AMLO confirms that fentanyl is coming from China
Down in Mexico, President Andrés López-Obrador has confirmed what most of us knew. Here is the story:
The Mexican president says his country has proof that illegal shipments of the powerful opioid drug fentanyl are arriving from China.
A container with hidden packages of the drug was intercepted in the Pacific port of Lázaro Cárdenas, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said.
"We already have proof," he said, adding that he would ask the Chinese government to help stop the shipments.
US authorities say fentanyl is now the main driver of US drug overdose deaths.
In March President López Obrador said he had written to Chinese President Xi Jinping requesting Chinese help in the anti-narcotics fight, after US politicians had urged him to do so.
He told reporters on Friday that he would repeat that plea to Beijing: "In a very respectful manner, we are going to send this information to reiterate the request that they help us."
Mexican Navy Secretary Rafael Ojeda said the container intercepted in Lázaro Cárdenas had packages weighing 34-35kg (75 pounds) with traces of fentanyl and methamphetamine hidden in fuel resin. The cargo had left the Chinese city of Qingdao and passed through Busan in South Korea before reaching Mexico.
Well, now we know, don't we? Is anyone shocked?
The question is, what is Mexico going to do about it? That answer is a bit more complicated because China denies its role in this game.
My guess is that not much will happen. President Biden is not the kind of leader who will publicly call out China or Mexico on this. The problem is always the same: criminal elements are moving billions of dollars from China to Mexico to the U.S. Add to all of this that the Mexican government has lost control of areas in Mexico where the cartels move the fentanyl. "Un problema muy serio," as they say south of the border.
So what's next? We need a president who will threaten China with consequences. Unfortunately, such a president is not in the White House today, so there is no pressure on China or Mexico to cooperate.
In the meantime, Title 42 ends this week, and more anarchy is around the corner.
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Image: Eneas de Troya.