Mexican authorities dismantled a clandestine cryptocurrency mining operation in the mountains of Puebla, seizing 300 graphics cards, satellite internet links, and industrial transformers that were illegally drawing on hydroelectric power. The raid near the town of Tlaola is the fourth such illicit facility uncovered in the region since early last year, according to Tom’s Hardware and Reuters.
The operation relied on stolen electricity, and residents said they could hear the transformers and cooling equipment from roughly a kilometer away. Mexican federal authorities, the Navy, and local police took part in the bust. Security analysts say the facility fits a broader pattern in which the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel use crypto mining to convert and launder illicit income.
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. Tom’s Hardware separately noted that Bitcoin has not been meaningfully mined with GPUs for over a decade, raising concerns that cartel operations may be focused on illicit transactions rather than legitimate mining.
The Puebla raid adds to a wider regional crackdown on unlicensed, energy-intensive mining. In Uruguay, Tether’s Bitcoin mining push unraveled over an energy dispute, while Oman has mandated a state-run mining pool. Similar hidden facilities have been raided in Brazil, the United States, and Thailand, and analysts expect crypto-related crime to keep climbing.
