In the past week, the Mexican Navy (Semar) arrested 234 people in Puebla, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Mexico City and México state and seized 1,033 kg (one tonne) of methamphetamine, the agency reported on Tuesday.
Between March 23 and 29, Semar carried out 147 operations, including 20 raids, as part of the ongoing Operation Sable, which seeks to deter illicit activities such as drug trafficking.
In addition, Semar seized seven handguns, one rifle, eight magazines and 215 rounds of ammunition across the five states, as well as 38 vehicles and 12 properties.
Bilateral intelligence sharing leads to drug bust off coast of Michoacán
In a separate operation, Semar announced the arrest of six drug trafficking suspects on Monday, made possible by intelligence provided by the United States Northern Command and the Joint Interagency Task Force.
According to an official statement, Navy personnel used U.S. intelligence to identify a vessel located around 113 km southwest of the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, in Mexico’s western Michoacán state. On it, agents discovered 14 sack-like packages with 580 brick-shaped bundles of white powder.
Officials seized the packages, weighing 650 kg, alongside 350 liters of fuel. If the white powder is proven to be cocaine, the value of the goods could be as much as 150 million pesos (US $8.4 million), which would serve a significant blow to the criminal group involved.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson, who has been complimentary of the bilateral security cooperation under Sheinbaum, took to X to congratulate the mission:
“The seizure of a speedboat by Mexican authorities — made possible thanks to the exchange of information between the United States and Mexico 🇺🇸🇲🇽 — led to the confiscation of 14 packages of cocaine and the arrest of six individuals, demonstrating that transnational criminal organizations cannot hide from justice when we work together.”
El aseguramiento de una embarcación rápida por parte de autoridades mexicanas – posible gracias al intercambio de información entre los Estados Unidos y México 🇺🇸🇲🇽 – llevó a incautar 14 paquetes de cocaína y detener a seis personas, lo que demuestra que las organizaciones… pic.twitter.com/KWHPxLlATn
— Embajador Ronald Johnson (@USAmbMex) March 31, 2026
“This action prevented more than 1.3 million doses from harming our communities. The historic cooperation driven by President Donald Trump and President Claudia Sheinbaum is yielding results. Stronger Together,” Johnson added.
The security strategy of the Sheinbaum administration has focused on making so-called “high-impact arrests” related to crimes such as homicide, extortion, kidnapping, robbery and trafficking. From Oct. 1, 2024, through Feb. 28, 2026, Mexico’s security ministry has reported 46,000 arrests of this type, or approximately 2,700 arrests per month.
With reports from López-Dóriga Digital, Eje Central and Debate
