Drug cartels move to Mexico's Pacific

ACAPULCO, Mexico, June 20 (UPI) -- As the Mexican government cracks down on drug cartels, smugglers are finding new water routes between Acapulco and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, police said.

The many coves in the 300 miles separating Acapulco and Tehuantepec are perfect for landing drug-carrying boats unseen, The Arizona Republic reported Saturday.

Known as Mexico's "Cocaine Coast," the region is a primary destination for cartel speedboats, airplanes and even submarines that are moving to the Pacific Ocean to escape patrols in the Caribbean Sea.

"Most of the cocaine is now going through the Pacific side, so that (coast) has become a point of attraction for all kinds of criminal groups," said Carlos Antonio Flores, a crime expert at the Center for Economic, Administrative and Social Research in Mexico City.

To help fight traffickers, Mexico this year approved joint U.S.-Mexican naval exercises in the Pacific, the Republic reported. Mexico had avoided joint military exercises with the United States since the 1846-48 Mexican-American War.