Mexican oil producer accuses U.S of complicity

The Mexican oil monopolist PEMEX is losing millions of dollars as a  result of large scale siphoning of its oil by an organized criminal syndicate, reports The Washington Post. The Mexican oilmen are pointing an accusing finger at its key partner- the U.S- for the loss.

According to the Mexican oil company, more than 250 million dollars worth of  crude has been stolen from its pipeline in four months of  this year. If  the loss of last year is added to that of this year,  PEMEX’s total loss will be close  to its 350 million dollars profit for the first quarter of the year.  

The Mexican authorities and chiefs of PEMEX say that the large  scale theft  is committed not only by  local smugglers, but in conjunction with their American colleagues, who mastermind the  creation of clandestine routes through  which stolen goods are  spirited away from Mexico. The smugglers are aided and abetted by the huge American market, which snaps up all goods without bothering about their origin, says Konstantin Simonov, Director General of the  National Energy Security Foundation.

“It is immoral for American companies to trade in  stolen goods. It is erroneous to believe that American firms act only within the purview of the law. According to Carl Marx, there is no crime which capital cannot commit for the sake of profits. It is the pillar on which business is based in the U.S. The Mexican government cannot prove a case of conspiracy, although such is glaring," Simonov asserts.

Of course, America does not  cut a hole in pipelines physically, and does not arrange columns of trucks carrying cylinders filled with crude, and does not escort them across the border. These are done by its Mexican partners, who have become experts in the “art” of cutting a hole in pipes. Some gangsters are even building their own alternative pipeline, to further increase their earnings in addition to the blood money from illegal drugs  trade, says Simonov.

The Mexican leaders are deeply concerned about the problem, in view of the  fact that the recent  crisis has  significantly cut into the country’s budget, a third of  which  comes  from oil income . The recent surveillance of the territory by a  helicopter and the installation of remote control video cameras  have not brought  the desired  results, forcing Mexico to declare  war not only on the local  criminals, but also on their American clients. Mexico had sued about ten U.S companies for dealing in stolen goods. PEMEX won some of the cases, with the guilty firms fined several thousand dollars and others sentenced to various terms in prison. The U.S has paid Mexico 2.4 million dollars compensation.

The U.S authorities must have known about the large scale stealing since they control every aspect of  the citizens’ lives. It doesn’t jell with the claim by America, that it is at the threshold of a gas boom, with the discovery of the so-called shell-gas, enough to meet the country’s requirements and to  satisfy the needs of its European allies.

By Ilya Kharlamov

The Voice of Russia, 23 June, 2011