The Mexican Navy confirmed to Aristegui Noticias that the meeting with Rear Admiral Fernando Guerrero was requested by Guerrero himself. The meeting's objective was to present 'a proposal to improve customs revenue' and to congratulate him on his appointment as the top naval commander. On October 29, Fernando Guerrero requested leave and vacation to stay in Manzanillo, Colima, from November 4 to 25. Additionally, the victims were linked to the Navy, as the husband of Nava Ramos worked for this Mexican state institution. Another factor was that in both crimes, firearms with a 9mm caliber were used, and Águila 9 mm Luger bullets were found at the scenes. The Attorney General's Office concluded that a direct link was inferred between Guerrero's homicide and the meeting in the Admiral Secretary's offices, possibly stemming from a complaint filed by the sailor about individuals mentioned in a manuscript, allegedly involved in a corruption network in customs. The Navy's Response The Secretariat of Navy stated to this medium that it does not have the audio and therefore is unaware of the details of the conversation. According to the FGR's investigation, the sailor had provided written details of his exact locations during those days. On November 8, the last day of his leave, Fernando Guerrero was followed and shot by hitmen on a motorcycle. Instead of clarifying the matter, Ojeda responded with another question. The recording involves four people: Rear Admiral Guerrero as the complainant; the Secretary of the Navy, Rafael Ojeda, who leads the conversation, and two unidentified members of the Secretariat of the Navy. Despite the Attorney General's Office (FGR) having an ongoing criminal process against naval commanders implicated in the fiscal 'huachicol' network, not all those mentioned by Rear Admiral Guerrero have been charged with any criminal offense, nor have they been exposed or sanctioned by the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum. For now, the final outcome of the investigations and the criminal process, which has already led to an arrest warrant for 14 people (though only 11 have been arrested and charged), is unknown. What is known is what happened after the recorded meeting: Fernando Rubén Guerrero Alcantar wrote a letter by hand summarizing everything he knew about the corruption network. The most valuable witness to corruption within the ranks of the Navy had fallen, and the criminal investigation had not even begun. Guerrero's Conversation with Ojeda Durán The Conversation and the Handwritten Letter In the audio delivered to Aristegui Noticias, Rear Admiral Fernando Rubén Guerrero Alcantar broadly explains the corruption network he was involved in and discloses two meetings he held: first with envoys from Rear Admiral Fernando Farías Laguna and later with the naval commander himself and an aide. In the recording, the commander identifies himself as 'your servant, Fernando Guerrero' and exposes his role in the corruption plot. The meetings he describes point by point match what is stated in a manuscript in his own handwriting, which the then Admiral Secretary, Rafael Ojeda, requested several times at the beginning of the recording. Guerrero Alcantar's letter was recovered from his office after his assassination. The facts described in the letter were verified in criminal case 325/2025, filed at the Federal Justice Center in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico. In the 19-minute recording, Guerrero discloses two meetings held on May 29 and 31, 2024, in the Coapa area, south of Mexico City: first with allies of the Farías Laguna brothers and later with Fernando Farías himself. In the audio, Rear Admiral Fernando Guerrero mentions that two weeks prior, he had a confrontational meeting with retired Captain Miguel Ángel Solano Ruiz (currently a fugitive) and with Captain Otáñez, an envoy of Fernando Farías Laguna, at the 'Fonda Argentina' on Paseo Acoxpa. Guerrero's letter provides precise details of the encounter: it took place on May 29, 2024, at the 'Fonda Argentina' restaurant on Paseo Acoxpa at 3:30 PM. Both in Guerrero's letter and audio, it is noted that Solano pointed out there were four days left until the presidential elections on June 2, 2024, concluding with a warning that if the opposing candidate, Xóchitl Gálvez, were to win, 'she's going to fuck you all over.' He named Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles as Secretary of the Navy. On October 8, a communication arrived at Guerrero's desk to appear at the Admiral Secretary's offices two days later. By comparing the audio and the letter, it can be concluded that the audio-recorded meeting in the Navy facilities took place in the first half of June 2024. The manuscript discovered in Guerrero's office after his murder is dated June 14, 2024. A man of all the Farías brothers' trust, Captain Julián Manuel Otáñez Calza had worked for 25 years in the Secretariat of the Navy and two years at the Lázaro Cárdenas customs, commissioned by the Semar itself. He currently directs the company 'Global Time de México', dedicated to 'National and International Trade and Logistics', according to his own LinkedIn profile. Both in the audio and the letter, it is stated that Captain Otáñez directly asked Miguel Ángel Solano Ruiz, alias 'El MK', 'El Mike', 'El NK', or 'El Sol', if he worked in customs with the knowledge of Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna. Guerrero affirmed in writing and during the interview that Captain Solano Ruiz denied everything, refused to be 'mixed up' in customs, and said he had only seen Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto Farías once. However, he did acknowledge three meetings with Captain of the Ship Clímaco Aldape Utrera, another of those implicated in the fiscal huachicol network through ships, but attributing these meetings to personal matters. Currently, Captain Clímaco is imprisoned and subject to criminal proceedings for organized crime and money laundering. The second meeting took place on May 31, 2024. Before being assassinated, Rear Admiral Fernando Rubén Guerrero Alcantar met with two Secretaries of the Navy: José Rafael Ojeda Durán, who