Fuel smuggling: the other side of huachicol
Unlike hydrocarbon theft through clandestine seizures, fiscal smuggling—known as fiscal huachicol—operates with front companies, importers, customs agents and financial schemes. The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) reported that it is strengthening investigations to combat this crime that evades taxes and damages the national economy.
Two main routes
In the maritime route, organizations use false documentation to unload fuel in ports without declaring it. Then they store it in clandestine sites and distribute it mixed with legal product to hide its origin. On the railway route, the Security Cabinet detected networks that declared volumes much lower than actual volumes or changed the tax burden, using Coahuila, Durango and Zacatecas as logistical nodes.
Recent blows
The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (FEMDO) reported key seizures. In Tampico, Tamaulipas, the Challenge Procyon ship was seized with 10 million liters of diesel, tractors and infrastructure; two people arrested. The economic impact: 372 million pesos. In Ensenada, Baja California, 8.8 million liters were seized from the TORM AGNES vessel in El Sauzal, with three detainees.
In the railway sector, the FGR secured 170 rail tankers with 18.9 million liters in San Luis Potosí, Nuevo Laredo, Tampico and Coahuila. The impact amounts to 238.8 million pesos.
Open investigations
The authorities maintain lines of investigation against more than 70 individuals and legal entities in nine entities. A large-scale scheme stands out at the Customs of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, where 15 million liters of hydrocarbons, 129 railway tankers and tractor-trailers were seized. Arrest warrants have been served and alleged members of the network, which includes logistics operators and public servants, have been prosecuted.
