02/23/23 (written by jcarrillo) – This past Wednesday, Mexican soldiers received intelligence regarding a fentanyl pill manufacturing center and reported its seizure in Culiacán, Sinaloa, home to the Sinaloa Cartel. Around 630,000 pills were seized containing synthetic fentanyl along with 282 pounds of powdered fentanyl. Aside from fentanyl, 220 pounds of methamphetamines were confiscated as well. In a statement, the Mexican soldiers claimed the drug lab to have been the highest-capacity drug production lab they have seized to date. This seizure arrived the day before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations began its hearings regarding U.S. efforts to counter fentanyl trafficking. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator, Anne Milgram, gave her testimony to the Senate Committee. Milgram stated the DEA’s top operational priority is to “defeat” the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). The DEA Administrator claims these two Mexican cartels are the most prominent sources of fentanyl flow into the United States through the southern border. These cartels purchase precursor chemicals produced in China used to create fentanyl and methamphetamine.
U.S. Senate Committee emphasizes importance of bilateral relations between Mexico and the United States
Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of this Senate committee, asserted that the fentanyl trafficking cannot be stopped without “a productive partnership with Mexico.” He continued by stating the increased politicized state of the prosecutor’s office in Mexico has shown to turn away from prosecuting individuals related to fentanyl trafficking. Senator Menendez referenced the ongoing case regarding García Luna as evidence of ongoing collusion between cartels and Mexican government officials that are preventing the productive partnership the senator pushes for. In response Milgram stated that the DEA is looking for the Mexican government to employ similar tactics as they did when dismantling “Los Zetas” by making the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG a top operational priority.
While Administrator Milgram spoke more to the operational standpoint regarding the issue, Assistant Secretary of State, Todd Robinson, gave more insight on the bilateral relations the committee called into question. He shared to a skeptical committee how the Mexican government has committed to doing more to fight the ongoing fentanyl crisis. In late January at the North American Leaders’ Summit, President Biden along with Cabinet members met with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) and their Mexican counterparts in a meeting in which each party committed to increasing their efforts against fentanyl trafficking.
Despite assurances from Robinson, there have been actions to undermine U.S. involvement in Mexico regarding this crisis. AMLO announced the closure of a counternarcotics unit that worked very closely with the DEA in the fight against drug-related violence earlier last year (Reuters). His decision to close the counternarcotics unit comes from his prioritization of promoting sovereignty. AMLO consistently promotes Mexican sovereignty and feels “it is a shame for any government in the world to get involved in the internal life of another country” (Reuters). Concurrently, AMLO has pushed for the United States to bring more attention to the U.S. manufactured guns that are smuggled into Mexico and find their way to these cartels, only giving them more firepower (USA Today). Last year, the Mexican government sued a handful of U.S. gun manufacturers for $10 billion in damages as an attempt to hold them accountable for the guns trafficked to cartels (BBC). The case was ultimately dismissed by a federal U.S. judge in Massachusetts.
AMLO’s response to United States’ efforts in countering fentanyl crisis
AMLO has continuously expressed desires to find a way to reduce the demand for drugs from the United States (USA Today). This demand has created and continues to fuel the empires that are the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG. Just days after the Senate committee hearing, AMLO commented, during a press conference, on the United States government combating the demand for drugs. He stated that the United States does “little” to prevent the demand and consumption of drugs. AMLO proceeded to question how much money the United States is allocating towards anti-drug campaigns, especially among the youth. Simply discussing the crisis over the radio and television networks “does not do it” says AMLO and his recommendation is that more should be done.
Sources
Sganga, Nicole. “Fentanyl Seizures rise at U.S. Mexico border”. CBS News. February 3, 2023.
Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional. “Ejército Mexicano asegura un centro de manufactura de pastillas de fentanilo”. Gobierno de México. February 15, 2023.
Solomon, Daina. Cortes, Raul. “Mexico president urges U.S. to end the ‘shame’ of funding opposition groups”. Reuters. February 21, 2022.
Meyer, Josh. “Fentanyl killed 70,000 in U.S.. With Biden in Mexico, can neighbors cooperate to stop flow?”. USA Today. January 8, 2023
Jorgic, Drazen. “Mexico shuts elite investigations unit in blow to U.S. drugs cooperation”. Reuters, April 19, 2022.
Debusmann Jr., Bernd. “Mexico’s fight to sue US gun manufacturers for $10bn”. BBC. April 12, 2022
