Authorities Target Suppliers, Buyers in Move Against Rampant Fuel Theft Peter Orsi - The Associated Press | |
go to original May 10, 2017 |
Mexico’s Oil Thieves Cost Industry Billions of Dollars (CGTN America)
Mexico is embarking on a strategy to combat illegal pipeline thefts that includes going after those who purchase and deal in stolen fuel as well as the thieves, the country's treasury secretary said Tuesday.
Jose Antonio Meade said it's a problem that costs Mexico somewhere between 15 billion and 20 billion pesos a year, or $780 million to $1 billion, and one that requires a holistic approach to solve.
Mexico's government wants to reduce the siphoning of gasoline and diesel from illegal pipeline taps by attacking "not only the supply but also the demand," Meade said, according to a transcript of remarks during a Q&A session released by the Treasury Department.
Besides quick-response actions against thieves, authorities must work to make the illicit business less profitable and make those who buy it face consequences, he said.
The topic is front-and-center in Mexico these days after gunbattles between the army and suspected thieves killed four soldiers and six gunmen last week in the central state of Puebla. Armed gangs have gotten involved in the business of fuel thefts, and gunmen were said to have used civilians as human shields in one of the clashes.
Fuel thieves are also suspected of being behind a shocking crime in Puebla on May 2, when eight assailants raped a woman and her 14-year-old daughter, killed her toddler son, beat her husband, stole the family's pickup truck and left on them on a highway at night. In March, three state detectives were abducted and killed by a fuel theft gang allegedly with the help of the local mayor and police officers.
Meade said those who "tear at the social fabric, who in a very cowardly fashion hide behind ... women and children," cause problems for communities and are "terribly dangerous."
Read the rest at Fox News
Related: Mexican Fuel Importers Weigh Risk After Thefts Trigger Bloodbath (Bloomberg)
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