The pressure exerted by the United States (US) on the Mexican government to stop the flow of fentanyl appears to have its first effects within the criminal organizations involved in the production and trafficking of this synthetic opioid.
One of them is the Sinaloa Cartel, considered one of the main criminal enterprises behind the manufacture of fentanyl that is distributed in the United States. However, concern about the trafficking of this drug has spread to another North American country: Canada.
For this reason, on February 11, after holding talks with US President Donald Trump, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, appointed Kevin Brosseau as the first “fentanyl czar”, with the aim of stopping the distribution and marketing of the opioid.
Since November of last year, both Trump and Trudeau had committed to working together to combat fentanyl trafficking. In this context, journalists Félix Seguin and Marc Sandreschi traveled to Sinaloa to do a report on the situation in Mexico, considered the country where drugs are produced.
In the report, published on February 14 in Le Journal de Montréal, a member of the Sinaloa Cartel was interviewed, who anonymously assured that fentanyl exported from Mexico does reach the streets of Canada, mainly in cities like Quebec and Montreal.
This criminal operator was identified as “Pablo” to hide his true identity. It was indicated that he is part of a “branch” of the Sinaloa Cartel, but it was not specified whether he is a member of the Los Chapitos faction (led by the sons of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán) or Los Mayos (linked to Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada).
Pablo, according to journalists, is involved in drug trafficking, although he also works as a hired killer. From a hotel in Culiacán (a city considered the main bastion of the criminal organization), Pablo confessed that within the Sinaloa Cartel there is “fear” about the fentanyl situation.
“Fentanyl is very deadly. Even I am a little afraid to talk to you about fentanyl,” said Pablo, who covered his face with a balaclava and sunglasses to avoid retaliation.
The concern is not only related to the lethality of the opioid (which can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin), but also to the pressure exerted by the United States since Donald Trump became president.
“The cartel is afraid because the repression against drugs comes from the United States,” said Pablo, who assured that within the organization there are collaborators who prefer not to get involved with the trafficking of this drug.
However, there is an interest in continuing to manufacture fentanyl pills due to the millions of dollars in profits generated by it. The chemical precursors used in its manufacture, Pablo explained, come from China and pass through Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, before reaching Mexico.
Once in Mexican territory, its processing begins in clandestine laboratories. “The machinery can produce between 50,000 and 100,000 pills every two hours,” Pablo explained to reporters. These blue pills, in addition to being sent to the United States, are also distributed in Canada.
According to Commander Francis Renaud of the Montreal Police Organized Crime Division, a large part of the drugs seized in the region come from Mexico. “The Mexican cartels make sure that they buy from them and not from someone else. They need to ensure a presence here for it to work the way they want,” he told the aforementioned media outlet.
The interview with Pablo was conducted at the end of November, but was not published until February of this year. Since then, President Donald Trump has redoubled his warnings to Mexico and Canada to strengthen their efforts in the fight against fentanyl, to the point of threatening both countries with tariff measures.
In addition, the process to designate Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) is advancing in the US, which implies a tightening of sanctions for their respective dismantling. Among them is, precisely, the Sinaloa Cartel.
Source: infobae
