Petroleum Theft in Mexico: Coming to the Borderlands?
The New Meaning of the Mexican Word "Huachicol"

Adding to the woes of Mexico due to violence in drug trafficking, growing addiction rates among Mexicans, insults about Mexicans from the President of the United States, growing kleptocracy at all levels, and a serious decline in the maintenance of the rule of law--add petroleum theft from Pemex.

In 2012 the pilfering of oil supplies from Pemex amounted to about $390 million (US).  In 2017 this had grown exponentially up to about $3.7 Billion.  The major difference is that the drug cartels have diversified their business model to include theft of petroleum. Journalists in Mexico complain Pemex officials have been overly secretive about these incidences, suggesting perhaps some collusion within Pemex.  The most obvious consequence of the theft of petroleum is the increasing scarcity of gasoline in filling stations, where long lines are frequent, particularly in the states most affected.  Also obvious are the salespersons on streetcorners selling gasoline in small containers.

We don't hear much about this on the US-Mexico border, because petroleum theft has expanded largely from the Southern states of Puebla, Veracruz, and Hidalgo to the states ot Tlaxcala, Edomex, Queretaro, Guanajuato, Jalisco, and Michoacan.  But petroleum theft has already arrived in relatively small quantities to the Border, including Chihuahua.  Just yesterday law enforcement agents for Pemex discovered a clandestine pipe was leaking oil out of a Pemex pipeline near Chihuahua city.  And the other day some mischief was discovered near Pemex facilities in the Southern part of Juárez.

In vernacular Mexican Spanish, for some reason the term "huachicol" has now become synonymous with the theft of gasoline.  More generically, it refers to illicit activity of any kind.  But in news media outlets it has come to refer more specifically to the stealing and sale of gasoline from Pemex. However, in Juárez it still refers to illicit activity, at least up to now.  For example, (see yesterday's post) the cash payments allegedly made by Governor Duarte to, among others, the three most mentioned candidates for the 2022 Governor's race in Chihuahua, is referred to as the "huachicoleo" ("mischief" might be an adequate term in English) now disclosed by law enforcement agencies seeking Duarte's extradition from El Paso to Mexico.