In Esmeraldas and Santo Domingo, Ecuador, organized crime groups are increasingly involved in stealing fuel from the state-run oil company Petroecuador to support their drug trafficking operations. This illegal activity has resulted in significant financial losses for the country’s top industry. Criminals are tapping into state-owned fuel pipelines to steal gasoline, diesel, and other fuels, which are then used in the production of cocaine and for transporting drugs. They have escalated their violent attacks on oil fields, stealing copper cabling, extorting workers, and resorting to physical violence.
Petroecuador has reported cumulative losses of $215.1 million due to fuel theft between 2022 and October 2024. The number of illegal taps has increased significantly, from 32 in 2022 to 773 through October 2024. While these losses represent a fraction of Petroecuador’s significant contribution to the national income, authorities are concerned about the impact on public finances and the boost it provides to drug trafficking activities.
Ecuador has 1,655 kilometers of state-controlled fuel pipelines running through its Pacific coast and remote Amazon areas, where local communities have expressed opposition to the industry. The proliferation of illegal taps along the pipelines has been a major issue, with at least 136 homemade valves discovered on the Esmeraldas-Santo Domingo pipeline alone, resulting in losses of $17 million.
To address these challenges, the government has increased military protection of oil installations, implemented night patrols, and authorized the use of drones for monitoring fuel pipelines. Petroecuador is also exploring new technologies to detect illegal taps more efficiently and considering the establishment of a joint command center with law enforcement agencies for a quicker response.
Authorities believe that some of the stolen fuel is used by local criminals to produce precursor chemicals for drug production, which are sold to drug cartels in neighboring Colombia. Additionally, the stolen gasoline is utilized in high-speed boats for transporting drugs to Mexico and Central America via the Pacific Ocean.
The rise in violent crimes in Ecuador, linked to local gangs with ties to international criminal organizations, has raised concerns, prompting the government to take measures to improve security, including in the energy sector. President Daniel Noboa’s administration has emphasized the importance of addressing these challenges, with a focus on enhancing security measures to combat fuel theft and its connection to drug trafficking activities.
“Judicial changes are crucial for success,” stated Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Amores, who leads the police hydrocarbon crimes unit. “Legal reforms are imperative because without strong laws, the efforts of the police and armed forces are futile,” Amores emphasized. “It’s like a revolving door where detainees come in and walk out freely.”
Fuel-related crimes can result in sentences ranging from 2 months to five years, while charges for organized crime can lead to up to 10 years in prison, and murder charges may carry sentences of up to 26 years. Criminals often target underground fuel pipelines, digging around a meter deep to access buried tubing and siphoning fuel through pressure hoses to illegal tanker trucks or hidden storage tanks on private properties.
Technicians from Petroecuador sometimes face challenges during repairs, such as dealing with spills caused by makeshift taps. To prevent further incidents, technicians encase the taps in metal cylinders, a process that can take up to five hours. Cleanup and repair efforts for spills can take up to 12 hours, with reports of up to five taps being detected daily on various pipelines.
The police have discovered and seized 18 storage pools used for storing stolen fuel, mostly in the Amazon region. According to Renato Rivera, Director of the Ecuadorean Organized Crime Observatory, fuel theft plays a critical role in the profitability of criminal organizations in Ecuador.
Major fuel pipelines in provinces like Guayas, Santa Elena, Manabi, and Esmeraldas, known for drug transport to the U.S., are particularly vulnerable to theft. Around 30,000 gallons of stolen fuel, equivalent to three tanker trucks, are illicitly transported across the country daily.
Over the past year, there has been a significant increase in the confiscation of stolen fuel by the police, while the army recently dismantled an illegal refinery in Sucumbios province. This refinery had the capacity to produce 10,000 gallons of gasoline per week for use in cocaine production.
Amores highlighted the need for more controls at oil installations to combat the rising crime rates. However, security analyst Rivera emphasized that the focus should be on dismantling the criminal networks behind these crimes rather than just targeting individuals caught in the act.
The hydrocarbon crimes unit has identified multiple fuel smuggling routes along the borders with Colombia and Peru. Additionally, theft of copper wiring from oil facilities, causing substantial losses and production declines, is a separate issue not related to drug production.
Worker extortion is also a prevalent issue, with Petroecuador employees and contractors in certain provinces facing demands for money and threats if they refuse to pay. In Esmeraldas province, where Ecuador’s largest refinery is located, up to 30% of workers have been extorted, including union head Jipson Martinez, who had to leave the province after refusing to pay extortion, resulting in a failed bombing attempt on his house in late 2022.
In a stark admission, Martinez declared, “We are left vulnerable.” The statement was made amidst the backdrop of Alexandra Valencia’s reporting from Quito, Esmeraldas, and Santo Domingo, with further insights provided by Yury Garcia in Guayaquil. The written account was expertly crafted by Julia Symmes Cobb, while Anna Driver ensured a polished finish through meticulous editing.
