup trucks
2 Harley-Davidson motorcycles
The investigation linked his assets to his business ties, specifically his participation as a partner in Intanza, the company involved in the fuel theft case.
What was seized in March?
The seizure involved 10 million liters of fuel theft, i.e., stolen or illegally sourced fuel. This seizure was described as one of the largest recorded in Mexico and also exposed a large binational network of fuel theft linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which involves customs officials, Pemex officials, the SAT (Tax Administration), port officials, and US companies.
The operation was carried out by federal authorities in the state of Tamaulipas and announced by the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch.
Source: elimparcial
