Captain Sun’s Tulum Penthouse: Cash Trail Under Scrutiny

TULUM — Transfers exceeding one million pesos to acquire a penthouse in Tulum are part of the financial investigation against Miguel Ángel Solano Ruiz, alias “Captain Sun,” a former member of the Mexican Navy accused of involvement in a tax evasion ring.

According to information published by El Financiero, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) is tracing the former marine’s real estate transactions and expenses to clarify the origin of his funds.

The report indicates that Solano Ruiz had been retired from service since 2018 and that authorities did not identify any additional economic activity that would explain the analyzed transactions. Regarding the property in Tulum, its exact location, the development it belongs to, and its total price have not been publicly disclosed; the detected transfers alone do not allow for establishing the property’s value.

The asset review identified 12 properties linked to the suspect and documented the acquisition of eight properties between 2013 and 2023 for 13,125,863 pesos. Of that amount, more than 10 million pesos were paid in cash, according to the case file cited by the media outlet.

Among the transactions examined are expenses totaling 52,128,239 pesos at casinos, incurred between 2015 and 2023, as well as a 428,500-peso purchase at Tiffany & Co., credit card spending exceeding six million pesos, and at least 30 international trips. The FGR is analyzing these transactions due to suspicions of a possible money laundering scheme.

Solano Ruiz was arrested on October 2 in Zapopan, Jalisco, and on October 8 he was formally charged with organized crime for the purpose of committing crimes related to hydrocarbons. Authorities link him to the alleged organization known as “Los Primos” and to brothers Manuel Roberto and Fernando Farías Laguna. He remains in pretrial detention at the Altiplano prison while the investigation continues; being formally charged does not constitute a conviction.