José Díaz Briseño/Agencia Reforma
Wednesday, March 15, 2023 | 2:43 p.m.
Washington DC, EU.- The Government of the United States today refuted the statements of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that fentanyl is not manufactured in Mexico, affirming, on the contrary, that said synthetic opioid is produced in Mexican territory using imported chemical precursors.
During a legislative hearing, the Under Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian Nichols, confirmed that for the US government there is indeed fentanyl manufacturing in Mexico contrary to what was stated by López Obrador and also by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE).
“Fentanyl is produced in Mexico,” Nichols said when asked by Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty.
“Mexico receives chemical precursors from around the world. These precursors are used to produce fentanyl in Mexico,” Nichols said, confirming that the synthesis of the drug occurs in Mexican territory.
Contrary to statements from the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) confirming the discovery of clandestine fentanyl laboratories, President López Obrador said last week that fentanyl was not produced in Mexico, something that The Chicago Tribune described as a “blatant lie.” “.
“Here we do not produce fentanyl and we do not consume fentanyl. And we are very sorry for what is happening in the United States, but why don’t they address the problem?” assured López Obrador during his morning press conference on Thursday, March 4.
Since 2014, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has assured in its annual reports the existence of illegal fentanyl production in Mexico, but it was in 2021 when it warned of the involvement of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel. Jalisco New Generation (CGJN).
Also on Monday of this week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) supported López Obrador’s statements about the non-existence of fentanyl manufacturing in Mexico, adding that said synthetic drug reaches Mexican territory mainly from Asia as a finished product.
“The national security authorities do not have a record of fentanyl production in Mexico, but rather they locate our country as a trafficking area for this opioid and its precursors, which come mainly from Asia,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement after a coordination meeting of consuls in the US.
According to reports presented by the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) itself last January, the total amount of fentanyl in Mexican territory during the current six-year term of President López Obrador already exceeded 6 tons in places such as clandestine laboratories, private homes, and warehouses. .
As recently as January 22, military sources from SEDENA assured Grupo REFORMA that at least a third of the fentanyl seizures have occurred in Culiacán, Sinaloa, where they assure the drug is manufactured by “Los Chapitos”, the sons of the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
