Morena Candidate in Quintana Roo Drops Aide Tied to Romanian Mafia

Mexico City — Rafael Marín Mollinedo, the Morena party’s candidate for the Quintana Roo governorship, has removed Alejandro Enrique Arcos Romero from his team after the party member was singled out by Mexican and U.S. authorities for alleged ties to the financial structure of the Romanian mafia led by Florian Tudor.

The move comes after Arcos Romero’s presence in Marín Mollinedo’s political circle drew scrutiny and after Morena’s national leadership announced it would review his party membership.

According to a report by Reforma, Marín Mollinedo acknowledged that Arcos Romero had volunteered in activities related to his candidacy bid and said he should now be investigated.

“He was helping in this way. He came around and helped us, that’s all… I’m neither a prosecutor nor am I going to investigate him,” the former customs director said.

From Political Companion to Embarrassment

The separation comes after investigative reports documented Arcos Romero’s closeness to Marín Mollinedo, both during his tenure at the National Customs Agency (ANAM) and in the political activities the former official has carried out in Quintana Roo.

The controversy intensified after it was revealed that Arcos Romero is named in investigations related to the so-called Romanian mafia and that the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) ordered the blocking of his bank accounts as part of Operation Caribbean.

The case also exposed a contradiction within Morena. Initially, the party leadership said Arcos Romero was not a member; later, media reports confirmed his affiliation, prompting the party to announce that its National Commission on Honesty and Justice (CNHJ) would analyze his situation and decide whether to suspend his party rights.

Marín Mollinedo has now chosen to distance himself from someone who until recently was part of the circle helping him build his political project.

A Relationship Rooted in Customs

The relationship between the two men is not recent. Arcos Romero was linked to ANAM during the period when Marín Mollinedo headed the agency.

Arcos Romero is also the partner of Araceli Hernández Perea, a former director of material resources at ANAM who was involved in awarding contracts for customs inspection equipment during the administrations of Horacio Duarte and later Marín Mollinedo.

According to the investigation cited by Reforma, Hernández Perea and Arcos Romero run businesses in the United States and own a home in San Antonio, Texas, valued at more than 15 million pesos.

A Blow to Marín’s Candidacy

The separation comes at a particularly delicate moment for Marín Mollinedo, who is seeking to position himself within Morena ahead of the party’s gubernatorial nomination for Quintana Roo in 2027.

The controversy over Arcos Romero adds to questions about the candidate’s closeness to individuals linked to financial and criminal investigations, forcing him to publicly distance himself from one of his collaborators.

Marín Mollinedo said he bears no responsibility for Arcos Romero’s activities and asked that the appropriate authorities determine whether any wrongdoing occurred.

For its part, Morena must now decide whether to maintain or suspend the party rights of the man at the center of the scandal, a case that has put under scrutiny how people with questionable backgrounds were able to join the party’s structures.

The allegations against Arcos Romero are not equivalent to a criminal conviction, and any responsibility must be determined by the relevant authorities.