Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuchs explained in a post on X that the interception of the ship – known as a “narco-submarine” – occurred in Mexican waters near Manzanillo in Colima state. Three people have been arrested on suspicion of connection with the shipment.
The Mexican Navy (SEMAR) said the operation involved a maritime patrol ship, two fixed-wing aircraft, two rotary-wing aircraft and two interceptor boats. It also received support from U.S. Northern Command and the Joint Interagency Task Force, which provided intelligence to locate targets at sea.
Harfuchs emphasized that this action adds to other seizures made during the past week, which have resulted in the seizure of approximately 10 tons of cocaine. According to the Secretary, “This represents a direct and multimillion-dollar blow to the financial structures of organized crime, preventing millions of doses from reaching the streets and protecting the safety of Mexican families.”
For at least the past year, Semar has been monitoring an international network that uses routes called La Gorgona and El Desierto to transport narcotics and other illegal goods to and from Ecuador and Colombia. The route includes strategic points such as the Galapagos Islands and Clipperton Islands before reaching the Mexican coasts, including Punta Tejupan in Michoacán. According to an investigation published by N+Focus, the final destination of these shipments is the US market.
Criminal organizations use speedboats, submarines and semi-submersibles, often made of fiberglass, to evade radar and maritime surveillance systems. Between 2023 and the beginning of 2025, surveillance and enforcement operations conducted by SEMAR resulted in the seizure of more than 111 tons of cocaine, 223 illegal sea vessels, and the arrest of 476 suspected smugglers of Ecuadorian, Mexican, Colombian, and Central American nationalities.
The US government has pressured Mexico to step up its fight against drug trafficking. Last year, trafficking in synthetic drugs such as fentanyl was used by the Trump administration as justification for imposing tariffs on Mexican imports.
Since then, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced a tough strategy against the cartel, including increased surveillance of sea routes and borders, as well as the extradition to the United States of dozens of people convicted of drug trafficking crimes.
For his part, US President Donald Trump launched a campaign of direct confrontation against organized crime, even in international waters. According to The New York Times, Trump directed the Pentagon to use military assets against Latin American cartels designated as terrorist organizations, representing his administration’s most aggressive strategy in the region.
Trump’s order was intended to establish a legal basis for conducting both maritime and land military operations in foreign territory, marking a significant shift in US security policy by delegating military functions traditionally reserved for law enforcement agencies.
This policy led to the first US attack on a ship that, according to the Trump administration, was transporting drugs from Venezuela to the United States. The incident occurred on September 2 in international waters of the southern Caribbean Sea and resulted in the deaths of 11 people, allegedly linked to the Tren de Aragua gang. Since then, dozens of similar attacks have been recorded in the Caribbean and Pacific, with an estimated 145 deaths.
This story originally appeared in WIRED en Español and is translated from Spanish.
<a href