Biden administration announces plan with Mexico to fight fentanyl and firearms
In return for Mexico cracking down on fentanyl trafficking, the Justice Department is agreeing to do more to trace gun flow from the U.S. to Mexico.
Hundreds of pounds of fentanyl and meth seized near Ensenada, Mexico, in 2022. Salwan Georges / The Washington Post via Getty Images file
The Biden administration announced Friday that it is increasing cooperation with Mexico to combat the trafficking of fentanyl coming north into the U.S. while also cracking down on the trafficking of guns going south into Mexico.
NBC News was first to report that the two countries were negotiating such an agreement.
Garland announces fentanyl trafficking charges against Mexican cartel
APRIL 14, 202303:15
On Friday, the Justice Department also revealed charges in three federal courts against the Sinaloa cartel for fentanyl trafficking, including charges against four sons of imprisoned drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and the Treasury Department announced sanctions against two Chinese companies and five people in China and Guatemala for their alleged roles in the trade.
Mexico has at times been resistant to cooperation with the U.S. on the issue of combating fentanyl. Most of the illicit supply of the potent synthetic opioid that comes into the U.S. is manufactured in Mexico from raw materials sent from China.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in a speech in March that fentanyl is America’s problem and that none of the drug is produced in his country.
“Here, we do not produce fentanyl, and we do not have consumption of fentanyl,” López Obrador said, suggesting that the U.S. instead take care of its problem of “social decay.”
A delegation of Mexican officials met with the Biden administration on Thursday, the White House said, and agreed to implement a strategy for combating fentanyl first agreed to by Biden and López Obrador in January.
“This special working group will improve coordination among Mexico’s federal government entities to support the investigation and arrest of individuals involved in the production and trafficking of fentanyl. The United States and Mexico committed to continue joint work to dismantle the fentanyl supply chain and the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel on both sides of the border,” the White House said in a statement, referring to Mexican drug cartels heavily involved in fentanyl production and manufacturing.
White House calls fentanyl mixed with ‘tranq’ an ’emerging threat’
APRIL 12, 202303:24
One sticking point for Mexicans in negotiations with Americans over fentanyl, as NBC News previously reported, was the high number of U.S.-made guns that end up in Mexico, contributing to violence in the country. As part of the negotiations, the Justice Department is agreeing to do more to trace gun flow from the U.S. to Mexico.
On Friday, the Justice Department also revealed charges in three federal courts against the Sinaloa cartel for fentanyl trafficking, including charges against four sons of imprisoned drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and the Treasury Department announced sanctions against two Chinese companies and five people in China and Guatemala for their alleged roles in the trade.
Mexico has at times been resistant to cooperation with the U.S. on the issue of combating fentanyl. Most of the illicit supply of the potent synthetic opioid that comes into the U.S. is manufactured in Mexico from raw materials sent from China.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in a speech in March that fentanyl is America’s problem and that none of the drug is produced in his country.
“Here, we do not produce fentanyl, and we do not have consumption of fentanyl,” López Obrador said, suggesting that the U.S. instead take care of its problem of “social decay.”
A delegation of Mexican officials met with the Biden administration on Thursday, the White House said, and agreed to implement a strategy for combating fentanyl first agreed to by Biden and López Obrador in January.
“This special working group will improve coordination among Mexico’s federal government entities to support the investigation and arrest of individuals involved in the production and trafficking of fentanyl. The United States and Mexico committed to continue joint work to dismantle the fentanyl supply chain and the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel on both sides of the border,” the White House said in a statement, referring to Mexican drug cartels heavily involved in fentanyl production and manufacturing.
