Tamaulipas, a fuel theft ‘paradise’ monitored by Mexico and the US

In recent months, Tamaulipas has been under the scrutiny of Federal Forces, which have carried out the largest seizures of hydrocarbons stolen by organized crime. However, it is also an area of interest for the United States government, where investigations indicate that fuel theft is being sold to American businessmen.

The blows dealt by law enforcement have led to the suspicion that organized crime was involved, and in retaliation, the agency ordered the killing of Ernesto Cuitláhuac Vázquez Reyna, the delegate of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) in the aforementioned state, on Monday, August 4.

For years, Tamaulipas has been immersed in a war between the Gulf and Northeast cartels, a splinter group of Los Zetas, seeking to gain territory and regain the power they enjoyed under the leadership of boss Osiel Cárdenas Guillén.

At the beginning of this century, the leader of the Gulf Cartel recruited a group of army deserters to found Los Zetas, which would later become the most dangerous criminal organization in the country, changing the rules of organized crime.

In addition to drug trafficking, they took control of other criminal activities, including hydrocarbon theft in various parts of the country.

Seeking to Stop Fuel theft in Tamaulipas

During President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, the Federal Forces have waged a fight against crime on several fronts, one of them being hydrocarbon theft.

One of the historic blows in this fight occurred in March, when they detected the arrival of a ship at the port of Tampico on the 19th, allegedly carrying a cargo of lubricating oil additives, which was intercepted.

In addition, personnel from the agencies, who are part of the security cabinet, conducted searches of properties located on Camino Antiguo a Medrano and on the bypass in the Ricardo Flores Magón community, both in the city of Altamira.

This led to the seizure of the vessel, where two handguns with loaded magazines, 84 cartridges of different calibers, and various documentation were found.