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Ernesto Ruffo Appel detained in fuel‑smuggling case, faces federal hearing
Former Baja California governor Ernesto Ruffo Appel, the first PAN governor elected in 1989, was arrested on 16 July 2026 in Ensenada by the Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana after the Fiscalía General de la República obtained an order of apprehension. He is accused of organized‑crime and fuel‑smuggling offences linked to a large‑scale “huachicol fiscal” network that allegedly imported gasoline from Texas, declared only about 10 % of the tank‑truck capacity and evaded roughly 4 billion pesos in taxes.
Ruffo Appel and seven co‑accused are being held at the Federal Penal Center Altiplano. Since his detention, he has appeared remotely before a federal judge, where prosecutors presented extensive evidence and sought to keep him in preventive detention. The government, including President Claudia Sheinbaum, asserts the case is purely criminal and not political, while civil groups such as Somos México demand his immediate release, claiming the investigation is a “political smokescreen.”