The Treasury Department admits that the fiscal huachicol is advancing due to criminal infiltration of the government.

NUEVO VALLARTA, Nay. (apro).- At a time when U.S. authorities reported that they have identified the fiscal huachicol (fuel theft) operated by drug cartels, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) acknowledged the depth of the problem and noted that this crime infiltrates various levels of the public sector, affecting areas such as "Customs, the Tax Administration Service (SAT), the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Public Security."

"We are obliged to reduce it, because it is disrespectful that schemes like (the fiscal huachicol) are evaded, when all taxpayers are helping (...) The least we have to do is that the taxpayers who evade and avoid the (fiscal huachicol) scheme must be controlled and combated," said the Secretary of the Treasury, Édgar Amador, during his participation in the 88th Banking Convention.

The secretary acknowledged that it has not even been possible to accurately calculate the economic damage caused by this type of evasion.

"It's difficult to estimate the damage," he said. However, he assured that the SHCP is already designing a more aggressive plan to contain crime, one that isn't limited to administrative oversight, but directly incorporates criminal prosecution.

"Taxpayers who use huachicol fiscal (fuel theft) should be subject to liability and criminal charges, if proven," the official commented.

There is a network of huachicol

This month, the issue of fuel theft gained momentum because the U.S. Treasury Department revealed that fuel theft—known as huachicol—is no longer just a marginal operation for criminal groups, but has become their primary source of non-drug-related income.

Reports indicate a clearly identified network that ties together hydrocarbon theft with false billing and money laundering schemes. This network operates not only in Mexico but also extends to the black market in the United States, Central America, and even Asia.

According to the Treasury report, one of the factors that has allowed this operation to grow unchecked is the structural corruption within Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), a state-owned company that, far from being a victim, has been identified as a key cog in the criminal ecosystem.