Former Baja California Governor Ernesto Ruffo was arrested on Thursday on organized crime, fuel theft and tax evasion charges.
The Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) arrested the 74-year-old Ruffo in Ensenada after what it called “a highly complex investigation.” Ricardo Thompson, Ruffo’s business partner in the company Ingemar, was also arrested.
🛢️🚨 #AlMomento | Comienza el traslado desde Tijuana hasta CdMx de Ernesto Ruffo, exgobernador de Baja California acusado de huachicol fiscal. “No me olviden”, expresó al observar que sus empleados se acercaban al vehículo de la Fiscalía General de la República en el que sería… pic.twitter.com/0ftnwNnET9
— Milenio (@Milenio) July 17, 2026
Ingemar — which Ruffo once said only managed customs procedures — was linked to an operation carried out by authorities in Coahuila a year ago, during which approximately 15.5 million liters of fuel and 129 tanker trucks were seized.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said Ingemar was under scrutiny for its alleged involvement in what was, at the time, the biggest such bust by the current administration which took office in October 2024. The fuel smuggling network cost the treasury more than US $220 million, authorities say.
Initially, García Harfuch said Ruffo was not a suspect, but the subsequent investigation — which is still ongoing — resulted in an arrest warrant being issued.
When questioned about the bust in July 2025, Ruffo — who claims to be just a minority shareholder in Ingemar — said his conscience was clear.
“The distributors are the ones who handle all the logistics, the movement of the fuel,” he told El Universal newspaper. “The importer only does the customs agent’s paperwork; we are the importer … we don’t even see the fuel, we only see papers.”
Established in 2018, Ingemar registered its primary business activity as providing storage services for hydrocarbons, petroleum and petrochemicals. It also was involved in the purchase, sale, import and export of hydrocarbons, while also acting as a contractor for federal and local governments.
A member of the National Action Party (PAN), Ruffo was elected governor of the border state in 1989, becoming the first opposition candidate to win a state governorship after six decades of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Prior to that, Ruffo served as mayor of Ensenada from 1986-1989 and was later elected to a six-year term as senator (2012-2018), during which time he served as president of the Northern Border Affairs Committee.
In ta statement, the PAN accused the authorities of applying double standards, referring to the controversy involving the current Baja California governor who is a member of the ruling Morena party.
“It is impossible not to notice that this arrest occurs amidst growing public attention with regard to the case involving Governor Marina del Pilar, who continues to fail to provide sufficient answers regarding the serious allegations against her […] The law cannot be applied differently depending on the person or the party they belong to.”
With reports from El País, El Universal, Proceso, La Jornada and The Associated Press
