You hear the word pirate and images of a staggering Jack Sparrow caressing a bottle of rum come to mind, but piracy did not die with the tall ships.
Johan Obdola, founder of the Global Organization for Security and intelligence, estimates for Fox News that up to 1.18 million barrels of oil are stolen each year in Mexico and the Gulf by pirates and criminal cartels. “Although oil and diesel stealing has been going on for decades, there has been an increase in criminal activity reported in the last four years,” he says, “It is estimated that the stealing in Mexico is up to 1.18 million barrels a day, bringing millions to criminal organizations, and making it very difficult to control.”
Mexican President Andres Obrador said he would make oil theft a priority in his administration when he took office in December of 2018.
The Maritime Herald reports that pirate robbery, aggression and looting is up 310% in the past year. There are estimates that Mexico’s state-owed oil company Pemex is losing a billion dollars annually due to theft.