The Secretary of the Navy, Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, confirmed on Thursday that Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna and his brother, Rear Admiral Fernando Farías, were removed from their positions due to their participation in the fuel tax theft case.
During the morning press conference from Puebla, Admiral Morales also referred to the personnel involved in the crime of fuel tax theft. The head of the Navy specified that, so far, there are four detainees, all of whom have already been dismissed from the institution.
Navy personnel involved in fuel theft, one detained and another a fugitive, demand full salary from the Navy
The legal defense of brothers Manuel Roberto and Fernando Farías Laguna—senior officers of the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) who are subject to criminal proceedings—demanded that their labor, administrative, and patrimonial rights remain in force, including full payment of salaries and benefits, under the argument of the presumption of innocence.
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In a statement released this Wednesday, the sailors’ defense, led by attorney Epigmenio Mendieta, argued that precautionary measures cannot be treated as anticipated sanctions. He explained that preventive detention is not a punishment, but a provisional measure while the criminal process is resolved, and therefore does not justify the automatic loss of salaries, benefits, or labor rights.
The sailors filed for legal protection (amparo) after proceedings were initiated against them and an initial resolution ordered their removal from service; however, the attorney explained that this decision is not yet final, so they must retain their rights.
In Mexico, the presumption of innocence applies not only in criminal matters, but also prevents authorities from treating someone as guilty in the absence of a final conviction. This includes avoiding anticipatory measures that amount to sanctions or harm.
The First Chamber of the Supreme Court itself has recognized that restoring things to the state they were in prior to the criminal act is a procedural right of crime victims and is intended to “preserve or protect a legitimately safeguarded right, until such time as a judgment resolving the merits of the proceeding is issued.”
Currently, the investigated sailors receive only 30% of their salary. Their defense maintains that this reduction violates the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence, as it constitutes an anticipated sanction in the labor sphere. Therefore, they argue that the minimum subsistence level must be guaranteed—understood not as partial income, but as the full preservation of salary and labor rights—so long as there is no final judgment determining responsibility.
The defense emphasized that both are career military officers belonging to the permanent armed forces, so their legal situation cannot be equated to that of an ordinary job nor resolved through anticipatory decisions.
More than 23 million pesos in Navy payments
According to tax documentation, Fernando Farías Laguna received payroll tax receipts (CFDI) totaling 11,765,612 pesos from the Secretariat of the Navy between 2020 and 2024, while he declared only 6.95 million pesos in salary income to the Tax Administration Service (SAT), a difference of 4,815,000 pesos.
The investigation also documents the irregular issuance of between 3 and 20 CFDIs in a single day, with amounts exceeding 1.3 million pesos on the same day— a practice considered atypical in government payroll schemes.
Taken together, brothers Manuel Roberto and Fernando Farías Laguna received more than 23 million pesos in payroll payments from the Secretariat of the Navy between 2020 and 2024, despite declaring lower income amounts to the SAT.
In the case of Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna, tax documentation indicates that he received 12,168,476 pesos from the Navy, according to tax receipts that are part of the investigation.
Despite this context, the legal defense warned that any administrative decision limiting salaries, benefits, or labor rights prior to a final judgment could violate fundamental rights. For this reason, it insisted that the sailors must continue to receive their salaries and retain their prerogatives while judicial proceedings continue.
Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna was arrested and formally charged by the Office of the Attorney General (FGR) with organized crime for the purpose of committing crimes related to hydrocarbons (fuel tax theft) and remains in preventive detention at the Altiplano prison. Meanwhile, his brother, Rear Admiral Fernando Farías Laguna, faces an active arrest warrant and is being sought by authorities, as he is alleged to have participated in the same criminal network, but so far has not been located or detained.
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