You are here

Mexico holds firm in fuel theft fight as shortages worsen

By Reuters - Jan 09,2019 - Last updated at Jan 09,2019

People line up to buy gasoline at a gas station in Morelia, Michoacan state, one of several Mexican states where shortages have been reported, on Tuesday (AFP photo)

SALAMANCA, Mexico — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday a military-assisted crackdown on fuel theft was "not in vain" after pipeline and refinery closures aimed at choking off black market supplies stranded motorists in long gas station lines. 

Fuel theft has dropped from 787 truck loads per day to 177 since thousands of soldiers were sent to state-oil company Pemex's installations last month, Lopez Obrador said at a daily news conference.

The crackdown on a crime that has drained billions of dollars from state coffers and is blamed for rising violence in some regions is the leftist president's first major move against criminals and corruption since taking office on December 1, but risks angering consumers and hurting the economy. 

By closing off pipelines and refineries while it traced leakages, the government has triggered shortfalls and long lines at gas stations in at least six states, including Guanajuato, a major car-manufacturing hub in central Mexico.

Critics said that with pipelines closed there was less theft only because less fuel was available to steal. One Internet meme likened the strategy to closing banks in order to tackle bank robbery.

Criminal groups linked to drug cartels have long been blamed for a fuel black market, but Lopez Obrador said last month that far more fuel was being stolen directly from Pemex installations by an internal network of corrupt officials.

On Tuesday, he said the military had discovered a 3-kilometre-long "hose" that was funneling fuel out of storage tanks at the Salamanca refinery in Guanajuato into a secret storage area.

Lopez Obrador admitted there were complaints, but said shortages were not widespread. He urged an end to "panic" buying and said the problem was distribution, not supply.

"This is not in vain," Lopez Obrador said. "We are going to end corruption." 

Within sight of the refinery's metal towers, hundreds of people waited for fuel to arrive for up to five hours at two Mobil-branded gas stations operated by Exxon Mobil. 

Federico Garcia, a 63-year-old construction company manger waiting at one of the stations, said his business was beginning to feel the pinch and would have to slow activities if normal supply did not resume in a couple of days. 

"We are already beginning to stop work precisely because of the lack of fuel," said Garcia, wearing sunglasses and with sweat visible on his forehead under a bright midday sun.

At the refinery, convoys of military vehicles transporting armed soldiers could be seen approaching the facility, and inside the refinery gates uniformed soldiers could be seen inspecting tanker trucks both entering and leaving. 

Juan Pablo Gonzalez, who heads a gas station owners association, said Pemex had reopened a pipeline from the Salamanca refinery for a few hours on Monday, but shut it quickly because officials immediately detected a drop in pressure as thieves opened up illegal taps on the line.

Lopez Obrador said the government was investigating members of the previous administration who were involved in the fuel distribution system for signs they had taken part in the black market. 

The list of people under investigation includes the former head of security at Pemex, a military general close to former president Enrique Pena Nieto, he said. 

Local media showed images of tanker trucks, escorted by federal police, heading from oil-rich costal states to the country's interior.

It was not immediately clear what impact the crackdown will have on imports of fuel. Mexico is the top export destination for US energy products, importing about 1.4 million barrels every day, or nearly a quarter of all US overseas sales.

up
58 users have voted.


Newsletter

Get top stories and blog posts emailed to you each day.

PDF