Security: Mexico
Mexico’s Navy says 1,300 personnel on the Michoacán coast have cost criminal groups more than US$287 million and put 119 people in custody, using a damage figure it calculated itself.
Mexico’s Navy (Semar) reported, in figures published on 11 November 2026, that its operations in Michoacán have inflicted more than 5.355 billion pesos (about US$287 million) in economic damage on criminal groups and led to 119 arrests. Michoacán grows most of Mexico’s avocados, and Mexico supplies more than eight in ten of the avocados the United States imports, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.
The figures, as published, carry no start date, so they cannot yet be set against a baseline. Semar has not published the method behind the damage estimate.
Key Facts
—Damage. More than 5.355 billion pesos (about US$287 million at 18.63 per dollar), the Navy’s own estimate.
—Arrests. 119 detained; the deployment centres on Lázaro Cárdenas port and the coastal towns Coahuayana and Aquila.
—Force. 1,300 Navy personnel and 61 vehicles, backed by ships, helicopters and drones.
—Seizures. More than 10 tonnes of cocaine, 7.5 tonnes of methamphetamine, 31 tonnes of marijuana and six laboratories.
—Unknown. The published figures give no period and no valuation method.
What the Navy Says It Achieved
Semar says it seized more than 10 tonnes of cocaine, 7.5 tonnes of methamphetamine and 31 tonnes of marijuana. It also reports six clandestine laboratories put out of action, 206 vehicles, six boats and 77 firearms seized, and more than 4,000 cartridges.
The Navy adds that it confiscated more than 1.5 million packs of counterfeit cigarettes, which it presents as part of the fight against illicit trade and tax evasion. It says the work follows three lines of the national security strategy: tackling root causes, strengthening intelligence and coordinating with federal and state authorities.
Who Was Arrested
Semar says it broke up Los Pichilinguillos, a cell it accuses of trafficking cocaine internationally along the Michoacán coast. It also reports arrests of suspected members of groups linked to the extortion of farmers.
The Navy singles out Rafael “N” (the surname is withheld, as is usual in Mexico), known as “R2”, whom it describes as the alleged leader of a group called Los R and an alleged intellectual co-author of the murder of Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan who was shot dead on 1 November 2025. All those held are suspects until a court rules.
How to Read the 5.355 Billion Peso Figure
The damage figure is Semar’s own estimate, and the Navy has not said how it values seized drugs, vehicles and lost earnings. It is best read as the Navy’s own measure of its operation.
The totals also come without a start date, so readers cannot tell whether they cover weeks or the whole year since the federal government launched Plan Michoacán, its security and development programme for the state, in November 2025. Our earlier report on 1,182 people displaced by violence in Michoacán shows why independent data on violence matters here.
What It Means for US Readers
Semar says its coordination with federal and state authorities includes protecting the supply chains that carry farm and mining goods to the Pacific port of Lázaro Cárdenas, and strengthening port and customs security. For US avocado importers and travellers, the point is that the deployment is concentrated in three coastal municipalities, and Semar names trafficking and the extortion of growers among its targets.
Whether the arrests translate into less violence is open, because the statement carries no homicide or displacement data. The Navy’s earlier cocaine seizures are covered in our report on 1.1 tonnes seized off Chiapas and Oaxaca.
What Is Not Known
The published figures do not say what period the totals cover, how the damage is valued, how many of the 119 detainees face formal charges, or whether Rafael “N” has appeared before a judge. No dates have been announced for the next federal security update on Michoacán or for any hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Plan Michoacán?
It is a federal security and development programme for Michoacán that the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum announced in November 2025, a week after Manzo’s murder, with a budget of 57 billion pesos (about US$3.1 billion). Semar says its deployment is part of that effort.
What does “economic damage” mean in the Navy’s figure?
It is the Navy’s own estimate of what its seizures and arrests cost criminal groups, and it has not published the method. It is not a court-verified or audited amount.
Sources: Mexican Navy (Secretaría de Marina), statement of 11 November 2026 (gob.mx/semar); Government of Mexico, Plan Michoacán announcement, November 2025; USDA avocado trade data. Exchange rate: 18.63 pesos per US dollar, close of 10 November 2026.
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