As a window into Asia, the port of Manzanillo on western Mexico’s Pacific coast is at the forefront of the fight against the import-export of drugs, including the latest drug fentanyl, which is fueling tensions between the United States and China.
Methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana: “Very significant amounts” of “illegal substances” have been seized since 2018, says the Mexican Navy, which has been responsible for monitoring the port since that date.
The seizure of “precursors” (chemical ingredients) of fentanyl, a synthetic drug that kills tens of thousands in the United States, only began in 2022, said Captain Luis Martinez Cabrera during an open press visit last Wednesday.
“Before 2022 they were unregulated. “In 2022, the law on starting materials was changed,” continued the officer responsible for risk analysis.
In May, Manzanillo’s deputy director of customs was assassinated less than two weeks after taking office. Emmanuel Martinez previously worked in the foreign trade department in Matamoros (Northwest) on the border with the United States, one of the most dangerous areas in Mexico.
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Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said he was a victim of government measures to combat the import of fentanyl precursors: “We fight drug trafficking, prevent the introduction of these chemicals, destroy laboratories and do our job.” Many officials lose their lives.”
In response to a question, the agents of the Secretariat (ministry) of the Navy (Semar) answer that they are monitoring traffic in the port of Manzanillo alone and without the technical assistance of their American colleagues.
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Methamphetamine tequila
The United States claims that fentanyl precursors travel from China to Mexico before entering their territory.
Mexico’s Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels “work with chemical companies based in the People’s Republic of China to get their raw materials,” DEA chief Anne Milgram said recently.
A month ago, the American judiciary announced that it had filed charges against Chinese companies accused of bringing these components into the United States for the first time. China banned the export of fentanyl to the US in 2019.
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According to official figures, around 110,000 people died from an overdose in the USA in 2022, “two-thirds” of them from synthetic opioids, a record.
Whether import or export, there are no limits to the human traffickers’ imagination. The Mexican Navy claims this year it discovered a shipment of more than 8,000 liters of bottled tequila containing methamphetamine: “The substance containing methamphetamine was diluted in the tequila.”
In 2021, the Navy seized a total of “42 tons” of methamphetamine chemical precursors, according to Captain Martinez Cabrera.
Since taking control of the port in 2018, the Navy has claimed it can “break down the molecular structure” of precursors to fentanyl and methamphetamines before they leave port. “In this way we ensure that they can no longer be used to produce synthetic drugs.”
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Cocaine was recently seized mixed with “organic fertilizers,” the captain continues, giving other examples of the drug dealers’ ingenuity.
“In 2021, we also seized 1,712 kilos of marijuana destined for Chile. “The marijuana came from Guadalajara,” the captain continues. The marijuana was hidden in four containers lined with bricks.
A total of 3.5 million containers pass through Manzanillo each year, the “major commercial port with Asia and Latin America”.
“We cannot inspect everyone. We prioritize according to risk,” said Captain Martinez Cabrera.