By Stefanie Eschenbacher
MEXICO CITY, March 5 (Reuters) - Mexico has expanded a probe into fuel smuggling at sea ports highlighted in a 2025 Reuters investigation into cartel-linked fuel crimes, according to a government document reviewed by the news agency outlining actions taken by the administration.
The February document says the anti-corruption ministry is overseeing internal investigations within the ports of Guaymas, Tampico and Ensenada as well as in the Navy and customs agency.
The government previously had acknowledged probes into suspected fuel smuggling at the Port of Tampico and last year arrested 14 people allegedly involved, including customs agents and Navy officials.
The government comments on the fuel smuggling investigations came in response to questions from the opposition National Action Party (PAN) about suspected corruption within state agencies that purportedly allowed fuel smuggling to flourish in Mexico. The fuel smuggling section was part of a broader 217-page response to questions from senators about the administration's performance on its policy priorities.
That section of the document, available on the Senate's website, was first reported by local media.
The port administrations of Guaymas, Tampico and Ensenada didn't respond to requests to comment, nor did Mexico's Attorney General's office, Navy or customs agency.
Fuel smuggling in Mexico involves falsifying shipping and customs paperwork on fuel coming mainly from the United States. Smugglers evade a steep Mexican tax on imported diesel and gasoline by declaring it to be some other type of petroleum product that's exempt from the duty. The savings can amount to more than half a cargo's value.
Illicit fuel and stolen crude are now the second-largest source of revenue for Mexico's cartels behind narcotics, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Emboldened smugglers have graduated from truck and rail shipments to using petroleum tankers, a development that U.S. and Mexican security officials say points to collusion between cartels and crooked port insiders.
In its 2025 investigation, Reuters tracked a vessel that offloaded imported diesel in the ports of Ensenada and Guaymas that was declared in Mexico to be tax-free lubricants, costing the government $7 million in lost duties.
The importer was suspected to be a front company for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to three Mexican security officials and an undated government security document viewed by Reuters.
PAN in its questions urged the federal government to explain how it would investigate, dismantle and punish anyone involved in the fuel smuggling network, including high-ranking government officials that may be part of it.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has been under intense pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on drug cartels.
PAN and the president's office did not respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher in Mexico City; additional reporting by Diego Ore in Mexico City and Shariq Khan in Bangalore; editing by Marla Dickerson and Stephen Eisenhammer)
