A large fuel depot in San Jose Iturbide, Guanajuato, that Mexican authorities touted as a landmark cartel bust appears to have been operating legally, according to documents released by the company that owns it.
On September 17, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR), working with federal security forces, raided the depot and seized 59 million liters of diesel. Officials initially described the site as a clandestine operation.
The next day, Mexico’s top security official, Omar Garcia Harfuch, held a press conference calling it a “historic seizure.” He said no arrests had been made during the raid but that arrests of illegal fuel dealers would follow. The action was framed as part of a broader crackdown on huachicol, the term used in Mexico for stolen or smuggled fuel.
Hours after that press conference, the company that owns the depot, Grupo SIMSA, issued a statement saying the facility had been operating legally in San Jose Iturbide for nine years. The company listed permit numbers from state and federal agencies covering national security, environmental compliance, soil use, and transportation, saying each had approved the depot’s operation. Grupo SIMSA said it had already handed the documentation over to federal authorities and noted the permits can be verified in publicly available government databases.
The mismatch between the government’s initial characterization of the raid and the company’s documentation has raised questions about the motive behind the operation.
Broader Pressure on Mexico’s Government
The raid came just days after U.S. President Trump said Mexico needed to do more to go after terrorist organizations and the political figures who enable them. Among the cases drawing scrutiny is that of Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya, who remains in Mexico under government protection despite being wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice on drug trafficking conspiracy and weapons charges tied to alleged work for the Sinaloa Cartel.
Mexico’s government is also facing questions over former Secretary of the Navy Rafael Ojeda, who has reportedly gone missing amid investigations into alleged complicity in large-scale cartel fuel operations. Two of his nephews, both naval vice-admirals at the time, are already in Mexican custody on charges connected to a network investigators believe reaches into the country’s political elite, including sons of former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
