MEXICO CITY, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Mexican authorities are close to ridding Mexico's Caribbean beaches of a recent invasion of unsightly brown seaweed, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday.
"I hope that in the short term we can say the problem is fixed. However, it is going to require permanent attention," Lopez Obrador said during his daily morning press conference.
The problem, which tends to impact tourism, was brought to his attention several weeks ago. Lopez Obrador credited close cooperation between different government agencies, civic organizations and locals for the speedy response.
He particularly praised the Naval Ministry, which led the clean-up efforts along the coast of southeast Quintana Roo state, home to Mexico's top tourism resorts, including Cancun, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen.
The head of Mexico's Navy, Rafael Ojeda, agreed state beaches should be free of the sargassum, as the brown seaweed is technically called, in another six weeks.
According to Ojeda, beaches along Isla Mujeres island, Puerto Morelos and other coastal towns were cleared of seaweed, but other destinations, such as Tulum and Cozumel, were still pending.
The government earmarked some 56 million pesos (almost 3 million U.S. dollars) to the task and mobilized as many as 10,700 people.
