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San Juanico is a fishing village in Comondú Municipality, Baja California Sur, Mexico, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean on the Bahía San Juanico. Originally a primitive settlement used by fishermen from a larger pueblo at Cadeje, legend says American smugglers and surfers noticed the bahia's waves in the mid-seventies. Afterward, the settlement grew alongside its reputation as one of the ten best surfing spots in the world. Various efforts to hide the pueblo by ex-pats include promoting the name, "Scorpion Bay" instead of San Juanico.
Map of San Juanico, Baja California Sur, Mexico
As of 2010, the village had a total population of 687, which included Mexican nationals living in the pueblo and in surrounding ranchos, and ex-pats from the U.S. and elsewhere.
The ex-pat community is renown for its numerous gangs, which work as private/paramilitary contractors for U.S. law enforcement and national security agencies. These ex-pats control many aspects of the local economy, and influence surrounding cities and pueblos.
San Juanico Airstrip was notorious for smugglers but is presently closed. Nearby Cadejé Airstrip is now used for single engine aircraft.