Bolivia police dismantle diesel diversion network in Santa Cruz

The Bolivian Ministry of Government, together with the National Police and the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), carried out a joint operation in the department of Santa Cruz that uncovered a scheme for illegally diverting subsidised diesel. Three fuel‑laden tankers were seized and two people arrested – the driver of one tanker and the manager of the Virgen de Cotoca service station – while two other drivers escaped. Investigators found that a tanker destined for the station was rerouted to a nearby garage where diesel was transferred to another tanker bound for the north of La Paz, allegedly to supply illegal mining activities. A third empty tanker was also confiscated, apparently prepared for further transfers. The operation is being pursued as part of a criminal investigation into organized fuel smuggling that threatens state revenues, with the recovered diesel handed over to Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB).