• FOCUS: The increase in illegal contraband of the synthetic opioid known as fentanyl to the US -along with chemical precursors coming from Asia- has forced the Mexico to try to keep an eye on the western seaport of Manzanillo, the seventh largest inbound port in North America.
• DATA: Manzanillo in the Pacific Coast state of Colima (pop. 711,000) is Mexico’s largest seaport and has 4.4% of total North American market share in inbound container trade and and 4.8% of total the region outbound container trade, according to rankings by the Journal of Commerce (JOC).
• INTEREST: “We have focused efforts in some ports where we’ve seen smuggling of fentanyl, particularly in Manzanillo. It’s one of the priorities of the Mexican Government, but it is also one of the priorities of bilateral collaboration with US”, said Public Security Minister, Alfonso Durazo.
• VIOLENCE: Linked to the illegal chemical precursors trade, the municipality of Manzanillo (pop. 184, 000) has seen a surge in violence jumping from 78 murders during the first half of 2016 to 140 murders during the first half of 2019, according to Mexico’s public security system figures.
