Until American long haul trucks and Americans living just across the border started going to Mexico to fill up, there was NEVER a problem. With a major portion of the diesel going to the U.S., Pemex is having trouble getting enough to keep Mexican truckers going. The last I heard was that they had limited the diesel fill-ups to 100 gallons in Tijuana in an effort to keep the U.S. from taking everything they can produce. The papers here are full of concern about how to keep enough gasoline and diesel for Mexicans. They have a problem because, of course, they want to encourage tourists, but they don't want to fuel everyone on the U.S./Mexico border. They could require a Mexican driver's license or FM3 (1 year visa), but that wouldn't accomodate legitimate tourists, so they are between a rock and a hard place.

The reasons for the shortage are complex, but it is mostly the result of the fuel crisis in the US. Too many US drivers going south of the border to fill up with diesel, which is just a little over $2 per gallon in Mexico. So you have to be careful who you blame. We have met the enemy and they are us!

Contrary to what you might think, Mexico has very limited oil resources. It is not their responsibiity to fuel the American economy with hydrocarbon fuels.

Had you filled up with diesel in Calexico, you would have been about 4 hours south of the border by the time you needed to refuel. No shortage of diesel as you get further south.

Next time you want to drive to Los Cabos - and I would encourage it, it is a fabulous, unforgettable trip - sign up on bajanomad.com They are a much better resource for current information than Trip Advisor. You could have found out in advance where diesel was available.

Good Luck

Thank you so much for your comments Pstreet1 and Matapule, I really appreciated the info. I'm not blaming anybody about this situation as Matapule have stated nor have any kind of enemy at all; to the contrary I'm a very happy go lucky type of guy just looking forward to my retirement. Thats why I named myself Snow-birdintrng. I'm trying to find a place (and a grandma for my grandbabies) down in the peninsula or Nuevo Vallarta area that I can call home when I retire. Maybe is not the Mexican responsibility to fuel the American economy with hydrocarbon fuels, BUT what's wrong with this picture?? If the OPEC cartel can rise their prices, what's holding Mexico?? HELLO??? All politics aside; I'm heading up north to the Peuget Sound peninsula in the State of Washington and I will try to stop to every Bar that I can encounter in my trip. Thank You all and stay cool OK. PS Thanx again Matapule for the info and next October I'll try again to hit the road down to Los Cabos and will check the bajanomad.com website thanx.

Baja Nomads is definitely an excellent site! I was interested in this post, as people frequently enquire about the drive down, and one of my best girlfriends drives it frequently, though she's now living in Los Barilles, so doesn't have to make the trip as often. I know that in that area, the Pemex station often has zero gas~of any sort, which is extremely inconvenient, since she not only has her vehicles to fill, but also her panga. She frequently has to go to the next town to fill up, and it makes her nuts! One of these days, I'm hoping to be able to make the drive as well, as there are so many beautiful places to visit along the way!

Gasoline is heavily subsidized by the government in Mexico because Mexico's people are poor. When a rise of a nickel in the price of tortillas causes massive protests, you can see that the kind of price increase in gasoline that the U.S. has seen would be a disaster. Unfortunately, the same American press that was saying "Don't go to Mexico because you must fear for your lives" is now saying "go get cheap gas," and Americans are flooding over the border. Apparently if gasoline is cheap enough, they don't worry about the same drug cartel killings that had them too terrified to even consider crossing the border three months ago.

It's truly sad, the state of the world these days :(

Greed is such an ugly thing.