Mexican authorities have dismantled a clandestine cryptocurrency mining farm in the mountains of Puebla, seizing 300 graphics cards, satellite internet links and industrial transformers that were illegally drawing on hydroelectric power, according to a Tom’s Hardware report citing Reuters. The operation near the town of Tlaola is the fourth such illicit facility uncovered in the region since early last year, a signal that drug cartels are expanding beyond trafficking into crypto mining as a channel for laundering money.
Inside the Seized Operation
The farm ran on stolen electricity, and residents of neighboring communities told Reuters they could hear the transformers and cooling equipment from roughly a kilometer away. The facility sat about two kilometers from the nearest village, a remote location chosen for its cheap power and its distance from oversight. Mexican federal authorities, the Navy and local police took part in the bust, though the report did not specify how the operation was first detected.
Cartels Turn to Mining to Launder Proceeds
Security analysts say the seizure fits a pattern in which cartels including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel use mining to convert and launder illicit income. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel and its armed wing, La Barredora, hold the strongest presence in Puebla. Mexican cybersecurity firm SILIKN estimates that the use of crypto mining to launder money in Mexico rose at least 55.8% last year, with cartels mining Bitcoin, Monero and Tether. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, cited by Reuters, puts illicit crypto transactions at $154 billion last year, up from $59 billion in 2024, a jump it links partly to sanctions evasion. The growing sophistication of these operations, security analysts say, shows how quickly criminal groups have adapted to digital assets.
A Regional Enforcement Push
The Puebla raid adds to a wider crackdown on energy-intensive, unlicensed mining across the region. In Uruguay, Tether’s Bitcoin mining push unraveled over an energy dispute, while Oman has mandated a state-run mining pool to steer the industry toward licensed operators. Reuters noted that similar hidden facilities have been raided in Brazil, the United States and Thailand, and analysts expect crypto-related crime to keep climbing in the years ahead.
