Members of the Mexican National Guard, the Mexican Army, and other military and police units seized drugs, precursor chemicals to produce illicit drugs, firearms, and ammunition in a variety of operations in January 2025. The military also uncovered dozens of improvised explosive devices (IED) and hundreds of kilograms of gunpowder.
In one of the biggest busts, National Guard and Army personnel in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora state, on January 14, 2026, arrested one person and confiscated a vehicle in which they found 212.12 kilograms of methamphetamine, 14.7 kilograms of marijuana and 1 kilogram of other synthetic drugs. The suspect and the evidence were handed over to law enforcement officers. In Santa Lucía, State of Mexico, on January 25, authorities seized 1,743 doses of synthetic drugs, 260 doses of cocaine and 1,205 doses of marijuana.
In four separate operations in Jalisco, Nuevo León, Coahuila and Sinaloa states in mid-January, National Guard and Mexican Army units seized more than 107,000 liters and 120 metric tons of chemical precursors to produce synthetic drugs. The biggest seizure was in Jalisco state, where National Guard and Mexican Army personnel provided support January 19 for the execution of two search warrants in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga and San Pedro Tlaquepaque.
The military units in Jalisco secured 53,150 liters and 87,360 kilograms of chemical precursors, two properties being used for storage of chemical precursors, and a semitrailer. Five people were arrested.
Chemical seizures in Nuevo León state, in the municipalities of El Carmen and Santa Catarina, also were tied to the execution of two search warrants on January 19. Nine people were arrested, and the military confiscated 25,800 liters and 19,200 kilograms of chemical precursors. Two properties used for chemical storage also were seized.
In Saltillo, Coahuila state, while executing a search warrant on January 19, National Guard and Mexican Army personnel arrested one person and seized 10,200 liters and 14,223 kilograms of chemical precursors, as well as a property used to store the chemicals. In Sinaloa state, during surveillance patrols in the municipalities of Concordia, Cosalá and Culiacán on January 16, members of the National Guard, the Mexican Army and the State Preventive Police arrested four people and took possession of 18,750 liters and 60 kilograms of chemical precursors, 1.2 kilograms of marijuana, 147 doses of cocaine, six rifles and three handguns, 57 magazines, 1,002 rounds of ammunition, and one fragmentation grenade.
In Michoacán state, members of the National Guard, Army and State Police found 49 IEDs during surveillance patrols and ground reconnaissance. The IEDs were destroyed at the scene by specialized personnel from the 1st Emergency Response Battalion. Mexican drug cartels increasingly are using IEDs against rival gangs and Mexican security forces, and news media have reported some civilians killed by IEDs.
During an investigation in Tabasco, Zacatecas state, National Guard and Army members arrested three people and seized an IED, 640 kilograms of gunpowder and 70 meters of detonating cord. Gunpowder and detonating cord can be used to assemble IEDs.
On the Tijuana-Tecate highway in Tijuana, Baja California state, on January 16, National Guard and Army personnel secured 51 firearms (21 long and 30 short), 26 magazines and one vehicle. In Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, on January 17, National Guard and Army members arrested two people and seized one handgun, 5,521 cartridges, three high-capacity magazines and one vehicle.