Fuel theft related explosion kills 85 in Mexico (Jan. 21, 2019)

A Friday night explosion at a fuel pipeline punctured by gasoline thieves killed at least 85 people in Tlahuelilpan. (Animal Político) The site had been offline until Friday, part of the López Obrador administration's crackdown on oil theft that has led to a fuel crisis in Mexico. The Associated Press describes how hundreds of people came Friday evening to gather fuel gushing up to six meters high from an illegal tap in the pipeline, which eventually drenched onlookers and exploded into a giant fireball. (Videos here and here.) Soldiers had created a perimeter around the area, and attempted to dissuade residents from entering. But the detachment of 25 troops was insufficient to deter the approximately 800 townspeople who flocked to the tap. (Animal Político)

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has made combatting fuel theft a central priority of the new government, and the explosion will only raise the stakes of his wager. (See last Wednesday's post, and Quartz.) The government temporarily shutdown fuel pipelines which feed a rampant black market run by organized crime, instead shipping gas by trucks, which has led to shortages around the country. Some people in Tlahuelipan said they were drawn to Friday's tap precisely because of those shortages, which have left many people unable to go to work, reports the New York Times. Many of those who came were not experienced huachicoleros -- oil thieves -- who would have known the deadly likelyhood of a fire in a leak of that magnitude, reports Animal Político. They were drawn by reports of gasoline being given away.

Missteps in the government reaction to news of the puncture, which it received on Friday afternoon, will increase scrutiny of the fuel theft crackdown, reports Reuters. Government authorities said they did not immediately close the gasoline pipe because the initial leak was considered minimal. The explosion occurred half an hour after the pipe was turned off by Pemex. Some experts say the state-owned oil company was anxious to avoid more gasoline shortages in Mexico City.

Nonetheless, on Saturday AMLO promised to double down. "Far from stopping the fight … against fuel theft, it’s going to become stronger, we’ll continue until we’ve eradicated these practices." (Guardian)

The government estimates that $3.14 billion in fuel was drained from the system last year and sold on the black market. Ruling Morena party lawmakers have proposed a reform that would increase penalties for oil theft (and corruption and use of social programs for electoral ends), reports Animal Político.

In 2018, there were more than 13,000 illegal pipeline taps in Mexico, many of them resembling the scene on Friday, reports the Washington Post.

More from Mexico

• AMLO's National Guard plan is just the same old militarized approach to internal security dressed in a different uniform, argues Esteban Illades in a Washington Post opinion piece. (See last Thursday's briefs.)

• Turmoil at the Tijuana U.S.-Mexico border crossing -- such as a clash with migrants that led to a shutdown in November -- are impacting the tourist industry in that part of Mexico, heavily reliant on day trips from California. (New York Times)

• Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's New York trial continues to provide salacious details of the narco lifestyle. On the witness stand last week, his longtime lover told the court that his legendary 2014 escape from authorities through a tunnel accessed by a bathtub was carried out stark naked. (Guardian)

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Human Rights Watch's 2019 report

Pressuring authoritarian governments to raise the cost of human rights violations is the surest way to stop authoritarian abuses, even if the effects are not immediately apparent, writes Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth in the organization's yearly report. In Latin America he emphasizes the relevance of smaller and medium sized states in increasing pressure on Venezuela at the U.N. He also points to Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro, as an example of how "the forces of autocracy have been on the rise."

Other highlights from the report, which is organized by country include Brazil's record homicide rate, increased violence in Colombia, and risks to the fight against corruption in Guatemala. The pressing issue of Venezuela's humanitarian crisis receives a lot of focus, as does the related migration crisis affecting the region.

News Briefs

Nicaragua

• Nicaraguan journalist Carlos F. Chamorro announced his exile in the face of extreme threats from government forces. Five weeks ago police illegally raided the offices of Confidencial and Esta Semana, though both independent outlets have continued working since, he writes. (See post for Dec. 14, 2018.)

• Gioconda Belli writes about the impact of poet Ruben Darío on the Nicaraguan uprising in a New York Times Español op-ed.

Colombia

• Three days after a car bomb explosion that killed 21 people in a Bogotá police academy last Thursday, Colombia's ELN guerrillas claimed responsibility for the attack. In a blog post the group insisted its actions were in self-defense and called on the government to dialogue, reports Semana. (See Friday's post.) But the reaction from the government was the opposite -- President Iván Duque formally suspended a Havana peace negotiation process, and asked Cuba to arrest the 10 rebel negotiators living on the island, report the Associated Press and the Miami Herald. (See Semana for more.) La Silla Vacía says the guerrillas have shot themselves in the proverbial foot. 

• Citizens around the country participated in massive marches in favor of peace yesterday -- many carried signs in solidarity with the police and the victims of the attack. Duque, members of his cabinet, and politicians from across the spectrum participated. (Caracol)

• Duque has emphasized a message of unity in the wake of the attack, but is being pressured to respond with mano dura measures, reports La Silla Vacía.

Cuba

• "The experience of exile has been a two way street" for Cubans, writes novelist Leonardo Padura in a New York Times Español op-ed. "We have all been touched by its drama in some part -- or many -- of our sensibilities and individual stories: those who left, from uprooting; those who stayed, from a sense of loss."

• And Nicholas Kristof looks at how Cuba's healthcare system achieves excellent results.

Haiti

• Mexico isn't the only place with gas shortages. In Haiti there has been a fuel crisis for about a month, related to $80 million in unpaid bills, reports the Miami Herald. (More from the Miami Herald.)

Venezuela

• Venezuelan military officers tend to agree with the country's political opposition that President Nicolás Maduro's government is now illegitimate. They aren't willing to lead an insurrection, but are also disinclined to repress massive protests, officers in exile told the Miami Herald.

Regional Relations

• Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro promised to do “everything for democracy to be re-established” Venezuela. And his son, described as a sort of "parallel" foreign minister called Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro a "cancer" that needs to be "excised," reports the Guardian.

El Salvador

• El Salvador is gearing up for presidential elections on Feb. 3. Polls from last week have outsider Nayib Bukele firmly in the lead. (Ultima Hora) But an uptick in homicides, which had been on a downward trend has brought back concerns of gang influence on politics and the electoral process, reports InSight Crime.

• El Faro reported allegations that the Arena party has had to pay gang leaders to campaign in certain areas.

Migration

• Deportation from the U.S. hasn't deported would be migrants from El Salvador. A new group set out last week in a caravan formation, though some are now aiming for Mexico instead of the U.S. reports El Faro.

Did I miss something, get something wrong, or do you have a different take? Let me know ...

Latin America Daily Briefing