On September 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated members of a fuel theft network that has allegedly generated tens of millions of dollars per year for the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (“CJNG”), a violent Mexico-based drug trafficking organization responsible for trafficking a substantial portion of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the United States. According to OFAC, the sale of fuel stolen from Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company, has become the most significant non-drug source of revenue for the CJNG and other Mexican cartels, and has resulted in the loss of billions of dollars in revenues for the Mexican government.
OFAC designated a total of 9 Mexican nationals and 26 Mexico-based entities, including Ivan Cazarin Molina (also known as “El Tanque” or the storage tank), a senior member of CJNG who is primarily involved in the organization’s fuel theft efforts. According to OFAC, El Tanque and his team steals fuel by drilling taps into Pemex pipelines, resulting in the storage of millions of liters in stolen fuel in the city of Veracruz. The stolen fuel is reportedly sold in Mexico at retail gas stations managed by El Tanque or sold to third parties in Mexico that sell the fuel to the U.S. market, most often in Texas.
The designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 14059 for engaging in activities that materially contributed to the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production. As a result of the designations, all property and interests in property of the designated persons within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving a designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
U.S. Department of Treasury Press Release | OFAC Chart – CJNG Fuel Theft Network