Drug War: Mexican Oil Company Reports Surge in Fuel Theft

InSight Crime: "Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company Pemex said that its oil pipelines have been overrun by organized crime groups, with fuel theft increasing dramatically this year.

In an announcement this week, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) claimed that more than 2.4 million barrels of oil had been siphoned off from company facilities in the first nine months of 2010. This amounts to a 61 percent increase from the same period in 2010, when less than 1.5 million barrels were taken. ... But while the phenomenon has largely been blamed on the criminal elements involved in the country's "drug war," much of the problem comes from internal corruption." read more