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Last week, nearly 100 Mexicans died in an explosion from a punctured pipeline. The incident revealed the full extent of a crisis that has long gone ignored — that fuel theft is now out of control. buzzfeednews.com/article/karlaz…
For some time now, members of local cartels and gangs have targeted Mexico’s vast network of pipelines — last year, they made more than 12,000 illegal taps, siphoning around 56,000 barrels of fuel a day.
The death toll from last week’s explosion is unprecedented. But the government had long turned a blind eye as gangs stole gasoline, and money poured into their coffers.
In addition to the billions in lost revenue, fuel theft has created an environmental disaster that has left an oily layer across swathes of Mexico, threatening the crops and the health of thousands of people. buzzfeednews.com/article/karlaz…
