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Ex-Pemex Officials Jailed in Fuel Theft Scheme

Sentences range up to 31 years for organized crime and hydrocarbon theft.

Five former officials from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in a scheme to steal hydrocarbons. Their actions led to significant financial losses for the Mexican state-owned petroleum company.

Key Development

The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office of Organized Crime (FEMDO) secured convictions against five former officials from Pemex’s Directorate of Strategic Safeguard. They are linked to Eduardo León Trauwitz, a General Brigadier currently facing extradition proceedings in Canada.

These individuals were found guilty of organized crime and illegal hydrocarbon extraction during Enrique Peña Nieto‘s administration. Instead of properly securing Pemex pipelines, they allegedly sabotaged efforts to stop fuel theft, enabling criminal organizations to steal fuel.

Financial Impact

A federal judge determined the group stole 2.194 billion liters of hydrocarbons between January 2015 and August 2016. The judge estimated the damages at over 25 billion pesos.

During a court hearing at the Federal Justice Center in Almoloya de Juárez, sentences were individualized. **Socrates Alfredo Herrera Pegueros**, **Emilio Cosgaya Rodríguez**, **José Carlos Sánchez Echavarría**, and **Ramón Márquez Ledesma** each received sentences of 31 years, 10 months, and 15 days. They also face fines of 1,209,225 pesos.

Lesser Sentence

**Oziel Aldana Portugal** received a 12-year sentence and a fine of 841,200 pesos for his role in the scheme.

Earlier Requests

Last May, FEMDO requested a 37-year, six-month prison sentence, plus a fine, for the five accomplices of General Eduardo León Trauwitz, former deputy director of Strategic Safeguard of Pemex.

Accusations

The accused, including Trauwitz, allegedly violated protocols for disabling clandestine taps on the Minatitlán-Mexico and Madero-Cadadereyta pipelines between 2015 and 2016. As of 2023, fuel theft costs Pemex approximately $1.5 billion annually (Reuters).

Key Players

**Socrates Alfredo Herrera Pegueros** was considered General Trauwitz’s right-hand man. Colonel **Emilio Cosgaya**, former Technical Management Manager, was arrested in June 2020. **Oziel Aldana Portugal**, a former Army Lieutenant, headed Pemex’s Security, Surveillance, and Supervision Department, where Sergeant **José Carlos Sánchez Echavarría** also worked.

Extradition

León Trauwitz is in Canada, where he is fighting extradition to Mexico.