"MX" for Borderland Beat
The Governor of Puebla, Miguel Barbosa, confirmed last week that several members from the National Guard (GN) met for lunch with a family that allegedly runs oil theft operations (huachicol) in Venustiano Carranza, Puebla. The news of the meeting was made public after pictures of the GN members sharing a table with alleged members of the Valencia Ávila clan were uploaded on social media.
Puebla state authorities and the GN commander Luis Rodríguez Bucio confirmed in a press conference that they were investigating the meeting. They said that they would prosecute those who attended it for agreeing to meet with people who are publicly known to be involved in organized crime.
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| National Guard (GN) members having lunch with alleged oil thieves in Puebla |
The family in question is linked to a local political bloc and is reportedly involved in large scale illegal oil operations, as well as kidnapping and drug trafficking. The clan's head, Vicente Valencia Ávila, is the mayor of Venustiano Carranza municipality. The family has held power in the municipality since 2008 through various political parties.
Background and aftermath
Puebla is a strategic state for Mexico’s illegal fuel industry. Known as the "Red Triangle", the area is a lucrative turf for oil smugglers and is now a major battleground for the control of the oil theft business. There are several fuel pipelines that cross and intersect through Puebla. Many of them reach Veracruz, Hidalgo and the State of Mexico. The Puebla-Orizaba highway is also one of the busiest in the country for freight transportation.
In addition, violence has increased in recent years because Puebla is one of the states with the least resources invested in the fight against organized crime. While there are states that allocate between 5 and 6 percent of their year budget to this initiative, Puebla barely had a 2 percent spend in 2019; more than half of Puebla’s total spend is used to cover outstanding fees from previous years.
The pictures of the meeting were uploaded on social media by Jonathan Valencia Calderon, the son of the mayor. The GN confirmed that there are more pictures that were not released on social media that frame several GN members with the Valencia Ávila clan. One of the pictures shows several GN vehicles parked outside one of the clan member's home.
On 1 May, a commander of the GN was released from the force after authorities stated that he was in the meeting with the alleged oil thieves. His name was not released to the press. Investigators stated they were investigating 10 other GN members.
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| Another picture from the meeting between GN members and the alleged oil thief clan |
On 1 May, a commander of the GN was released from the force after authorities stated that he was in the meeting with the alleged oil thieves. His name was not released to the press. Investigators stated they were investigating 10 other GN members.