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Mexican authorities arrested Miguel Ángel Solano Ruiz, alias 'Sol' or 'Mike,' in the western state of Jalisco this Friday. He is a retired Navy corvette captain investigated for his alleged participation in an illegal hydrocarbon trafficking network linked to naval commanders and customs officials.
The Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) reported on its social media that the capture took place in the municipality of Zapopan following research, intelligence work, and technical data analysis, in coordination with the Attorney General's Office (FGR) and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC).
Solano Ruiz had an arrest warrant against him for his probable involvement in organized crime for the purpose of committing hydrocarbon-related offenses, the agency specified.
The former captain was one of the fugitives related to investigations into a fuel smuggling network known in Mexico as 'fiscal huachicol,' which has involved members of the Navy and customs officials.
Investigations into this framework date back to 2024, when then-Secretary of the Navy, Rafael Ojeda Durán, provided the FGR with evidence regarding possible illicit operations, as reported by the Prosecutor's Office last August.
The investigation gained momentum following the seizure in March 2025 of a vessel containing approximately eight million liters of hydrocarbons in Altamira, in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas. According to the FGR, this case confirmed the existence of a network dedicated to the smuggling, dispersion, and illegal distribution of fuel by sea.
The case has reached high-ranking naval officers, including brothers Manuel Roberto and Fernando Farías Laguna, both of whom are under investigation for organized crime and hydrocarbon-related offenses.
Manuel Roberto Farías remains subject to criminal proceedings in Mexico, while Fernando Farías was arrested in Argentina and subsequently handed over to Mexican authorities as part of the investigations into this structure.
The so-called 'fiscal huachicol' consists of introducing fuel into the country through smuggling schemes or declaring it as products subject to lower tax burdens in order to evade taxes.
[Publicidad]