Mexico is not the only supply of fentanyl, its president stated Tuesday at a information convention for the nation’s anti-drug marketing campaign, simply weeks after threats from President-elect Donald Trump to impose tariffs over drug trafficking.
“Thus far, now we have not discovered that precursors arrive, as a result of many of the precursors come from Asia, and that the entire course of is manufactured right here in Mexico,” President Claudia Sheinbaum stated. “The laboratories which have been dismantled in our nation are primarily for methamphetamine or crystal (meth).”
Sheinbaum careworn that her authorities was dedicated to combating unlawful drug distribution. In latest weeks, Mexican authorities have introduced a number of main seizures of fentanyl — an artificial opioid 50 instances stronger than heroin — in addition to chemical precursors. Officers stated final month that the seizure of over a ton of fentanyl drugs was the biggest in the country’s history.
On the information convention, Sheinbaum stated that whereas there are considerations about fentanyl in Mexico, the issue is not as widespread as it’s in america the place it has been linked to tens of 1000’s of overdose deaths.
Trump, who will start his second time period on Jan. 20, stated he intends to levy 25% tariffs on Mexican exports if the nation fails to comprise flows of medication and migrants.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says that Mexican cartels are “on the coronary heart” of an artificial narcotics disaster in america.
The highly effective Sinaloa Cartel “dominates the fentanyl market by its manipulation of the worldwide provide chain and the proliferation of clandestine fentanyl labs in Mexico,” it stated in its 2024 Nationwide Drug Risk Evaluation.
The cartel has been “producing bulk portions of fentanyl since a minimum of 2012,” the DEA stated.
Outgoing U.S. ambassador Ken Salazar stated at a information convention on Monday that he had little question the drug was manufactured in Mexico.
“I do know what’s occurring, that there’s fentanyl in Mexico, and I additionally know that it’s produced right here,” he stated.
In a 2024 interview with “60 Minutes,” Mexico former president Andrés Manuel López echoed Sheinbaum’s stance.
“Fentanyl is produced in america, in Canada, and in Mexico. And the chemical precursors come from Asia,” Manuel López stated.
