President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on April 1 that Héctor Alonso Romero Gutiérrez will replace Rafael Marín Mollinedo as director of Mexico's National Customs Agency (ANAM). She praised Marín's tenure and denied electoral motives for his departure. Marín will take a post in Yucatán.
In her morning press conference on April 1 at the National Palace, Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed Rafael Marín Mollinedo's departure from the ANAM directorship, a role he held since February 2025 after a prior stint in 2022. "He told me he would help me for just one year and it's already a year and a bit more. He will help us in Yucatán, either in Bienestar or Gobernación," the president explained.
Sheinbaum praised Marín's "extraordinary performance," noting impressive customs revenue growth in 2025, with a 15.5% real increase despite a 2.3% drop in operations. She denied the resignation stemmed from electoral motives or poor management, despite challenges like fuel smuggling known as huachicol fiscal on the U.S. border.
Héctor Alonso Romero Gutiérrez, the new director, holds a degree in Sustainable Development from Tecnológico de Monterrey and a master's in Energy Markets and Finance from the University of Edinburgh. Since 2023, he has led the technical support unit at CFE with a net salary of 103,000 pesos monthly, and worked at the Energy Regulatory Commission and in private wind energy. Sheinbaum said he will boost revenue, digitalization, and new technologies at Customs.
Marín's tenure faced corruption allegations, such as the case of Alex Tonatiuh Márquez Hernández, former head of Customs Investigations dismissed over a watch collection worth 7.7 million pesos, according to Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad.
