Nearly 700,000 Liters of Stolen Fuel Seized in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas

ByGustavo Castillo

This article by Gustavo Castillo originally appeared in the August 12, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. As a result of actions against criminal organizations dedicated to the theft and marketing of hydrocarbons stolen from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) pipelines or illegally brought into the country, authorities seized two storage centers in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, where around 700,000 liters of fuel, vehicles, and materials used to store and distribute the product were found, in addition to 14 people being detained.

The Security Cabinet reported that members of the National Guard and the Army, as well as personnel from the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), the State Police, and Pemex Physical Security, carried out a search of a property in the municipality of General Escobedo, Nuevo León, where they seized 356,500 liters of diesel, seven tractor-trailers, one vehicle, 12 barrels, two dry vans, and five transfer pumps. Federal sources indicated that the site was used by a criminal organization dedicated to the theft and illegal trafficking of fuel.

Likewise, security sources reported that on the Ciudad Victoria-Matamoros highway, authorities carried out another search of a property located on the boundary between the municipalities of Güémez and Ciudad Victoria, where they detained 14 people allegedly linked to an organization dedicated to the illicit distribution of fuel. At the site, members of the Army, the National Guard, and the FGR, as well as Pemex Physical Security personnel, seized 350,000 liters of hydrocarbons, nine tractor-trailers, one tanker truck, 25 vehicles, 22 barrels, and 16 mobile steel containers.

In a third operation, the FGR reported that in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, 14,000 liters of fuel, 13 cartridges, one magazine, four vehicles, 15 containers, and a property used for the illegal storage of fuel were seized.