Mexico City, May 16 (EFE).- Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday that he is seeking an agreement with China to exchange information on the illegal trafficking of fentanyl that arrives from Asia to the country and then to the United States.
“We want to establish communication. What matters to us, more than anything, is that an agreement is reached to exchange information, that fentanyl does not arrive, that chemicals do not arrive from the ports of China to Mexico,” the president said in his daily press conference.
His statements come after claiming on May 5 that he had evidence of illegal fentanyl trafficking from China, something that Beijing denied after a letter that the Mexican president sent to his counterpart Xi Jinping in April to request help to combat this drug.
The president sent a second letter to the president of China after the Mexican Navy found, in early May, a shipment of more than 20 tons from the Chinese port of Qingdao that contained fentanyl and methamphetamine.
“The matter is already being discussed, it is already being discussed with them, Admiral (José Rafael) Ojeda (Secretary of the Navy) is seeing it precisely, who is here, he is responsible for addressing this issue with the Chinese Embassy in Mexico,” López Obrador now remarked.
The president’s request to Beijing comes amid growing criticism of Mexico from US politicians, particularly Republican lawmakers, who are calling for a declaration of war on the Mexican cartels and designation of them as terrorists.
The Mexican ruler has denied that the country produces fentanyl, although the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) maintains that this synthetic drug is produced in Mexico with substances from China.
Although there is still no official response, López Obrador trusted the support of the Asian giant.
“They can help us, and I am sure that they will act responsibly and they will reciprocate the friendship and cooperation that we have,” he asserted.
