Is there any thing the Mexicans won’t steal?
Sunday, June 19th, 2011The Mexican Cartels are in a feeding frenzy. No crime is beneath them, no person beyond exploitation, and now no industry is safe from the race for money at all costs.
The drug business in Mexico is booming but so is the jobless rate. Desperation is gripping this country as organized crime takes over government enterprises. There is an army of street thugs stealing every thing and any thing to survive and hyaenas crimes are rampant. Violence has spilled over, exploiting illegal immigration, people smuggling and armed robberies of drug shipments on the US side and it is not just limited to the border areas any more, but at destination points through out our country.
At the top, cartels are expanding into large scale theft of Mexico’s natural resources by strong arming their way into the lumber industry with armed caravans invading timber rich areas with every intention of clear cutting. With money, there comes corruption and the ability to buy technology, so taping into pipelines to steal huge quantities of fuel should be of no surprise. Cutting into the government budget will have a catastrophic affect on the government’s ability to keep what little control it has over the federal police or the army. The take over of the cell phone business, one of the only privately owned monopolies in Mexico will be a prize for sure. Its a dangerous free for all down there, its right next door and incase any one hasn’t noticed, the doors are wide open.
Mexican Gangs Stealing Growing Amounts of Fuel
Published June 19, 2011
| The Wall Street Journal
MEXICO CITY – Mexican crime groups have virtually taken over the pipeline system of Mexico’s state oil monopoly, stealing growing amounts of fuel and gaining an important source of new revenue as they fight other gangs and Mexico’s government, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing Petroleos Mexicanos.
The problem is not new, but it is expanding at a rapid pace, as the crime groups learn technical expertise that can foil electronic monitoring systems.
The rise in fuel thefts comes as the government struggles to contain an increase in violence linked to organized crime groups, which have expanded operations from traditional drug trafficking to kidnapping, extortion and protection rackets.
Since December 2006, more than 40,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico, most of it between rival gangs seeking to expand their territory, according to government and newspaper estimates.
The total amount of fuel, including crude oil and gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas taken during the first four months of the year is slightly greater than the total amount stolen all of last year, Petroleos Mexicanos CEO Juan Jose Suarez Coppel said this week.
During the first four months of this year, these groups stole an estimated $250 million worth of fuel at market prices, Suarez Coppel said. That translates to nearly one million barrels of fuel, according to Pemex, as it is known. Mexico relies on oil sales for about a third of its revenue.
To read more, see The Wall. St. Journal article here.
