Man dubbed ‘The Tank’ accused by US of running fuel theft ring for ruthless Mexican cartel

Close to the leadership of the hyper-violent Mexican Jalisco New Generation Cartel is a man known as “The Tank” who heads the department that deals with fuel theft. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the tanker makes tens of millions of dollars a year by selling stolen gasoline through a network of seemingly legitimate companies.

Ivan Cazarin Molina gets his nickname not from the battlefield vehicle, but from the massive storage tanks he manages in the Mexican state of Veracruz on the Gulf Coast.

Cazarin Molina was one of nine Mexicans and 26 entities based in Mexico sanctioned Tuesday by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for their alleged role in fueling the cartel’s illegal activities.

Fuel theft is a major problem for the Mexican government and state-owned oil company Pemex, costing the company billions of dollars.

Organized criminal groups are tapping into pipelines illegally, hijacking tanker trucks or stealing directly from refineries. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered the military to stop this at the beginning of his term.

Mexican cartels have been known to expand into legitimate business sectors to diversify their revenue, whether it be agricultural products or internet service.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Cazarin Molina reports directly to the leader of the Jalisco Cartel, Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho.” The US government is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the leader’s capture.

The gasoline that Cazarin Molina and his associates allegedly steal is stored in fuel storage tanks he controls in Veracruz and then sold through a network of gas stations he manages. The companies have professional-looking logos, slogans and names like “Etanofuel” and “G Energy.”

Some of the gasoline is sold to third parties and then transported to the United States.

Also “Tornado” and “El Mingo” have been sanctioned

Cazarin Molina’s brother, nicknamed “Tornado,” was jailed in Mexico but is still believed to be involved in cartel activities. He was among the others sanctioned.

“Like El Tanque, Tornado was one of the founders of CJNG and is close friends with El Mencho,” the Treasury Department claims. “Involved in murder and recognized as a member of the armed wing of CJNG, Tornado was arrested in 2013 but continues to be involved in CJNG activities in Veracruz from prison.”

Cazarin Molina’s father-in-law, Domingo Medina Diaz (nicknamed “El Mingo”), was also punished. A cousin, Jahir Cazarin Ramos, was also on the list.

The new sanctions freeze all assets of these individuals or companies in the US and ban US citizens from doing business with them.

In December 2022, the Mexican army prisoner Antonio Oseguerathe brother of “El Mencho.” He is said to have overseen violent operations and logistics, and purchased weapons and laundered money for the Jalisco cartel. The U.S. Treasury Department listed Antonio Oseguera’s alias as “El Tony Montana,” an apparent reference to the fictional protagonist of the 1983 gangster film “Scarface.”

The Jalisco Cartel is better known for producing millions of doses of deadly fentanyl and smuggling them into the United States disguised as Xanax, Percocet or oxycodone. Such pills cause approximately 70,000 deaths from overdose per year in the United States.