At least three organized crime groups have been identified as possible participants in a hydrocarbon theft scheme, known as huachicol, for sale to companies in the United States, according to a report from that country.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shared a document on May 1 exposing how criminal groups operate to conduct hydrocarbon transactions in the border area.
“The cartels use complicit Mexican intermediaries in the oil and natural gas industry to smuggle and sell crude oil stolen from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) […] to small, complicit US oil and natural gas companies operating near the southwest border of the United States.”
The document directly names the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), and the Gulf Cartel as participants in these activities, although it also notes that other organizations are involved.
For this reason, the alert was published, urging financial institutions to remain vigilant about “suspicious” activities related to hydrocarbon smuggling. The report adds that these practices represent billions of dollars in damage to Pemex.
It highlights that smuggling of the substance has been detected in the southwestern United States, using mislabels such as “used oil” or even supposedly hazardous materials.
In some operations, both US and Mexican companies have been detected involved in the sale of the substance.
The individuals involved in hydrocarbon theft obtain the materials through bribery of corrupt Pemex employees or through illegal drilling of legitimate pipelines.
Once obtained, the product is taken to territory controlled by criminal groups and then transported to the border. Once in the US, the stolen oil is transported to vacant lots operated by US companies so it can be delivered to importers and enter the US and global black market.
After the product is sold, US importers receive the corresponding money and distribute the profits to companies on both sides of the border.
On the same day FinCEN published the alert, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against individuals linked to the CJNG for their alleged involvement in huachicol and fentanyl trafficking activities.
Source: infobae
