On 18 January 2019, a pipeline transporting gasoline exploded in the town of Tlahuelilpan, in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. The blast killed at least 137 people and injured dozens more. Mexican authorities blamed fuel thieves, who had illegally tapped the pipeline. The explosion was particularly deadly because large crowds of people had gathered at the scene to steal fuel. Security forces tried to persuade people to move away from the scene, but they were outnumbered and asked not to engage with civilians for fear of causing a violent confrontation. The leak was reported at 17:04 CST (23:04 UTC), and the explosion occurred two hours later at 19:10. It took about four hours for responders to extinguish the fire.
Background Fuel theft from pipelines owned by Pemex, the state oil company, has been a long-term problem in Mexico. The problem worsened in the 2010s as organized crime groups in Mexico began including gasoline theft as part of their main streams of revenue. With the international soaring of fuel prices, this criminal activity became a lucrative business for thieves. Gasoline theft crime groups used bribery and violence to corrupt government officials. Investigators suspect that several officials within Pemex are involved in facilitating the operations of these criminal groups. Complicity includes activities such as employees sharing the exact time when the fuel will flow through the pipelines, the maps of the pipelines, and how to successfully perforate them. Illegally extracting, possessing, or safeguarding petrochemicals from pipelines, vehicles, equipment, or installations is a federal crime in Mexico and is punishable with up to 20 years in prison. The gasoline thieves are known in Mexico as huachicoleros, a name derived from the slang term huachicol, or poor-quality alcohol. The gasoline they steal is often sold in public at a discounted price. These groups have gained support from impoverished communities because they provide low-cost gasoline and give some locals a venue for employment as fuel carriers and lookouts. Their supply of illegal fuel is believed to sustain entire communities in some parts of the states of Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo, where the explosion occurred. By mid-2018, the rate of pipeline perforations had risen considerably to slightly over 40 perforations per day, compared to 28 perforations a day in 2017. In the first 10 months of 2018, 12,581 illegal perforations were reported across pipelines in Mexico. The states in Mexico with the highest illegal perforations reported between 2016 and 2018 were Hidalgo, Puebla, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Veracruz, State of Mexico, and Tamaulipas. In 2018, Hidalgo was the state with the most illegal perforations reported with 2,121. In Tlahuelilpan alone, at least 70 illegal perforations were reported from 2016 to the day of the explosion. However, Tula headed the count in the state of Hidalgo with 500 perforations reported in 2018 alone. As a result of the increase in fuel theft, the federal government has spent approximately US$3 billion a year on pipeline repairs and maintenance, as well as compensation to buyers for whom the product was intended. When President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in December 2018, he launched a campaign against gasoline theft gangs, and dispatched close to 5,000 troops from the Mexican Armed Forces and the Federal Police to guard pipelines across Mexico. Part of his strategy was to divert the flow of fuel from pipelines, detect leaks when they occurred, and transport the fuel by trucks. Most of the thieves operate in remote areas, and drill at the pipelines during the night to avoid detection. These measures were intended to stop the thieves from illegally tapping fuel pipes. When implemented, however, the measures led to logistical problems, resulting in fuel shortages and long lines at gas stations nationwide in January 2019.
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