With discovery of secret tunnel, Mexican authorities strike blow against black-market fuel trade
By Stefanie Eschenbacher
TEPETITLAN, Mexico, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Mexican authorities this week raided a tunnel used to steal fuel from a state-owned pipeline, offering a rare glimpse into a long-running fight against black market trade often dominated by organized crime.
The 22-meter-long (72-foot-long) tunnel was discovered outside a house in the rural state of Hidalgo, near the town of Tepetitlan.
That led to two wiretaps on an underground pipeline, the Hidalgo state prosecutor said Tuesday, adding that law enforcement forces also seized drugs there.
The Hidalgo state attorney declined to elaborate on the announcement. A person familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that there have been no arrests so far in connection with the tunnel.
While officials did not name the pipeline, Reuters matched field coordinates with the energy department’s hydrocarbon infrastructure map and determined it was a pipeline owned by state energy company Pemex between the Tula refinery in Hidalgo and the Salamanca refinery in Guanajuato state.
When Reuters journalists visited the area near the rural community of Sayula on Wednesday, Army and National Guard personnel were on guard and a banner reading “property seized” was displayed.
Huachicol, as fuel theft and sales are known in Mexico, was initially the domain of local criminal gangs but has evolved into a violent, multibillion-dollar business dominated by powerful cartels. It may include crude oil as well as gasoline, diesel and other refined products.
Pemex did not respond to a request for comment. He reported that 11,774 illegal tappings were detected on pipelines in 2024.
The company said in a U.S. regulatory filing last year that its efforts to combat black market trafficking “have not resulted in sustained improvement in recent years.”
Thieves often dig long tunnels through private land to reach pipelines. Stolen fuel is often sold locally in glass bottles or plastic drums at a steep discount to gas station prices.
Tunnels used to enter pipelines often have elaborate engineering so that fuel can be siphoned off without causing pipeline pressure to drop enough to alert Pemex.
Fuels are highly flammable and accidents occur, including an explosion caused by suspected fuel thieves that killed at least 137 people in 2019.
(Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Cynthia Osterman)
