MEXICO CITY (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on nine Mexicans and 26 Mexican companies linked to a fuel theft network that generates tens of millions of dollars benefiting the Mexican drug Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, or CJNG.
CJNG is a violent Mexico-based drug trafficking organization responsible for a significant proportion of fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the United States. Mexico-based drug trafficking cartels have turned to fuel theft in recent years, resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue to the Mexican government.
Treasury has sanctioned more than 300 targets for involvement in drug trafficking activities at all stages of the supply chain, from major cartel leaders to under-the-radar labs, transportation networks, and chemical suppliers.
Fuel theft, colloquially referred to in Mexico as huachicol, is the most significant non-drug revenue source for Mexican cartels. Thieves steal fuel from Mexico's state-owned petroleum company, Pemex, through numerous means, including illegally drilling taps into fuel pipelines, stealing from refineries, and hijacking tanker trucks. Stolen fuel is then sold on the black market around Mexico and even in the United States and Central America.
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