Fentanyl crisis in Mexico : trafficking routes and seizures hit new peaks in 2020

It can be up to 50 times more powerful than heroin (Photo: Archive)

Trafficking and seizures of fentanyl, the opioid that can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin, skyrocketed throughout Mexico throughout 2020, consolidating this drug as one of the most thriving criminal economies in the country.

The Ministry of Defense reported that in the previous year 1.301 kilos, a figure that translates into an increase of 486 percent compared to 2019, when no more than 222 kilos, according Associated Press. In addition, the authorities destroyed 175 clandestine laboratories, more than double the previous year.

In October, one of the largest operations of the year was deployed, that involved simultaneous seizures in multiple states. A dismantled laboratory in the Mexico state had the ability to process 5,000 kilos of precursor chemicals, the authorities pointed out. In the same operation, another laboratory was discovered in the state of Sonora, where fifty cans of precursor chemicals were stored.

(Photo: Infobae México / Jovani Pérez Silva) 

The illicit imports of said opiode from Mexico involve Chinese products and fentanyl precursors that come from India. The illegal traffic operation continues in the ports of San Lázaro, in Michoacán and Manzanillo, Colima, bordering the Pacific coast. On the other hand, states known for their drug trafficking activity, such as Zacatecas, Guerrero and Baja California, continued to star in the war against fentanyl.

The fentanyl movement points to the north of the country through the entities of Jalisco, Nayarit, Sinaloa and Sonora, regions dominated by the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco Nueva Generación.

However, other sites in the country that were outside of traditional drug trafficking routes also witnessed growing activity in the fentanyl sector in 2020. At the Mexico City International Airport (AICM), for example, much larger precursor chemical seizures were made than in previous years. In the past, only small amounts of fentanyl pills had been seized at that terminal.

(Photo: SEDENA) 

Various criminal groups clashed in an attempt to control this lucrative supply chain. In Zacatecas, several criminal organizations, especially the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), contributed to endemic violence during the year, and it is believed that much of it had to do with the fentanyl trade.

This indicates that the groups are developing new and more sophisticated trafficking routes, dedicating more territory to the assembly of laboratories and are subcontracting more specialists in the production or distribution of synthetics.

At the same time, many seizures made in 2020 indicate that while the major cartels control a significant portion of the fentanyl market, there is a growing number of smaller criminal groups also in the bid to open a place. Ciudad Juárez, for example, recorded several arrests of local vendors and small carriers to whom packages of fentanyl were found.

Fentanyl (C22H28N2O) is a synthetic opioid narcotic agonist used in medicine for its analgesic and anesthetic actions. It has a higher potency than morphine so it is used at a lower dose than this, with the final effect at equivalent doses being similar to that of morphine, which is why it is very attractive for users of hard drugs such as heroin. where the largest number of consumers is in the United States.