The National Guard (GN) detained the driver of a truck traveling on the Mexico City-Puebla highway with a load of 66,000 liters of alleged huachicol, as stolen fuel is colloquially known in Mexico.
GN officers stopped the truck in México state and asked the driver to show his permit for transporting dangerous materials, the newspaper La Prensa reported on Wednesday.
The driver was unable to produce the permit and had no documentation stating where the fuel came from. He was consequently arrested and turned over to a local prosecutor’s office.
The GN also seized the truck, which will remain in the possession of authorities as the investigation into the driver and his cargo proceeds. The National Guard supplied a photo of the driver and his truck to La Prensa.
Fuel theft has long been a problem in Mexico, including in México state and the Red Triangle region of the neighboring state of Puebla. One way thieves steal fuel is by perforating Pemex pipelines that transport gasoline and diesel around the country. In 2025, Pemex, Mexico’s state oil company, detected 10,591 illegal taps on pipelines, according to data obtained by the newspaper Excélsior. That figure represented a 10% decline compared to 2024.
Explosions at the location of pipeline taps have occurred on numerous occasions, causing both injuries and fatalities. In Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, in 2019, a pipeline explosion claimed the lives of at least 137 people.
With reports from La Prensa and N+
