Mexico’s government is stepping up security at oil installations in three southeastern states where most crude oil is extracted following an Al Qaida threat to bomb oil facilities that contribute to U.S. energy supplies.
"It is necessary to hit oil interests in all regions which serve the United States, not just in the Middle East. The goal is to cut its supplies or reduce them through any means," Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula stated in a posting on the Internet site of the magazine Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Holy War).
Campeche Gov. Jorge Carlos Hurtado Valdez told reporters the heightened security is centered in the Campeche Sound region, the site of dozens of offshore drilling platforms.
Mexico's navy and the federal defense and public security ministries are taking part in increased maritime, land and air vigilance, he said.
Also, refineries and an extensive network of pipelines in Veracruz are getting added troops and patrol boats.
Military forces also were deployed around the Escolin petrochemical complex and the Cobos natural gas terminal in the northern part of the state and at the huge Lazaro Cardenas refinery in Minatitlan and the Cosoleacaque, Pajaritos and Morelos petrochemical facilities in the south.
Security also has been boosted at other oil sites in Canada, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria.