Navy to take charge in sargassum crisis along Riviera Maya

Photo: File

Sargassum has returned to the Riviera Maya shores, and in-house resources are being tapped to combat it.

President Andres Manuel López Obrador said there is no need to hire private contractors to fight the sargasso crisis on the Caribbean coast.

The Mexican Navy will lead efforts to combat the expected arrival the “unsightly and smelly seaweed,” he said.

The Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) has its own “very good” experts and equipment, said the president, adding that the strategy would avoid extra costs and be more efficient.

The chief executive justified the Navy’s participation by noting the agency’s extensive knowledge of the Caribbean region and its naval base in Chetumal. Navy airplanes already patrol the region.

The government’s anti-sargassum plan will be presented to the Secretariat of Finance next week, which will develop an economic plan to fund the project.

The secretariats of the Environment and Tourism, the National Tourism Promotion Fund, state and municipal authorities and the private sector will also contribute to the plan.

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