Claudia Sheinbaum Says Extradition Requests Are Underway for U.S. Citizens in Mexican Fuel Theft Case
During her Feb. 19 morning press conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters that extradition requests are already underway for U.S. entrepreneurs involved in the illegal importation of fuel into Mexico without paying taxes, a practice known in Mexico as “huachicol fiscal,” or fiscal fuel theft.
When asked whether extradition had been requested from the United States given that the individuals also face legal processes in Mexico, Sheinbaum said the Attorney General’s Office is responsible for providing information within the framework of the investigation, including the names of the individuals involved.
“Yes, they are businesspeople who were involved in importing fuel into Mexico without paying taxes, and extradition requests have been filed for some of them,” Sheinbaum said.
Fuel theft has become a highly profitable enterprise for cartels and other criminal organizations, with the federal government estimating losses of more than $3 billion annually. As the illicit fuel trade has expanded, so have allegations of corruption involving politicians, criminal organizations and even federal agents accused of facilitating or profiting from the black market.
Although Sheinbaum did not provide details about the individuals involved, Infobae México reported the case could be tied to the Lael-Jensen family, a Utah-based family arrested and indicted on federal charges last year in connection with a scheme to smuggle hundreds of millions of dollars in crude oil from Mexico into the United States with the help of associates from the Jalisco cartel.
The Lael-Jensen family was accused by prosecutors of working alongside the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) to smuggle nearly 2,900 shipments of stolen crude oil into the United States valued at $300 million, mislabeling it as “waste oil” to bypass import regulations. The operation, run through their facility in Cameron County, Texas, allegedly relied on oil stolen from Pemex.
As Sheinbaum’s government continues its battle against illegal fuel theft, the president noted during the press conference that fuel tanker trucks are now equipped with a QR code to prevent more cases of “huachicol fiscal.”
“If you travel along the country’s highways, you can see that vehicles transporting fuel already have a large QR code like these. That QR code is issued by the Energy Ministry. What must that QR code contain when it is scanned with a cellphone by a National Guard officer, for example? It must show the origin and destination of the fuel, and that guarantees it is legal fuel. If it does not have the QR code, the vehicle is stopped and must demonstrate where it comes from and where it is going, and in some cases the Attorney General’s Office is called and the vehicle is seized,” Sheinbaum said.
She added that such measures have helped reduce the transportation of illegal fuel because the government can now track its origin, who purchased it, who is transporting it, and where the fuel is headed.
Originally published on Latin Times
