Mexico Groups Set to Capitalize on Acapulco Hurricane Destruction

by Gavin Voss
1 Nov 2023


The devastation brought by Hurricane Otis to Mexico’s resort town of Acapulco has opened the door for criminal groups to increase their control over a crucial cocaine trafficking hub.

Photos and video published by local media in the days following Hurricane Otis’ October 25 landfall in Acapulco showed heavy damage to the city’s infrastructure and thousands of buildings in ruin. Residents and opposition politicians criticized the government’s inability to provide the aid needed to carry out proper rescue and clean up efforts.

“Everyone will be supported, count on us,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated to the press on October 27, seemingly in response to the criticism.

A major port on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, Acapulco is a crucial entry point for cocaine en route from South America to consumer markets in the United States. As is common in other vacation destinations throughout Mexico, the wealth generated by tourism in the city has also made it an extortion and money laundering hotspot.

More:
https://insightcrime.org/news/mexico-groups-capitalize-acapulco-hurricane-destruction/