Mexico wants to arrest three army men. They once ran customs at the Matamoros border crossing. That crossing sits right across from Brownsville, Texas.

The case says the men helped smuggle fuel into Mexico. The ring brought in more than 144 million liters. They lied on the paperwork. They called the fuel "pool chemical" so they would not pay tax on it.

This case hits close to home. Trucks cross that same bridge every day. Prosecutors say graft reached deep into the army. That same army guards this stretch of the Texas border.

The three men are Armando Barrera Trujillo, Blas Pedro Sarabia Garcia, and Jorge Garcia Garcia. Barrera ran the customs office first. Sarabia Garcia took over next. Garcia Garcia was the deputy in charge there.

A federal judge signed arrest orders for all three. The judge works at a court near Mexico City. The three men are part of a bigger group. In all, 13 people are wanted in this case. They include customs staff and business owners. All three men are still on the run.

The case charges Barrera with one crime. It is called organized crime. That means helping run a crime gang. Sarabia Garcia and Garcia Garcia face two charges each. One is organized crime. The other is a smuggling charge. That charge covers big schemes that dodge taxes on goods.

Court papers name a company called Servicios Aduanales JR. It is based in Reynosa. The firm filed the paperwork for the fuel. The case says its owner led the whole ring. His name is Armando Riestra Fernandez. He has been in jail since January. Two more firms took part too. They are Jumandi Group and Ferroservicios. The case says they brought the fuel into Mexico.

Reforma's report gives the dates as June 1 to July 22, 2025. One other outlet citing the same case file said the scheme went back to 2024. The exact span is not fully clear yet. Either way, the ring moved more than 144 million liters of fuel. That includes diesel, gas, and naphtha. Every drop was marked as pool chemical on paper.

The case file says the ring reaches into the army itself. It names Barrera by his old rank and post. It also says the ring reaches the office's current boss, Sarabia Garcia. The file also says the deputy, Garcia Garcia, has combat training. It says he will need extra guards if he is caught.

This is not the first case like it. In late 2025, Aristegui Noticias ran its own probe. It was called "Soldados del huachicol." It found army men tied to fuel smuggling at other border spots too. Those spots sit in Piedras Negras, and in two Chihuahua border towns, Palomas and Ciudad Juarez. The report said the scheme went back to 2021. One army colonel lost his job over it. His name is Octavio Oton Lopez Perez. He ran customs in Ciudad Juarez. He was let go in November of 2025. He later got a chance to answer the claims against him.

Reporters tracked one fuel truck with GPS. It crossed from El Paso, Texas into Ciudad Juarez. It stopped at a gas station. The stop used the Phillips 66 brand name. The truck then made more stops. It dropped off fuel in three more states, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and Aguascalientes.

In September of 2025, a separate case came to light. It named two Navy men. They are Manuel Roberto Farias Laguna and Fernando Farias Laguna. The case says they ran a like scheme. It also went through customs spots in Tamaulipas. Both men are kin to a former Navy chief. His name is Rafael Ojeda Duran.

Years back, Mexico put the army in charge of border customs. The goal was to stop graft. These new cases raise a hard question. Did that plan work?

So far, seven folks in the Matamoros case sit in jail. They were caught since January. Six sit in two federal jails. One got to go home to wait for trial. The three army men are still gone. Under Mexican law, they are innocent until a court says they are not.