Audomaro Martínez accused of fuel theft ring and endorsing criminal-linked officials

Audomaro Martínez Zapata, the former director of Mexico’s National Intelligence Center (CNI) under Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is facing serious allegations regarding his ties to organized crime and fiscal fraud.

PAN legislator Federico Döring Casar has accused Martínez of operating a “fiscal fuel theft” (huachicol fiscal) network. Döring claims Martínez used privileged intelligence regarding anti-smuggling operations to benefit himself and others, including Andrés Manuel López Beltrán and Jorge Amílcar Olán Aparicio. The legislator noted that Martínez personally requested to keep his asset declarations private for five years just days before the end of the previous administration.

Additionally, Martínez is being scrutinized for his role in endorsing security officials with alleged criminal ties. Reports indicate he recommended Gerardo Mérida Sánchez as the Security Secretary in Sinaloa, a position held by an individual the U.S. government has linked to drug trafficking. Martínez is also cited for endorsing Hernán Bermúdez Requena, the former Security Secretary of Tabasco, who is currently imprisoned on charges of leading the criminal group “La Barredora.”