Report: 97 Percent of Drugs Seizures in Mexico Occur in Port Cities

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

Mazatlan, Sinaloa, where most of the seizures between December 2018 and February 2020 took place

In the first 15 months of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)'s presidency, 144 tons of narcotics have been seized in 22 Mexican port towns and cities. At least 80% of them were seized in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, alone. Among the drugs seized were marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine.

The sea ports in the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico have been under close surveillance by the National Guard, the Army and the Navy. Between December 2018 and February 2020, approximately 97 percent of the drugs seized in Mexico occurred in port towns and cities. These sea ports are strategic corridors for drugs owned by the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), two major drug trafficking organizations.

Drug seizures and data

The report included seizures conducted by the National Guard (GN), the Army and the Navy between December 2018 and February 2020. The GN provided drug seizure statistics between December 2018 to February 2020. The Army's data concentrated solely on methamphetamine seizures until January 2020. The Navy's report included marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine seizures until February 2020.

The most-seized drug was marijuana. More than 124 tons were seized in the 15-month period; marijuana seizures account for 86.23 percent of all drugs seized. Methamphetamine followed with 11 tons.

The largest amount of cocaine seized was 3,550 kilos. It was confiscated in Puerto Chiapas. The largest amount of methamphetamine seized was in Guaymas, Sonora, with 7,474 kilos. The port where more heroin was seized was Ensenada, Baja California, with 13 kilos; marijuana was mainly seized in Mazatlán with 99,040 kilos, and methamphetamine in Ensenada, with 742.25 kilos.

Statistic provided by the Mexican government

The month with the highest amount of seizures was April 2019, when 12,484 kilos of different drugs were seized, especially meth with 8,137 kilos and marijuana with 4,210 kilos. The month with the fewest seizures was December 2019 with only 18 kilos; October 2019 with just 21 kilos; followed by December 2018, with only 48 kilos.

Of the 22 sea ports located in 20 Mexican states, the ones that resulted in the most seizures were Mazatlán (71.1 percent), Guaymas (8.48 percent), Huatulco (6.52 percent), Puerto Peñasco (4.41 percent), Puerto Chiapas (2.47 percent) and Ensenada (2.42 percent). Regarding homicides, the Mexican government reported that in the same 15-month period there were 1,405 firearm homicides in these locations. Mazatlán accounted for 500 of them, followed by Guaymas with 261, Huatulco with 93 and Chiapas with 88.

An unusual 99-ton drug seizure by the Navy in February 2020 in Mazatlán had a significant impact on statistics, as this action represented almost 80 percent of everything seized in this 15-month period.

The information from this report was published by Mexican daily newspaper Milenio with statistical data provided by the Mexican government. They received the data via Mexico's National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data Protection (INAI).

Source: Milenio