Fueling Crime: The Man Behind Mexico's Stolen Gas Operation

Ivan Cazarin Molina, alias 'the tank,' leads the fuel theft operations for Mexico's Jalisco New Generation cartel. Sanctioned by the US Treasury, his network sells stolen gasoline through seemingly legitimate businesses, costing Mexico billions. These illicit activities are part of a broader trend of cartels diversifying their income sources.

Ivan Cazarin Molina, infamously known as 'the tank,' orchestrates fuel theft for the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of Mexico's most violent criminal organizations. According to the US Treasury, his operations channel tens of millions of dollars annually into the cartel's coffers through stolen gasoline sold via ostensibly legitimate businesses.

Molina's network, primarily based in Veracruz, uses storage tanks to hoard gasoline, later distributed through a chain of gas stations with professional branding such as 'Etanofuel' and 'G Energy.' On Tuesday, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned nine individuals and 26 entities connected to Molina, freezing their US assets and restricting American citizens from engaging in business with them.

Fuel theft has plagued Mexico's government and Pemex, the state-owned petroleum company, with organized crime groups tapping pipelines, hijacking tanker trucks, and pilfering directly from refineries. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has tasked the army to curb these illegal activities. Molina reportedly answers directly to cartel leader Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, 'El Mencho,' who is currently pursued by US authorities with a $10 million reward for his capture.

(With inputs from agencies.)