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Christine Murray in Mexico City and Chris Campbell, Peter Andringa, Alison Killing and Sam Joiner in London
"How smuggled US fuel funds Mexico’s cartels"
https://ig.ft.com/mexico-fuel-theft
via @FT
Sophisticated criminal networks are illegally importing huge volumes of fuel — and piling pressure on Mexico’s president
Every evening at dusk, about 90 kilometres north of Mexico City, the main highway lights up with flashing strobes. Truck drivers know this means one thing: illicit fuel is sold here.
For decades, criminal groups in Mexico have stolen fuel from the state, a practice known as huachicol.
But in recent years this has been eclipsed by a new and advanced form of smuggling — diesel and gasoline moved across the border from the US via truck,
train or sea.
“What we’re seeing is a major shift in the illicit fuel game that organised criminal groups in Mexico and co-conspirators in the United States in some cases are playing,” says David Soud, head of research and analysis at international security consulting firm IR Consilium. “What this showcases is how smart and how adaptive these organisations are in their business models.”
Estimates from the last five years suggest that illegal diesel and gasoline make up anywhere between 16 % and 27% of Mexico’s annual fuel consumption — between 172,000 and 290,000 barrels per day.
That could have a final retail sale value of between $12bn and $21bn a year.
“It’s a very big black market,” says Samuel León, a Mexican researcher who has written a book on fuel theft. “It’s one of the biggest black markets for hydrocarbons on the planet.”
https://twitter.com/MsResJudicata/status/1932880107682562100