A NE-SW fault system, observed in the northeast portion of the eastern sector of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, has been active since the Pliocene-Holocene time with dip-slip kinematics. These NE-SW faults belong to the Tenochtitlan fault system that extends from the southwest coast of Mexico to the NE zone of the Mexico basin. The length of this fault system suggests a complex deformation history, which is unknown before the Pliocene. In addition, the kinematics of the NE-SW faults and the tectonic conditions are unknown before their current activity. In this study, we investigate the geometry and kinematics of the NE-SW faults in the Miocene rocks in the central part of the Mexico basin (Guadalupe Range) for to know the kinematics of these faults during the Late Miocene time. Our results suggest that the Miocene rocks record two deformation events, one event is related to crustal shortening which produced a strike-slip activity in the NE-SW faults during the Late Miocene. The second deformation event is associated with crustal extension and the activity of the NE-SW faults with dip-slip kinematics. This extensional event was active during the Pliocene-Holocene. The re-activation analysis and our observations in the Guadalupe Range suggests that the NE-SW normal faults in the Tizayuca-Chignahuapan region are the product of the re-activation of previous NE-SW strike-slip faults. The change in the kinematics of the NE-SW faults explains the complex geometry of the damage zone and the high amount of the geological fractures in the Miocene rocks of the Mexico Basin. The activity type of the NE-SW faults is probably related to the dynamic of the subduction process in the southwest of Mexico, associated with the change in the inclination (decrease) and the convergence velocity of the Cocos Plate. •The length of Tenochtitlan fault system suggests a complex deformation history during Miocene-Pliocene.•The NE-SW faults in the eastern sector of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt record two deformation events.•The activity of NE-SW faults is related with the dynamic of subduction in the SW of Mexico.