Fentanyl’s Deadly Grip on the Americas

One Pill Can Kill – Yes, It’s True! Across the deadly corridor stretching from Mexico to the United States, a shockingly powerful substance known as fentanyl has been relentlessly claiming lives. This treacherous synthetic opioid, with properties that mirror both cocaine and heroin, carries a potency approximately 50 times greater than heroin—making it one of the deadliest drugs on the market.

Tragically, numerous souls in the United States have recently succumbed to its deadly grip. Sadly, authorities have enacted a prohibition on freely selling naloxone, a vital medication that can reverse the dangerous effects of a fentanyl overdose and the misuse of other substances.

But the havoc the drug Fentanyl is wreaking doesn’t start in America, but further south in a town in Mexico called Manzanillo. This beautiful seaside town on Mexico’s Pacific coast became world famous in the 1970s when actor Bo Derrick appeared on its sandy beaches in the Hollywood film ’10’. But today, the shadow of gang violence hangs over this Mexican town.

In the coastal city of Manzanillo resides Mexico’s grandest port, renowned as the foremost harbinger in the nation and the third most vibrant port across Latin America. In the previous year, a staggering influx of 3.5 million containers, originating from diverse corners of the globe, sought refuge within the port’s bustling embrace.

All kinds of cargo pass through here, including chemicals that come primarily from China and India and are used to generate the most lucrative revenue streams for organized crime, and synthetic drugs such as fentanyl. Consequently, the port has transformed into a cauldron of sanguinary criminal activities and strife within Mexico.

Corruption

In 2022, this diminutive state in Mexico witnessed a staggering surge in homicide rates, fueled by the fierce territorial warfare waged between the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generacion gangs vying for dominion.

“We have recently seized propionyl chloride, which is used in the synthesis of fentanyl,” said the naval commander in charge of port security on condition of anonymity. It’s one of the many chemicals we’re seeing entering Manzanillo.

In 2021, the Mexican government put the country’s navy in charge of all ports to reduce the rate of corruption and organized crime at the ports. Now all workers at the port of Manzanillo and companies selling chemical products are monitored by a sophisticated system.

Some hazardous chemical ingredients are legally used to make agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. This means that there are strict controls on paperwork and shipments of chemicals are tested by Navy personnel to ensure they are delivered as required and cannot be diverted.

Read This To Know More About Fentanyl Drug:

https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl

In the realm of canine expertise, one can encounter sniffer dogs, often referred to as spy dogs, specifically honed in their skills to detect fentanyl pills or powder. A noteworthy declaration made by Mexico’s esteemed president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is the resolute affirmation that neither fentanyl production nor consumption takes place within the borders of Mexico.

Fentanyl “Ground Zero”

Last year, law enforcement authorities in the state of California embarked on a decisive operation, conducting raids on two properties situated in Tijuana. The outcome of these operations yielded an exceptional discovery: significant volumes of fentanyl pills and powder were seized, alongside a hydraulic press employed in the production of said pills.

Tijuana, an urban center contiguous to the United States border, has regrettably been afflicted by escalated levels of violence. It has become ‘ground zero’ for fentanyl, a major hub for drug trafficking in the US, California, and for local consumption.

“It’s killing everybody, all my friends,” said Smiley, a fentanyl addict living on the city’s streets. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, reside outdoors near the Tijuana Canal, a concrete pathway that stretches across the city center. Numerous individuals suffer from drug addiction, with many overdose cases involving the unwitting consumption of fentanyl due to their addiction.

Naloxone Saved

The remarkable strength of fentanyl becomes evident when even a minute quantity can lead to fatality. Drug presence decreases along the US-Mexico border, with substances such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine becoming less prevalent. Smiley’s estimation of witnessing over 20 cases of overdose is matched by successfully rescuing each one through the utilization of naloxone.

This nasal spray counteracts the detrimental effects of a fentanyl overdose. While naloxone is readily accessible throughout the United States, in Mexico, its acquisition still necessitates a doctor’s prescription. Smiley acquires naloxone supplies from a local charitable organization.

In 2022, the Mexican Red Cross received an average of 60 drug overdose emergency calls per month in Tijuana. Among the victims were all kinds of people. In Mexico, the precise number of fentanyl-related fatalities remains elusive due to the absence of statistical data collection, yet numerous instances of overdose have been documented.

Tijuana borders the US state of California

The situation is so intense that each block or street may be controlled by different criminal gangs. The fight to control the drug trade is violent and bloody. There were 156 murders in Tijuana in January alone. The profits from the sale of fentanyl are huge.

It is estimated that this synthetic opioid can be produced at 100th of the cost of producing heroin, meaning it costs less to produce. Cartels no longer need land to control rural communities in Mexico or grow poppies. All they have to do is get access to the chemicals and hire someone who knows how to make fentanyl.

Due to its exceptional potency and profitability in limited quantities, further compounded by its clandestine importation into the United States, the price of this remarkably potent substance escalates an astonishing tenfold.

From Tijuana to America

April Spring Kelly is serving a lengthy sentence after pleading guilty to smuggling nearly 500,000 fentanyl pills and other drugs from Tijuana in 2018. April Spring Kelly told from a US federal prison: “I wear a girdle that slims the body and it’s worn under the clothes, I put (fentanyl pills) in there.”

The second time they smuggled drugs from the car. Like many Americans, the young woman became addicted to opiate painkillers but later turned to heroin produced by Mexican cartels when prescription drugs became difficult to obtain. To finance his addiction, he rented an apartment in Tijuana and began smuggling fentanyl pills across the border into San Diego for organized crime.