Authorities in Mexico arrested 11 members of the country’s National Guard for protecting an alleged cartel fuel theft operation in Central Mexico. The arrest comes at a time when the U.S government has singled out the theft of fuel and its underground market as one of the biggest revenue makers for drug cartels in Mexico.
The arrest took place late last week in the Mexican state of Guanajuato when local police officers from the town of Apaseo El Alto responded to an anonymous call and found a group of men illegally tapping into a fuel line. The men were being guarded by a squad of uniformed officers from Mexico’s National Guard.
Credit: Guanajuato State Police
When the local officers arrived, several men at the site fled, leaving behind the federal officers and the tractor-trailer used to store the stolen fuel.
Initially, the National Guardsmen claimed to be guarding a fuel transport. However, the local cops were able to determine that it was, in fact, a clandestine fuel theft operation and arrested the officers involved. The driver of the tractor was also identified as a federal officer in plainclothes.
Credit: Guanajuato State Police
Soon after, authorities announced the arrest of other individuals in a separate fuel theft operation also in Guanajuato. It remains unclear if both cases are connected. However, that state has been one of the ones that has seen a large number of cases where criminal organizations tap into underground fuel lines as part of a sophisticated fuel theft operation.
As Breitbart Texas has reported, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has warned about how drug cartels such as Cartel Jalisco New Generation have been using the theft of fuel to supplement their income. In some cases, the stolen fuel is smuggled into the U.S., where it is sold illegally.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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