Epigmenio Mendieta, the lawyer for Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna (detained and facing criminal charges) and Rear Admiral Fernando Farías Laguna (considered a fugitive from justice), indicated that the Farías Laguna brothers’ only involvement was informing the then-Secretary of the Navy, José Rafael Ojeda Durán, about the fuel theft network within the Mexican military institution.
The Farías Laguna brothers are accused of leading a criminal organization dedicated to transporting fuel from the United States to Mexico and illegally importing it by declaring that they were importing additives, not diesel. Thirteen people have been arrested in this criminal organization, including members of the Mexican Navy, Customs personnel, and representatives of customs companies, according to the criminal indictment, for committing crimes related to hydrocarbons.
Months before he was murdered in Manzanillo, Rear Admiral Fernando Rubén Guerrero Alcántar reported to Ojeda Durán the operation of a tax evasion network within customs. According to the naval commander, there were internal movements, pressures, and possible acts of corruption that compromised the institutional structure.
In an interview this morning with Ciro Gómez Leyva on Radio Fórmula, the defense attorney for the Farías Laguna brothers stated that they were summoned by Ojeda Durán to determine if the accused were involved in the corruption network: “They were mentioned, and their position is that they are not involved. However, the person who can corroborate whether or not they participated is Rear Admiral Fernando Rubén Guerrero Alcántar himself; he was in customs, he knew who was benefiting.”
“To say that the Farías brothers benefited from these events… (Guerrero Alcántar) was the ideal witness for Fernando and Manuel, so he could explain directly who did and did not participate.”
He pointed out that the Navy is supposed to provide information about what really happened, but the argument remains that national security is at risk: “All of that already happened, those events occurred in 2020, and they refuse to release that information.”
Regarding whether Fernando Farías Laguna could appear before the authorities to give his statement, he mentioned that “it would be ideal; the only remaining issue is his definitive suspension, which would allow him to continue the process while free.”
He revealed that the communication Fernando had with Admiral Secretary Ojeda is on his cell phone, where he informs him how the corruption network operated, because it was his obligation as a military officer to inform the supreme command: “That information does exist, and Fernando has it in his possession.”
Regarding the leaked audio of a conversation in which Fernando Rubén Guerrero Alcántar detailed to José Rafael Ojeda Durán the workings of a corruption network in maritime customs and the involvement of naval commanders in the so-called “fiscal fuel theft,” Mendieta commented that the other people heard in the recording should also be investigated and summoned to testify.
“At the beginning, there is a person who provides context, gives detailed information, while contradicting Guerrero.” The information exists and is with the Naval Intelligence Unit. But they claim to have nothing and that it’s all part of national security.
Finally, he said that “this recording must be added to the investigation file immediately because the story presented by the Attorney General’s Office and the Navy—that the Farías brothers created the tax-related fuel theft network—doesn’t add up. A letter from Admiral Guerrero predates the recruitment of the Farías brothers, stating that subordinates used their names falsely and that their only involvement was to inform Ojeda about the fuel theft network.”
Source: lasillarota
