Drug Cartels and Trafficking

Mexico’s navy says it located and dismantled a hidden methamphetamine laboratory near Chacala in the northern state of Durango, seizing more than 5,000 pounds (about 2,400 kilograms) of meth and thousands of liters and kilos of chemical precursors valued at over $265 million. Video released by the service shows naval personnel in hazmat suits inspecting vats, tanks and dozens of containers before disabling the lab infrastructure to prevent reuse. The bust is one of several recent clandestine lab raids in Durango, Sinaloa and Michoacán, underscoring Mexico’s role as the main producer of meth trafficked into the U.S. It comes days after Mexican forces killed Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes in Jalisco, triggering roadblocks, arson attacks and travel disruptions, an operation U.S. officials say relied heavily on American intelligence support though no U.S. forces were on the ground. Former DEA operations chief Mike Vigil called the El Mencho takedown "one of the most significant actions" in drug‑war history, and this latest lab seizure is part of the same intensified joint pressure on cartels that directly shapes the supply of synthetic drugs reaching the United States.