Drug Seizures Surge at Mexico Ports as Authorities Clamp Down on Cartel-Controlled Shipping hubs

Drug seizures have surged at ports around Mexico's West Coast as law enforcement forces struggle to seize control of major shipping hubs that are controlled by criminal cartels.

P&I Services Mexico, a company that manages insurance claims for different maritime companies, issued a warning to its clients on July 11th, informing them of "a sudden increase in narcotics incidents" at ports located around Mexico's western coast. Drugs have primarily been discovered in cargo containers or ship sea chests, according to P&I Services (the grated apertures on hulls that allow ships to take on small amounts of seawater.

This occurs months after a comprehensive report from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) described how the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) Cartels in Mexico "are at the heart" of the drug crisis in North America, bringing a wave of synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl across the border. The busiest ports in Mexico serve as the foundation of a sophisticated distribution network that drives the cartels' power and influence.

"Controlling a port is crucial for them in terms of infrastructure," says Brian Townsend, a 23-year DEA veteran who held several positions, including supervisory special agent.

Townsend explains how gangs such as CJNG and Sinaloa will depend on Chinese chemical and pill press companies to get precursor chemicals into Mexico through shipments. These chemicals are then used to make drugs that are transported into South America and the United States. Cartels can sustain a fully operational supply chain, which forms the foundation of their operations since they control important ports located in the center of their respective regions.

According to Townsend, the Port of Mazatlan serves as the Sinaloa Cartel's "backyard," where authorized carriers at the West Coast entry must remain vigilant to make sure their goods aren't pilfered. One of Mexico's biggest shipping hubs by volume, the Port of Manzanillo, is under the authority of the CJNG and is accessible to Sinaloa. Carriers are therefore faced with higher expenses and frequent delays as a result of tighter security procedures, more extensive cargo inspections, and the requirement to cooperate with law officials when a shipment is seized.

Townsend explains, "It's just the cost of doing business." "They understand that this is a country that has a problem with precursor chemicals and other criminal activity coming through the ports throughout Mexico; they have to just figure out how to navigate those challenges."

Townsend attributes the current spike in drug seizures at Mexico's ports to the DEA's and local agencies' "strategic focus" on Sinaloa and CJNG, especially in light of the country's efforts to address the overdose issue. That's all part of a bigger "cat and mouse game" in which authorities realize they can't completely force cartels out of control of the nation's ports and instead concentrate on establishing a level of law enforcement presence at ports that will maintain trade and permit legitimate companies to carry on with operations at the pivotal shipping hubs. In the absence of that, according to Townsend, the cartels would create enough havoc to make it impossible for companies to use those ports at all.

According to Townsend, the DEA is probably aiming to target "high-level traffickers" and cartel leaders in the interim. Ismael Zambada, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, was apprehended on July 25 in El Paso, Texas, which appears to substantiate that. Attorneys for Zambada have reportedly told CNN that the son of notorious Sinaloa co-founder Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman abducted Zambada and put him onto an aircraft to the U.S. Zambada, who has been the head of the Sinaloa cartel for many years, was the last man on Mexico's 2009 list of the 37 most wanted drug lords still at large.