News by Region

Venezuela: Three Ships Detained for Suspected Fuel…

Venezuelan navy has seized three vessels suspected of being involved in smuggling of diesel from the country’s Paraguana peninsula, Reuters reports. Oil taker Negra Hipolita, owned by Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company, was found to be loaded with an excess load of 50,000 barrels of diesel fuel at the Cardon refinery, Admiral Andres […]

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, […]

Venezuela Navy Forces Detain Three Ships In…

By Milton Stuards,  September 15, 2015 This week, Venezuela’s navy managed to detain three vessels that had become suspected of smuggling subsidized fuel from the country’s Paraguana refinery-filled peninsula, as reported by a local commander on Saturday. On Monday, several sources reported that authorities have arrested seven people in relation to an alleged attempt of smuggling diesel in a tanker that is property […]

On Monday Venezuela will close its border…

Monday, 11/08/2014 Quito, Aug 10 (Andes).- Venezuela will close its border with Colombia in the evenings starting next Monday, in order to combat smuggling which is costing the country millions. Venezuela has the world’s cheapest gasoline and good control of food and commodity prices. The “scheduled closure of the border with Colombia” will be between 22h00 […]

Venezuelan Government Commits to Anti-Fuel Smuggling Strategy

By EWAN ROBERTSON Mérida, 20th July 2012 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government has reiterated its commitment to implement the electronic tagging of cars to combat contraband in fuel sales, despite an opposition campaign against the initiative. The initiative, known as the Fuel Automation Plan, involves installing an electronic chip on vehicles to record how much fuel they […]

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 […]

Venezuela’s Gas Underground: Video On A Smuggling…

Published on May 16, 2013 Gasoline smuggling is big business in Venezuela, where the price of petrol is literally cheaper than water. A highly organized and extensive ring of gas smugglers have capitalized on Venezuela’s state-subsidized gas prices, illegally ferrying thousands of gallons across the border to Colombia each day where it is sold at […]

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 […]