In a maritime operation that began in the Pacific Ocean off Michoacán state, Mexico, agents of the Secretariat of the Navy (MARINA), in coordination with the Attorney General’s Office and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, seized a vessel loaded with about 265 kilograms of cocaine worth about $3.25 million. The interdiction on April 8, 2026, prevented more than 530,000 doses of the drug from reaching the street, a MARINA news release said.
The operation began after maritime monitoring located the small vessel with an outboard motor about 66 nautical miles northwest of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, and the seizure culminated when the boat made landfall on the coast of Maruata, Michoacán. The vessel was carrying fuel drums in addition to packages of cocaine.
Intelligence information and the deployment of a fast response boat and aircraft supported the interdiction. Maritime surveillance operations like this one, carried out by MARINA through the Mexican Navy, disrupt transnational criminal organizations and inflict significant financial harm. More than 62 metric tons of drugs have been seized in maritime operations under the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum, the MARINA news release said.
The operation took place along one of the most active routes in the Mexican Pacific for drug trafficking, where transnational criminal organizations use speedboats to move illegal narcotics from South America to Michoacán, Guerrero and Oaxaca states, the Mexican newspaper El Diario reported. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has consolidated its operations in the Lázaro Cárdenas area, which has strategic port infrastructure and logistics connections, El Diario said.
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on March 19, Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations in Mexico “retain their intent to flood the United States with illegal drugs and facilitate illegal migration across our border. While the increased U.S. military and law enforcement presence along our southern approaches has severely curtailed these illicit flows over the last year, these criminals continue to seek alternate routes to move their products into the United States. …
“The USNORTHCOM relationship with Mexican military partners stands strong and pays lasting dividends for the security of both the United States and Mexico. USNORTHCOM maintains its long-standing relationships with the Mexican Department of the Navy (MARINA) and Department of National Defense (DEFENSA) and addresses shared security challenges by, with and through our Mexican partners.”