Security forces tried to persuade people to move away from the scene, but they were outnumbered and asked not to engage with civilians for fear of causing a violent confrontation.

[2][3] The problem worsened in the 2010s as organized crime groups in Mexico began including gasoline theft as part of their main streams of revenue.

[6] Illegally extracting, possessing, or safeguarding petrochemicals from pipelines, vehicles, equipment, or installations is a federal crime in Mexico and is punishable with up to 20 years in prison.

[5][9] These groups have gained support from impoverished communities because they provide low-cost gasoline and give some locals a venue for employment as fuel carriers and lookouts.

[4] Their supply of illegal fuel is believed to sustain entire communities in some parts of the states of Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo, where the explosion occurred.

[12] As a result of the increase in fuel theft, the federal government has spent approximately US$3 billion a year on pipeline repairs and maintenance, as well as compensation to buyers for whom the product was intended.

[13][14] When President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in December 2018, he launched a campaign against gasoline theft gangs, and dispatched close to 5,000 troops from the Mexican Armed Forces and the Federal Police to guard pipelines across Mexico.

When implemented, however, the measures led to logistical problems, resulting in fuel shortages and long lines at gas stations nationwide in January 2019.

[4] Tlahuelilpan is crossed by one of the country's main fuel pipelines, connecting the port of Tuxpan, Veracruz, with the Pemex complex at Tula, Hidalgo, some 13 kilometres (8 mi) to the southwest of the town.

[17] Reports of residents collecting what appeared to be fuel in the San Primitivo district of the town started circulating on social media during the afternoon of 18 January 2019.

They were also asked by their leadership not to engage with potential fuel thieves at the scene when residents started flocking to the breach, because they feared a shootout would break out and unarmed civilians would be hurt or that soldiers would be killed by an angry mob.

[34] Fayad confirmed that the government had information booths at the cultural center in Tlahuelilpan with the lists of the victims and the hospitals where they were to receive treatment.

[4][42] Part of his promise included a commitment to continue to crack down on petrochemical theft groups, as well as finding alternatives for citizens so that they do not depend on illegal fuel.

[43] He asked the residents of Tlahuelilpan to give their testimonies of the events, and also to provide information to law enforcement on the black market in the region, including the names of those involved in the gasoline theft gangs and details of their operations.

[25] Pemex chief executive Octavio Romero Oropeza [es] stated that pipelines in the central Mexico area had been subject to at least 10 breaches in the past three months.

[45] The mayor of Tlahuelilpan, Juan Pedro Cruz Frías, asked residents to take precautionary measures after a toxic smog was present in the town's air after the explosion.

[50] The first hypothesis proposed by Gertz Manero's investigatory team was that the fire may have been caused by a static electricity spark product of the friction of people's synthetic clothes and the gases produced by the leak.

[52] To facilitate their investigations, the authorities stated they would step up legal proceedings to seize property involved in fuel thefts, including the land where the explosion occurred.

[54] On 21 January, Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) received a complaint about the "inaction" of the Army during the events leading to the explosion.