President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government's fight against fuel-theft has cleaned up sales for the state-owned oil company Pemex.

This effort targets "huachicol," the illegal tapping of pipelines and theft of fuel, which has historically drained billions from Mexico's national economy. By securing the supply chain, the administration aims to stabilize the financial health of the energy giant.

Sheinbaum said that the Fiscalía General de la República, or the Attorney General's Office, will soon present the specific advances made in the combat against fuel-theft [1]. The president said that these measures have "sanado," or healed, the commercial performance of Pemex [1].

Despite these assertions of progress, the financial burden of fuel-theft remains significant. Some reports indicate that losses caused by huachicol amount to approximately 1,200 million USD [2]. This persistent leakage of resources continues to be a primary challenge for the administration and a point of interest for U.S. authorities [2].

Recent financial data suggests a volatile period for the energy company. Pemex reported losses of 46,000 million pesos during the first quarter of 2026 [3]. These figures contrast with the administration's narrative of a successful cleanup, suggesting that while sales may be more transparent, the company's overall fiscal recovery is ongoing.

Sheinbaum said that the fight against these criminal networks is part of a broader strategy to strengthen the state's control over its natural resources. The upcoming report from the Fiscalía General de la República is expected to detail the legal actions and arrests resulting from the campaign [1].

“the fight against fuel-theft has "sanado" Pemex’s sales”

The tension between Sheinbaum's claims of a 'healed' sales system and the reported losses of 46,000 million pesos in early 2026 suggests a gap between operational security and total financial recovery. While stopping the physical theft of fuel improves the integrity of sales data, Pemex continues to struggle with massive systemic debts and quarterly losses that exceed the immediate impact of fuel-theft alone.