The traditional huachicol —that is, the fuel that is stolen from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) through clandestine taps in its pipeline network—, grew 35% in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2024, according to company figures.
Pemex reported a loss of 20,246 million pesos between January and September 2025, while in the same period last year the loss from this crime was 14,972 million.
All this while the crime of fuel smuggling, also called fiscal huachicol, is being investigated by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), in the face of an alleged corruption network made up of Navy officials during the previous six-year term.
Read: New Israeli attacks kill 46 children in Gaza
The two crimes —along with another that the country’s private gas station businessmen detected as illegal mixtures of hydrocarbons—, They have spread throughout Mexico. According to the National Organization of Petroleum Retailers (Onexpo), Up to one in every three liters distributed in the national territory has illicit origin.
Last week, in his appearance before deputies, the general director of Pemex, Víctor Rodríguez Padilla, explained that Traditional huachicol consists of the illegal theft of fuel, while fiscal huachicol is smuggling through the import of hydrocarbons registered with another tariff fraction to avoid paying taxes.
“Since the market was freed in 2017, the forces were released and a black market in fuel was created, both from huachicol and smuggling, which has grown over time. We are attacking it every day Pemex together with the Secretariat of National Defense, with the Navy, the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, with the ASEA and state governments.”
Look: Wellbeing Pension: The programs that will not receive payment in November 2025
A deep impact on the economy
Despite efforts, little is quantified. Only with Pemex figures is the loss for the company due to the milking of pipelines obvious. illicit that this year is shaping up to be the largest in losses since 2018.
Specifically, in the case of smuggling, although gas station businessmen have already warned about it since 2022, the federal government began to officially recognize it with the prosecutor’s investigation, but no progress has been made known about this case either.
Luis Miguel Labardini, partner at Marcos y Asociados, Energy Consulting, explained that the fiscal huachicol is more focused on customs and ports and, therefore, it is easier to combat it, as long as there is political will.
“The fight against traditional huachicol has to do with the fight against criminal organizations that, taking advantage of the high levels of impunity, operate in certain territories. “Those in charge of monitoring the pipelines do not have the technological tools or the security protection that allow them to maintain the integrity of the pipelines or the logistical infrastructure of the fuels, or of the crude oil itself,” he said.
Pemex’s quarterly results, published last Monday, show that Losses due to the theft of fuel in its pipelines represent almost half of the company’s total losses so far this year.
*14,972 million pesos are the losses between January and September of last year due to milking.
*Stay up to date with the news, join our channel WhatsApp.
TO THE
The post Huachicol: They report losses of more than 20 billion pesos in 2025 appeared first on Veritas News.
