Mexican Customs Agency official linked to Romanian mafia

An investigation by Mexicanos contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad (MCCI) has revealed that Alejandro Enrique Arcos Romero, a suspected financial operator for the Romanian mafia, held a position within Mexico’s National Customs Agency (ANAM) between December 2022 and June 2023.

Despite having his bank accounts frozen in February 2021 by Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) due to links with Florian Tudor’s criminal organization, Arcos Romero served as a close collaborator and potentially as a private secretary to the agency's head. The Tudor organization is linked to credit card cloning schemes targeting tourists in Mexican Caribbean destinations.

Additionally, former ANAM procurement director Araceli Hernández Perea is linked to Arcos Romero. Investigations show the pair established companies in San Antonio, Texas, and purchased a luxury mansion valued at approximately $902,000 in mid-2024. This acquisition stands in stark contrast to Hernández Perea’s reported monthly salary of 80,000 pesos. During her tenure, she managed the awarding of multi-million peso contracts for sensitive national security equipment, including X-ray machines for customs inspections.