It's not drugs: This illegal practice gives cartels billions and runs through American towns

The U.S. on Wednesday turned up the heat on a cartel accused of stealing crude oil.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a Mexican criminal group accused of playing a central role in a fuel-theft economy that has cost Mexico billions of dollars.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is seeking to financially isolate the Cartel de Santa Rosa de Lima, or CSRL, an organization based in the country’s Guanajuato state whose core business is stealing fuel and crude oil from Mexico’s state energy company, Petróleos Mexicanos, or Pemex.

According to U.S. officials, fuel theft has become one of the most significant non-drug sources of revenue for Mexican cartels.

Members of the Cartel de Santa Rosa de Lima (Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury)

Oil is often stolen by bribing or threatening Pemex employees, U.S. officials say. Criminal networks also tap pipelines, hijack tanker trucks and siphon fuel from refineries. Stolen gasoline and diesel are sold across Mexico and into Central America, while crude oil is typically smuggled north into the United States.

In addition to the sanctions against the cartel itself, Treasury also designated CSRL’s leader, José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, known as “El Marro,” subjecting him to targeted financial restrictions.

The fight for control of pipelines and refineries in Guanajuato has helped turn the state into one of Mexico’s most dangerous. Much of the violence stems from clashes between CSRL and the far larger Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, or CJNG. Beyond the bloodshed, Treasury argues the cartel’s activities fuel a cross-border energy black market that deprives Mexico of tax revenue and undercuts legitimate U.S. oil and gas companies.

According to U.S. officials, crude shipments are often mislabeled as waste oil or other hazardous materials to evade scrutiny. Once across the border, complicit brokers and importers sell the oil at steep discounts on U.S. and global markets, funneling the proceeds back to criminal groups in Mexico.

Mexican authorities have reported billions of dollars in losses at Pemex in recent years linked to fuel theft.

The move builds on earlier steps by the U.S. to target fuel-theft networks. In February, the State Department formally labeled CJNG a foreign terrorist organization. In May, Treasury sanctioned individuals and companies tied to a CJNG-linked fuel-smuggling ring, while the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network warned U.S. banks of red flags associated with crude-oil laundering schemes.

In the months following that alert, banks flagged hundreds of millions of dollars in suspicious transactions tied to oil smuggling, many routed through Texas border cities and Florida.