Fentanyl trafficking: the United States goes on the offensive against the Sinaloa cartel and China

Illustrative photo from the Utah's Office of the Attorney, USA. Presented as evidence at a trial, it shows fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl collected during an investigation. AP - Uncredited

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3 min

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday, April 14, sanctions against fentanyl trafficking networks that involve China and Mexico. The US justice system is thus attacking "the largest, most violent and prolific fentanyl trafficking operations, managed by the Sinaloa cartel and fueled by chemical compounds from Chinese pharmaceutical companies," said Attorney General Merrick Garland. Four sons of the Mexican cartel's founder, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, are facing indictments.

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According to the DEA, the main suppliers of fentanyl to the United States are the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. Their fentanyl is made in Mexico with chemicals mostly imported from China.

Four children of the founder of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman are targeted by indictments because considered by the American justice as the main responsible for the massive entries of this drug on American territory. Two Chinese companies are also in the crosshairs of the US authorities: they are accused of supplying the cartel with chemical compounds necessary for the manufacture of fentanyl and are the target of sanctions from the Treasury Department.

These prosecutions "send a clear message to Chapitos, the Sinaloa cartel and criminal drug trafficking networks around the world that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) will take all necessary measures to protect the national security of the United States and the health and safety of Americans." Justice Minister Merrick Garland said Friday in a news conference.

#ThisWeekatJustice: The Justice Department Announced Charges Against Sinaloa Cartel's Global Operation; Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco Met With Security Cabinet of the Government of Mexico; and more pic.twitter.com/iqFoVNOjpd

— Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) April 14, 2023 The U.S. State Department announced bounties of $10 million each for Ivan Guzman Salazar and Alfredo Guzman Salazar, and $5 million for Joaquin Guzman Lopez. The fourth brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was arrested in Mexico in January and is expected to be extradited to the United States. The Chapitos had previously been indicted in drug trafficking cases in the United States, but these new indictments describe a brutal cartel that has expanded its operations while focusing on fentanyl since its former leader, patriarch Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was sentenced to life in prison in the United States in July 2019.

The Treasury Department has sanctioned in parallel two entities in China and five individuals based in China and Guatemala, all involved in the supply of chemicals used in the composition of fentanyl. Beijing "must stop the uncontrolled flow of fentanyl chemicals from China," Garland said.

70,000 fentanyl victims in the United States in 2022

Fifty times more potent than heroin, fentanyl, a synthetic opiate that is expensive to produce, "kills more Americans between the ages of 18 and 45 than terrorism, car accidents, cancer and Covid," according to Anne Milgram, director of the DEA. In the United States, between 2020 and 2021, deaths related to opioid overdoses jumped 17%, from 69,000 to 81,000.

► Read also: In 2022, the United States seized enough fentanyl to kill all Americans

And out of 106,000 people who died of overdoses in 2022, 70,000 were linked to fentanyl, recalled last March the Republican Senator of South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, accusing the Mexican cartels of flooding the United States with this opiate.

(with AFP)

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  • Drug
  • United States
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