Members of the Mexican National Guard, the Mexican Army and police units seized illegal drugs, guns and ammunition, and arrested 12 people in three separate operations in Puebla, Querétaro and Sinaloa states in early January. The seizures and arrests originated during an airport warehouse inspection, surveillance patrols and the execution of a search warrant.
On January 7, 2025, during an inspection of a parcel delivery company’s warehouse inside the Querétaro Intercontinental Airport, National Guard members using X-ray equipment located and seized 32 kilograms of marijuana, 355 doses of packaged marijuana that were ready to distribute, 60 electronic cigarettes with cannabis extract, and various food products made with cannabis, a Secretariat of National Defense (DEFENSA) news release said. A trained dog also was used to detect drugs hidden among the packages, the newspaper Diario de Querétaro reported.
The seized products were handed over to authorities, who are investigating who is responsible for the shipment. Querétaro Intercontinental Airport ranks among the top 10 airports in Mexico for international passenger traffic and it is the fifth largest for cargo carriers, Mexico’s Federal Civil Aviation Agency says.
Another operation occurred on January 5 and 6, when members of the Mexican National Guard, working with Soldiers from the Mexican Army, led surveillance patrols in the municipalities of Culiacán, El Fuerte and Elota in Sinaloa state. They found and dismantled a clandestine location used by a criminal group, arrested three people, and seized one Barrett .50-caliber rifle, 14 other firearms (12 long guns and two handguns), 73 magazines, 1,813 cartridges, two improvised explosive devices, two vehicles, 2,710 liters and 50 kilograms of chemicals used to make methamphetamine, and various tactical equipment, a DEFENSA news release said. Police are looking into the suspects’ legal status and will continue the investigation.
On January 5, members of the Mexican National Guard and the Mexican Army, as well as federal, state and municipal authorities, executed a search warrant in Tecamachalco, Puebla state. They arrested nine people and seized one property, seven firearms (six long guns and one handgun), magazines and ammunition of various types and calibers, three vehicles, and tactical equipment, a DEFENSA news release said.
In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February 2025, Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said: “Transnational criminal organizations based in Mexico continue to threaten U.S. sovereignty and territorial integrity through the production and trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs and the facilitation of unlawful mass migration toward the U.S. southern border. … The narcotics smuggled into the United States by transnational criminal organizations are directly responsible for tens of thousands of deaths each year, and USNORTHCOM will continue to work with partners in reducing the flow of illicit drugs into the United States.”