Mexico unveils new strategy to fight fuel theft

MEXICO CITY, December 28, 2018 – In an effort to combat fuel theft, Mexican military forces will be strategically placed to step up surveillance at 58 key facilities, local media reported Thursday.

The country’s six refineries will see increased monitoring, as will multiple storage and dispatch terminals, distribution centres and refuelling stations, said local news site Update México.

“It is a necessary strategic plan, urgent, as it implies the leakage of public money. It’s a robbery of the goods of the nation,” Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said during a news conference, adding that the theft was largely made possible by corrupt government officials and workers at NOC Pemex.

According to Pemex data, since 2016, Mexico has seen losses of more than MXN 147.2 million (USD 7.43 million) due to fuel theft.

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