In Mexico’s ’Red Triangle,’ Stealing State-Owned Oil Is a Way of Life Naharnet
go to original June 8, 2017

Oil thieves are known as "huachicoleros," and a popular sub-culture has emerged around them. They even have their own saint. (Google)

A village, Tepeaca, is at the heart of Mexico's "Red Triangle," a lawless mountain region in the state of Puebla that sits on top of the underground pipeline that delivers oil, gasoline and diesel from the Gulf coast to the capital. The region is perfect for the business of stealing fuel.

Its mountainous terrain isolates it from much of the country, while widespread poverty ensures there is a large work force ready to help.

It takes a village to stage a successful pipeline theft - a dangerous affair that can end in deadly explosions or shootouts with soldiers.

Those who puncture the pipeline reportedly take home $10,000 for less than 20 minutes' work. Wielding the hoses used to extract the fuel can meanwhile earn you $8,000. Children earn up to $500 a month for acting as lookouts.

The stolen gasoline is sold on the black market for $0.50 a liter - well below the market price of about $0.87. These days, business is booming.

State oil company Pemex says the number of pipeline thefts has soared from 186 in 2012 to 6,837 last year. And the pace has only accelerated since January, when the government increased the price of gasoline by 20 percent in an effort to deregulate the energy sector and revitalize an ailing Pemex.

There were 2,683 thefts in the first three months of 2017 - nearly 30 a day. Pemex says the problem has cost it $2.4 billion since 2010.

Oil thieves are known here as "huachicoleros," and a popular sub-culture has emerged around them. They even have their own saint - depicted with gas can and hose in hand - and songs celebrating their outlaw exploits, like the "narcocorridos" dedicated to Mexico's drug traffickers.

Read the rest at Naharnet

Related: Archdiocese of Puebla Is Warning Against the Veneration of "Santo Nino Huachicolero" (Catholic News Service)

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