Miguel Ángel Solano Ruiz, a key participant in the fuel-smuggling scheme that has tarnished the Navy, was arrested in Zapopan, Jalisco, on Thursday night.
Solano Ruiz, aka “Capitán Sol,” is a retired Marine captain and purportedly one of the main operators of the fuel smuggling network allegedly orchestrated by the Farías Laguna brothers, both of whom were high-ranking Navy officers.
El traslado de Miguel Ángel Solano Ruiz, “El Capitán Sol” o “Mike”, señalado como uno de los principales operadores de la red de huachicol fiscal que involucró a mandos de la Marina y funcionarios de aduanas, quien fue detenido en Zapopan, Jalisco. pic.twitter.com/r6nLMvLVBo
— REFORMA (@Reforma) October 2, 2026
According to witness testimony, Solano recruited active-duty and retired naval personnel to participate in the network that smuggled hydrocarbons through customs without paying the corresponding taxes, a crime known in Mexico as huachicol fiscal.
He allegedly used his influence within the Navy to place these men in key positions at maritime customs offices in ports such as Tampico, Altamira, Ensenada and Guaymas, while also corrupting public officials through bribes.
The Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) says Solano, 48, is the last remaining key player of the Farías Laguna criminal organization and will face organized crime and tax evasion charges.
The corruption scheme was uncovered when authorities seized a vessel carrying 10 million liters of diesel smuggled from Texas off the coast of Tamaulipas in March 2024.
Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna was arrested on Sept. 2, 2025, while his brother Fernando, a rear admiral, remained a fugitive until he was captured in Argentina in April and deported to Mexico on Aug. 21 this year.
While serving in the Navy, Solano held several positions related to intelligence at Central Command and retired in 2018 with a pension of 18,000 pesos per month.
However, investigators found that his lifestyle greatly exceeded that pension: He lost more than 52 million pesos (US $2.5 million) on gambling, while casinos and racetracks had issued 400 warnings about him to the authorities. He also owned eight properties in Veracruz and Mexico City valued at over 13 million pesos (US $714,000).
Investigations over the course of the past year led authorities to addresses in France, Greece, Monaco and Spain, before the net closed around the suspect in Jalisco.
Authorities said that following more than 300 days in pursuit of Solano, a search warrant was issued on Thursday for a property located in the Villa Verona subdivision of Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara.
During the search, an arrest warrant was issued and Solano was apprehended. He was transferred to the Altiplano maximum-security prison in México state on Friday.
With reports from El Economista, El País, El Financiero and Proceso
