In Mexico, a huachicolero or guachicolero is a person dedicated to the theft and illicit sale of motor fuel (primarily petrol and diesel) and adulterated alcoholic beverages.
[8][9] The problem worsened in the 2010s, as organized crime groups in Mexico began including oil theft as part of their main streams of revenue.
[12] Illegally extracting or possessing oil from pipelines, vehicles, equipment, or installations is a federal crime in Mexico and is punishable with up to 20 years in prison.
[20] When President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in December 2018, he launched a campaign against oil theft gangs, and dispatched close to 5,000 troops from the 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 filling stations nationwide, in January 2019.