Mexican authorities have uncovered a 22-metre tunnel used to siphon fuel from a state-owned pipeline, shedding light on the country’s long-running battle against a lucrative black-market trade often controlled by organised crime.
The tunnel was discovered outside a home in rural Hidalgo state near the town of Tepetitlan. It connected to two illegal taps on an underground pipeline, the Hidalgo state attorney’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. Security forces also seized drugs at the property.
Officials declined to provide further details, and no arrests have been made so far, according to a source familiar with the operation who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Although authorities did not name the pipeline involved, Reuters matched the site’s coordinates to an energy ministry map identifying it as a conduit owned by state energy company Pemex. The pipeline runs between the Tula refinery in Hidalgo and the Salamanca refinery in Guanajuato state.
When Reuters journalists visited the site near the rural settlement of Sayula on Wednesday, Army and National Guard personnel were guarding the property. A banner reading “property seized” had been posted at the entrance.
Fuel theft, known in Mexico as huachicol, has evolved from a practice carried out by small local gangs into a violent, multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprise dominated by powerful cartels. The theft can involve petrol, diesel, crude oil and other refined products.
Pemex did not respond to a request for comment. The company reported discovering 11,774 illegal taps on its pipelines in 2024. In a regulatory filing in the United States last year, Pemex acknowledged that efforts to curb the black-market trade “have not produced sustained improvement in recent years”.
Fuel thieves often construct lengthy tunnels from private land to reach pipelines, using sophisticated engineering to siphon fuel without triggering pressure drops that could alert authorities. The stolen fuel is typically sold locally at prices well below those at filling stations.
The practice carries significant risks. In 2019, an explosion linked to suspected fuel theft killed at least 137 people, highlighting the deadly consequences of the illicit trade.
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