The United States announced on Tuesday that it will be stepping up its strategy against fentanyl consumption and trafficking in Mexico after weeks of criticism and disagreement with the neighboring country over its fight against the synthetic drug.
The White House made the announcement a day before Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Mexican Security Minister Rosa Isela Rodriguez traveled to Washington to discuss both countries’ policies on the drug, which is produced by Mexican cartels from China.
“At a time when fentanyl has changed the way illicit substances are produced and trafficked, the administration is announcing an enhanced strategy to save lives by stopping the trafficking of fentanyl and its precursors into the United States,” the US leader said in a statement.
Joe Biden’s U.S. government recalled that the opiate is much easier to manufacture and transport than drugs like heroin and cocaine, in addition to being “significantly more lethal” as more than 100,000 people overdosed in the country last year. .
The United States has said it will lead a “global coalition” with several partners to continue the synthetic drug trade and control of the precursor chemicals used and manufactured.
In a statement today, the White House explained that fentanyl seizures at the border last year increased by 31% and that nearly 4,000 people were prosecuted for trafficking in the substance.
Executive Director Biden also said he has expanded access to naloxone, the drug for fentanyl overdose, and launched campaigns to discourage young people from using the drug.
In recent weeks, several voices in the US Democratic Party administration have expressed the view that Mexico should do more in the fight against fentanyl and organized crime, while the Republican opposition has gone even further and called for military intervention in Mexican territory.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador responded that the opioid overdose crisis was a public health issue that the United States must address, and even denied that fentanyl was produced in his country, claiming that the substance reaches North America north through Asia.
The Chinese government responded this week that fentanyl trafficking to Mexico was not a problem, in response to a letter from López Obrador to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the matter.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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