Fuel smuggling in Mexico is undercutting Pemex’s sales, bleeding its finances by billions, and empowering organized crime across more than 20,000 clandestine outlets.
Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) struggles under a mountain of debt. Adding to its woes, fuel smuggling in Mexico has choked off sales, eroded revenues, and handed a lifeline to organized crime networks.
The shift began in 2016, when the Peña Nieto administration’s Energy Reform opened the door for private fuel imports. Criminal groups seized that opportunity. They set up shell companies, forged documents, and . . .
