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U.S. sanctions Mexican fuel firms tied to cartel case
Treasury names 2 Mexican citizens and 9 companies in fuel scheme tied to CJNG cartel
Key Takeaways:
- The U.S. Treasury sanctioned two Mexican citizens and nine Mexico-based companies June 30 over alleged fuel-smuggling ties to the CJNG cartel.
- Officials said illegal fuel smuggling costs Mexico more than $11 billion annually and is cartels’ largest income source after drugs.
- Companies linked to Oscar Guillermo Juraidini Silva and J. Refugio Ruiz Villagomez did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against two Mexican citizens and nine companies in the country that the agency said are linked to a fuel-smuggling scheme with ties to a cartel.
The move was the latest action by the U.S. government to fight the illegal cross-border fuel trade that costs the U.S. and Mexico tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue annually. Drug cartels have been smuggling huge amounts of U.S. gasoline and diesel into Mexico, secretly bringing in the fuel in order to avoid taxes. The operations have become so vast that it has become the biggest source of income for cartels after drugs.
The U.S. sanctioned nine companies linked to two Mexican citizens: Oscar Guillermo Juraidini Silva and J. Refugio Ruiz Villagomez, who own transportation, financial services and real estate businesses that have allegedly worked with cartels to smuggle fuel from the U.S. to Mexico, according to a statement from the U.S. Treasury on June 30.
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Both men are accused of transacting tens of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system with third parties linked to the Cartel del Jalisco Nueva Generación, or CJNG cartel, according to the statement.
Illegal fuel smuggling cost the Mexican government upward of $11 billion in lost tax revenue last year, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has expanded Mexico’s cooperation with U.S. agencies in recent months to rein in the problem.
Juraidini is accused of using shell companies on behalf of CJNG and of mislabeling fuel imports to skirt Mexican import taxes. Ruiz is accused of owning companies that pay off criminals that control ports of entry between the U.S. and Mexico to illegally import fuels.
Companies linked to Juraidini and Ruiz didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
While Mexico pumps more crude than most OPEC members, its aging refineries can’t meet domestic demand for diesel and gasoline. The nation imports more than 60% of its total fuel used domestically, primarily from the U.S.
About 1 in 3 liters of fuel sold in Mexico is illegally sourced, according to an estimate from the nation’s largest association of fuel distributors and service station operators.
