Baja California Sur Secretary of Public Security Luis Alfredo Cancino Vicente said the state has no evidence of drug manufacturing within its borders but acknowledged a sharp rise in street-level drug dealing. Cases of narcomenudeo, the Mexican legal term for retail drug sales, climbed 35% in the most recent month alone, following a roughly 30% increase over the prior year.
Cancino Vicente characterized BCS as a transit corridor for narcotics rather than a production zone. No clandestine laboratories have been detected in the state, he said. The drugs consumed and sold locally are transported in from elsewhere.
Official Frames Rise as Better Policing
The security secretary cast the statistical jump as a positive sign. He argued the increase in narcomenudeo numbers reflects more investigation files being opened by authorities, not a worsening drug environment. In his telling, more arrests and more cases mean police are doing their jobs.
That interpretation deserves scrutiny. A jump from 25% to 35% in a single month is steep, and separate reporting confirms that roughly three drug-dealing cases are reported daily across BCS. The state also faces a broader security crisis: intentional homicides in the first eight months of 2025 rose 124% compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from México Evalúa and the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System. BCS currently ranks fifth nationwide in lethal violence.
What It Means for Residents and Visitors
Narcomenudeo is the category of narco crime most likely to touch daily life in La Paz, Cabo San Lucas, and San José del Cabo. It refers to small-quantity sales on streets, in neighborhoods, and near commercial areas. A growing local consumer market means low-level drug activity in urban zones is expanding, even without large-scale production.
The security landscape in BCS has deteriorated notably in recent years. In April 2025, both the United States and Canada issued security alerts for Los Cabos and La Paz, advising travelers to exercise increased caution following violent incidents and threats against public officials. The alerts urged visitors to avoid crowds and monitor local media.
Cancino Vicente’s comments were first reported by BCS Noticias.