was in his final days under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's administration, and the newly appointed one by Claudia Sheinbaum, Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, shortly after assuming office. Guerrero Alcantar was commissioned by the Secretariat of the Navy to work at maritime customs in January 2021, just when then-President López Obrador decided to hand over the operation of these spaces to the armed forces, arguing that this would combat corruption. In less than a year, the Rear Admiral ended up facing a corruption scheme known as fiscal 'huachicol', in which his own commanders tried to involve him with money transfers and direct cash deliveries. Initially, Guerrero Alcantar believed the money was for making improvements to customs, but he soon discovered it was alleged bribes obtained through the illegal smuggling of fuel. This criminal plot is characterized by authorities, businessmen, and criminal organizations colluding to introduce fuel into the country that is declared as other substances, to evade taxes and generate profits estimated in billions of pesos. After reporting what he knew to the intelligence area, Guerrero ended up in an office of the Secretariat of the Navy explaining everything to the institution's highest-ranking commander. In the audio of the meeting, obtained by Aristegui Noticias, the voice of Rafael Ojeda Durán, Secretary of the Navy during López Obrador's term, can be heard asking questions and demanding a written report on all those involved. Among interruptions and questions from Secretary Ojeda, Guerrero explained how he came to customs and how he started receiving money. In one of the files, a photo is attached, which presumably corresponds to the meeting between naval officers. The Crime of Rear Admiral Guerrero After the meeting with Ojeda in July 2024, Guerrero received his last official assignment: he was named Administrative Sub-inspector of the Sixteenth Naval Region, in Puerto Chiapas. On October 1, Claudia Sheinbaum became Mexico's first female president. Weeks later, he met with the Secretary of the Navy appointed by Claudia Sheinbaum, Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles. The sailor was reassigned to the Puerto Chiapas customs, he requested his vacation and leave days to settle personal matters in Manzanillo. The days and locations were known to high-ranking Navy officials, according to documents consulted in this investigation. On the last day of his leave, Rear Admiral Guerrero was shot and killed by two hitmen on a motorcycle. In the audio, Rear Admiral Fernando Guerrero states that the second meeting took place 'two days after' the first, this time at the Sanborns restaurant on Calzada Acoxpa and Miramontes. In Rear Admiral Guerrero's manuscript, he states that the second meeting was requested by Rear Admiral Fernando Farías Laguna to confront Captain Clímaco about his operations in customs. According to the audio, those present were Captain Clímaco, Rear Admiral Fernando Farías Laguna, and Rear Admiral Fernando Guerrero himself, who presents himself as 'your servant.' The same three attendees appear in Rear Admiral Guerrero's letter, and there is a coincidence in the narrated events, among which it is highlighted that Clímaco was 'very agitated, with red eyes and nervous.' Both in Fernando Guerrero's writing and in the recording, it is noted that when Fernando Farías asked Clímaco if his brother Manuel had authorized him to support Miguel Ángel Solano in customs, he responded: 'NO, he did not authorize me.' For this reason, Fernando Farías accused Clímaco Aldape of committing 'a great abuse of trust' by using his brother's name for these operations. According to the narration, Farías Laguna asked Rear Admiral Fernando Guerrero to leave the place so he could speak alone with Captain Clímaco, so he left the restaurant. These two meetings were documented in the criminal case to prosecute the naval commanders implicated in the fiscal huachicol case. His superior and the Navy's top command said he was not involved, but spoke of two paths to face the corruption case: to expose everything or to close it there by relocating the personnel. 'Either we expose all of this and I don't give a damn who falls, because I'm not involved in that; or we try to close it here by changing all this bunch of bastards, sending them to other places.' During the interrogation, Guerrero said that one of the main people involved in the plot, Fernando Farías Laguna, told him that the Admiral Secretary had already called them to attention four times about this corruption issue. The official investigation indicated that the vehicle's co-pilot, who was dressed in dark clothing, carried a black backpack, and had a tattoo on his right calf, got out, ran towards the victim's truck, and fired a 9mm firearm directly at the official. The Attorney General's Office linked this crime to the homicide of Magaly Janet Nava Ramos, an FGR official in Colima, which occurred 18 days earlier in the same city. The Attorney General's Office investigation points out that the meeting did take place. In several responses, he requested that the questions be directed to the Attorney General's Office. Due to not having the aforementioned audio, the details of the fact are unknown, which is in the hands of the FGR. The Semar reported that it has already removed five elements linked to the process by the FGR, 'for inability to fulfill their obligations (not showing up for work).' Through a written statement, the Secretariat of the Navy affirmed that José Rafael Ojeda Durán did not deliver any information to his successor, Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, about this case. The institution stated that it cooperates with the authorities and will maintain a focus on honesty and transparency to face this issue. It is also important to highlight that facing reproachable acts within the institution is painful but necessary, and the institution reaffirms that it acts with a single compass: honesty and transparency. In both cases, the same modus operandi was identified: the use of a motorcycle for the direct attack and a sedan for logistical support.
