Mexico troops die in clashes

MEXICO CITY — At least 10 people were killed, including four soldiers, in clashes between Mexican troops and fuel thieves in Puebla state, officials said Thursday.

The clashes, which took place Wednesday evening, were the most deadly confrontations to date between Mexican law enforcement and fuel smugglers known as huachicoleros.

The bands of smugglers specialize in pilfering fuel from pipelines belonging to the state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, and selling the product on the black market. The thieves hawk the cut-rate gasoline in plastic containers along roadsides.

The military has been deployed in force against the massive gas-smuggling industry, which reportedly costs the financially troubled Pemex hundreds of millions of dollars a year in lost revenue. But entire families have come to depend on the smuggling enterprise, authorities say.

Analysts say the smugglers work in tandem with organized narco-gangs, such as the ultra-violent Zetas, who have a major presence in the oil-producing Gulf Coast state of Veracruz. Veracruz borders Puebla.

The huachicoleros have been tapping into pipelines for more than a decade, authorities say, but the thefts have accelerated as gas prices have risen this year.

Wednesday’s clashes occurred in the town of Palmarito Tochapan, where, according to authorities, smugglers and their supporters attacked military forces responding to reports that thieves had breached a pipeline. The army said it deployed about 1,000 troops to quell the violence.

Palmarito Tochapan is part of the municipality of Quecholac, one of the towns in what authorities call the “red triangle” of fuel smuggling. Authorities say the theft gangs practically control some regions and work in collusion with police and politicians.

The 10 dead included six “presumed criminals,” said Diodoro Carrasco, government secretary in Puebla.