Amid reports that two sons of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador allegedly sought legal protection to avoid arrest warrants tied to a fuel theft network operating in Tamaulipas, a case that also implicates members of Mexico's Navy, President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed the claims as a "smear campaign" aimed at damaging the former president and his family.
When questioned about the case on Sept. 18, Sheinbaum denied that any such legal action had been taken by the sons of López Obrador. She also backed public statements released by Gonzalo and Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, who both denied seeking court protection.
"They already denied that they [Andrés Manuel and Gonzalo López Beltrán] filed for legal protection. There's a lawyer who said he didn't file anything either," Sheinbaum said. "This is part of a smear campaign, plain and simple. It's a political attack against our movement, against President López Obrador, and against his sons."
🗣 Claudia Sheinbaum niega amparo a hijos de AMLO: "Es parte de la campaña de calumnias"
— Animal Político (@Pajaropolitico) September 18, 2025
Cuestionó: “¿Qué sentido tendría poner los amparos? Desacreditar, calumniar”.
Agregó que los propios hijos del expresidente ya desmintieron el hecho. pic.twitter.com/YJrekbpmBx
However, according to reports by Latinus, both sons obtained temporary injunctions from federal judges that shield them from immediate arrest. The legal protections were issued by the Ninth District Court for Administrative Matters in Mexico City and the Second District Court in Zacatecas.
The rulings also extended to 14 other individuals allegedly connected to the fuel theft ring operating out of the port of Tampico in Tamaulipas, where several members of the Mexican Navy are now under investigation.
As reported by The Latin Times last week, Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna was formally charged on Sept. 9 for his alleged role in the fuel trafficking network. The case surfaced after a customs official in Tampico, now a protected witness, alerted authorities about an operation allegedly led by Farías Laguna and his brother, Rear Admiral Fernando Farías Laguna.
During a court hearing, federal prosecutors claimed the brothers oversaw a network of corrupt public officials stationed at key customs checkpoints. These officials reportedly accepted bribes of up to $90,000 per tanker in exchange for allowing large shipments of contraband diesel fuel to pass through.
In his testimony, the former customs official said six tankers carrying illicit fuel docked at the port of Tampico up to 14 times with the full cooperation of customs personnel.
Among the evidence presented in court was a handwritten note from Rubén Guerrero Alcántara, a whistleblower who was shot and killed by two men on motorcycles in Manzanillo, Colima, on Nov. 8, 2024. Before his death, Guerrero is believed to have informed then-Secretary of the Navy Rafael Ojeda Durán, uncle of the Farías Laguna brothers, about irregularities in the port of Tampico.
On Sept. 17, Andrés Manuel López Beltrán published a letter on social media stating that neither he nor his brother had filed for legal protection. He called the reports a "fabrication" orchestrated by political opponents.
"This entire matter is part of a smear campaign attempting to link me and my family to criminal activity," López Beltrán wrote. "We not only have no connection to it, we fully support continued efforts to dismantle these networks."
He also voiced support for Sheinbaum's administration, saying, "As always, we stand by the decisions of our President, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, and reaffirm our commitment to the actions taken to address this national security challenge."
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