The Mexican government said Wednesday it has removed 128 tons of crude oil residue from the Gulf of Mexico following a spill first reported in early March. Left-leaning President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration is investigating the origins of the spill, whose damage extends along 165 kilometers (100 miles) of coastline between the southern states of Veracruz and Tabasco, according to official estimates.
Environmental organizations deemed the spill an environmental disaster.
The Gulf of Mexico Reef Corridor Network shared a report that identified 630 square kilometers of damage and published a map showing sites where it said crude was reported.
Without naming any specific organization, the government said in a communique that "the image disseminated widely and publicly by an NGO is clearly false... and doesn't match satellite images."
Authorities added that they are using boat and drones to probe the origin of the spill.
Sheinbaum has dimissed the idea that Pemex, the state-owned oil company, was responsible, suggesting that the leak came from a private company.
Greenpeace reported last August that Pemex was tied to 1,146 oil spills between 2008 and 2024.
Last week five people died in a fire in a Pemex facility notorious for numerous accidents in recent years.
