News by Region

Colombian Army and National Police Search for…

Capacity Building The tools used for stealing and refining crude oil are rudimentary and easily obtained in any hardware store. (Photo: Pegasus Task Force, Colombian Army) The theft of crude from pipelines to illegally process hydrocarbon and convert it into gasoline has become a common crime in the country. It is calculated that 662 barrels […]

Colombian military faults ELN for recent Arauca…

Colombia’s military has attributed a terrorist attack, which occurred in the Peralonso sector of the Arauca department, to the Colombian terror organization known as the ELN. The attack reportedly occurred during a control operation conducted by the 52nd Marine Infantry Battalion, a group designed to prevent fuel smuggling in the Arauca river. According to the […]

Navy continues to conduct operations against fuel…

Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo. Troops of the National Navy in coordination with the National Police seized 6,060 gallons of fuel, type Jet A, in the area of ​​the hamlet Puerto Ospina, in the municipality of Puerto Leguízamo, in the department of Putumayo. The fuel was found in 101 plastic 60-gallon barrels aboard a mail boat; it […]

As cost of Venezuelan goods go up,…

Venezuela recently raised the price of chicken, rice, and sugar. Could its cheaper-than-water gasoline be next? Colombian fuel smugglers hope not. By Jim Wyss, McClatchy MAY 9, 2014 SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIA — On the outskirts of town, the cab driver swings onto a narrow dirt road, pulls up to a nondescript cinder-block house and honks twice. A man […]

Technology Progression in Fuel Marking – Authentix

Stop Fuel Smuggling Series By: Jeff Conroy, Chief Scientist, Authentix Branded fuel suppliers began to use colorants in the 1950’s as a means to indicate fuel type, grade, or brand in the downstream petroleum industry, and this approach continues with wide-spread acceptance today. As fuel taxes and subsidies came into use around the globe, it was […]

Inside the Illicit Venezuela-Colombia Gas Smuggling Trade

MARK HAY Aug 24 2016, 10:44am Take a deeper look into the “kamikaze” gas smuggling trade investigated on last night’s episode of Black Market: Dispatches Last night, Black Market: Dispatches explored the contours of the massive illicit gas smuggling network running from Venezuela to Colombia. Attempts to measure the scale of this trade are mostly educated guesswork, […]

Fuel Smugglers Making Large Profits, Venezuelan Authorities…

By TAMARA PEARSON Merida, 15th October 2013 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – As part of a clamp down on trafficking of Venezuela’s regulated and subsidised fuel, authorities have confiscated 1 million litres of fuel being smuggled across the border to Colombia and dismantled a mafia gang in Bolivar state which smuggled up to 250,000 litres per week, most likely to […]

Colombia, Venezuela to reopen long-shut border crossings

BY JIM WYSS [email protected]  AUGUST 11, 2016 8:29 PM BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA  Venezuela and Colombia agreed to open their 1,274-mile common border to foot-traffic starting Saturday in what both sides described as the first stage in restoring full commercial ties. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos met in the Venezuelan town of […]

Fuel Theft in Latin America: A Fail-Safe…

Written by Elyssa Pachico Tuesday, 10 May 2011 Oil and gas theft in Latin America is a low-risk, high-profit enterprise for gangs looking to diversify their criminal portfolios. But as organized crime increasingly intersects with the energy trade, it’s not clear how much law enforcement can do to resist the power of market forces. Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Bolivia are among the […]

Colombia and Venezuela Team Up to Combat…

BY: KARINA MARTÍN – JAN 30, 2017, 1:10 PM Police and military officials from both Colombia and Venezuela began operations on their lengthy and porous shared border in order to combat fuel smuggling. These actions are in addition to the so-called Operation Tourniquet that seeks to combat organized crime groups who run the smuggling operations. According to the governor of the state of […]