Mexico Customs Corruption Hits Record High Under Marín Mollinedo

Mexico City, Mexico — Despite the creation of Mexico’s National Customs Agency (ANAM) and the militarization of key fiscal oversight points, corruption continues to undermine the economy and national security through smuggling, tax evasion, arms and drug trafficking, money laundering, and bribery. These illicit activities involve public and private actors, violating both the Federal Criminal Code and Customs Law.

A Persistent Challenge

Since 2019, the Mexican government has launched operations such as Anti-Corruption Force and Operation Cleanup to root out corruption in customs. While these efforts have led to the dismissal of dozens of employees and criminal complaints, arrests remain rare, mirroring the impunity seen in high-impact crimes nationwide.

The administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which promised to end corruption in 2018, has instead seen scandals multiply. The first major case occurred in 2019, when seven customs employees in Reynosa, Matamoros, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, were accused of arms trafficking and money laundering—yet few faced full judicial processes.

Since then, ANAM has had six directors: five under López Obrador and one under current President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Recent Scandals

The latest case, exposed by Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI), involves Alex Tonatiuh Márquez, ANAM’s Central Administrator of Customs Investigations. Known as “Lord Watches” for his luxury timepiece collection, Márquez declared owning watches worth 7.7 million pesos—far exceeding his official income.

“Impunity, lack of technology, and discretionary customs processes perpetuate this problem, affecting tax revenue and facilitating the entry of illegal goods—from textiles and hydrocarbons to chemical precursors and fentanyl—compromising national security.”

Past and Present Failures

Before 2019, Mexican customs were already notorious for corruption. In the 1990s, opaque and discretionary processes allowed officials to demand bribes for expedited services. The 1999 Customs Law aimed to modernize the system, but impunity and weak technological controls persisted.

By 2017, textile smuggling affected 58% of the domestic market, while arms and drug trafficking spiraled out of control.

Under López Obrador, then-Tax Administration Service (SAT) head Ricardo Peralta Saucedo launched Anti-Corruption Force, resulting in seven criminal complaints against border customs employees for arms and money trafficking. That same year, 1,568 amendments to the Customs Law were proposed to streamline processes and reduce discretion—though most stalled.

Military Intervention and Continued Failures

In 2020, organized crime exploited weak oversight at ports like Manzanillo, where chemical precursors for synthetic drugs, including fentanyl, entered unchecked. The Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) investigated irregularities in Progreso, Tuxpan, and Mexicali, filing complaints for money laundering and corruption—yet no concrete results followed.

A 2020 Fiscal Penal Reform toughened penalties for smuggling and tax fraud, classifying them as serious crimes. However, inadequate staffing and impunity limited its impact. By 2021, then-ANAM head Horacio Duarte Olivares reported firing 2,071 employees for misconduct—yet few faced legal consequences.

Modernization and Ongoing Vulnerabilities

In 2021, ANAM was established as a decentralized body under the Finance Ministry, with technical and operational autonomy, to improve revenue collection and combat smuggling. The agency aimed to professionalize staff and modernize infrastructure, including an electronic data processing center in Querétaro monitoring Mexico’s 49 customs offices.

Yet, security cameras at this center had been misaligned for years—either due to technical failures or deliberate sabotage.

In 2024, Mexico scored 26 on the Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 140th out of 180 countries. Recent irregularities under former ANAM head André Foullon Van Lissum, including alleged favoritism in direct contracts, highlight ongoing vulnerabilities.

Partial militarization, with Navy personnel deployed to customs, has not eradicated fuel smuggling (huachicol fiscal). While technology like structural equation modeling has improved oversight in ports like Lázaro Cárdenas and Manzanillo, corruption persists.

Recent Cases and Impunity

Between 2019 and 2025, multiple corruption cases have emerged:

• 2019: Seven employees in Tamaulipas accused of arms and money trafficking—only three faced charges.
• 2019: 18 officials fired and 46 arrested in Manzanillo and Pantaco (Mexico City) for fiscal crimes, costing the treasury 537 million pesos.
• 2020: A Reynosa customs officer falsely declared electrical materials instead of 1,400 rifle magazines, accelerating port militarization.
• 2021: ANAM trained 254 military personnel to reinforce customs surveillance—with limited success.

Rafael Marín Mollinedo, who first led ANAM in December 2022, was reassigned in June 2023 to represent Mexico at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Foullon Van Lissum, a retired general, replaced him but faced allegations of contract irregularities in 2024.

Sheinbaum reappointed Marín Mollinedo in February 2025 to boost customs revenue—yet fuel smuggling scandals in Tampico and Ensenada persist.

Latest Allegations

In June 2025, 16 former officials accused ANAM’s Director of Border Customs Supervision, General Ernesto Alejandro Vadillo, of leading a corruption network involving job sales, extortion, and ties to organized crime. Among those implicated were René Díaz Ramos (“El Fayuquero”) and Colonel Benito Cegueda, head of Ciudad Juárez customs. ANAM claimed the dismissals were strategic.

Conclusion

Corruption remains entrenched in Mexico’s 49 customs offices—border, maritime, and inland—despite modernization efforts. Key entry points like Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and Nuevo Laredo remain smuggling hotspots, while ports like Veracruz and Manzanillo struggle with drug and fuel trafficking.

Until accountability improves, customs will remain a weak link in Mexico’s security and economic stability.