Business Partner of Boxer Canelo Alvarez Suspected of Money Laundering for CJNG Fuel Thieves

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Following last week's ICE arrest and accusations of Sinaloa Cartel ties of boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., Mexican news outlet Reforma also cited numerous sources regarding the ties of a Mexican businessman who is a partner in a gas station convenience store company with famed Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez. 

Canelo fought and won against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2017.

Saul Canelo Alvarez is widely regarded as the face of modern boxing and is arguably one of the most popular athletes on the planet.

He is a 17-time world champion across four weight divisions and is also a two-time undisputed super middleweight champion. And he will put that title on the line against Terence Crawford on September 13.

Apart from his ventures inside the ring, Canelo has also been just as successful outside of it. His empire includes a boxing promotion, gas stations, a cocktail company, clothing line, and more. He also runs a chain of convenience stores known as Upper by Canelo Energy.

According to AIFA, an associate of Canelo named Eric Daniel Zamora Delgadillo, has been accused of using the convenience store chain and his company, Ecocarburante, for illegal activities, including the distribution of stolen fuel and laundering money for the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel.

Delgadillo has a checkered past, and before his involvement with Canelo Energy, he served as a president of a company called Agricola Boreal. The company was sanctioned by OFAC in 2016 for alleged drug trafficking and money laundering ties to Los Cuinis.

Eric Daniel Zamora Delgadillo

Apart from that, Delgadillo is also the representative of another Mexican company called Impulsora de Productos Sustenables, which has been linked with fuel theft.

Delgadillo is reportedly also an associate of Jose Isabel Muruguia Santiago, brother of former mayor of the Teuchitlan municipality, Jose Asencion Muruguia. Muruguia, known as "El Choko" has often attended Canelo Alvarez's fights in the United States.

The former Teuchitlan mayor was recently arrested for organized crime links connected the scandal of the Rancho Izaguirre training camp compound discovered in Teuchitlan with body burning pits and the belongings of forced recruitment kidnapping victims.

Canelo is yet to make any public comment regarding his reported association with Delgadillo.

Army Airport Fuel Scandal

The Ministry of National Defense (now called DEFENSA) responded to a report accusing the Felipe Ángeles Engineering Group of having acquired diesel allegedly stolen during the construction of the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA).

The accusation alleges that the fuel was purchased from Ecocarburante SA de CV, a company allegedly linked to huachicol. This situation raised alarms due to the project's profile and the Army's direct involvement in the project.

In response to the controversy, DEFENSA clarified that the contract was signed in accordance with the law and that the supplier company was part of the official registry, with no sanctions, investigations, or accusations against it at the time of the awarded contract.

In addition, he detailed that the traceability of the fuel was verified with PEMEX, and that the public money allocated to the project was audited year after year between 2019 and 2022 by both internal bodies and the Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF), without any anomaly related to the purchase of diesel having been detected.

Sources Sports Illustrated, Reforma, El Imparcial