Rafael Marín Mollinedo accompanied by alleged Romanian mafia operator

An investigation by Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad (MCCI) has revealed that Alejandro Enrique Arcos Romero, an alleged financial operator for the Romanian mafia, accompanied Rafael Marín Mollinedo during his tenure as head of the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM) and is currently part of his campaign for the governorship of Quintana Roo.

Arcos Romero is identified as a key architect of the financial structure for a criminal organization led by Florian Tudor, which operated along the Riviera Maya. In February 2021, Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) blocked Arcos Romero’s bank accounts as part of ‘Operación Caribe,’ a joint effort with the FBI to dismantle a network involved in credit card cloning in tourist destinations like Cancún and Los Cabos.

According to MCCI, Arcos Romero allegedly used 14 shell companies to launder criminal proceeds through the purchase of real estate, vehicles, and jewelry. Despite the account freezes and requests from the U.S. Department of Justice, Arcos Romero was not detained and served as Marín Mollinedo’s private secretary at ANAM between December 2022 and June 2023.