A report by the The Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute about the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. says that two main cartels are responsible for the drug's proliferation in some states.
According to the article's author, Aldrin Ballesteros, a group called the “Trilateral Fentanyl Committee” was formed by U.S. President Joe Biden, Canada's Prime Minister Trudeau, and Mexico's President López Obrador. The Committee was created in order to strategize how to combat the Fentanyl crisis in North America. According to the article, illegal Fentanyl is being manufactured in hidden facilities located in Mexico and then transported across the border into America.
Fentanyl has “50–100 times” the potency of morphine, and overdoses are made even more likely when it is mixed with other drugs, such as cocaine or methamphetamine, according to the Mexico Institute. Reportedly, it only takes “2 milligrams of fentanyl” to be classified as a lethal dose, a measurement that the article states is equivalent to about ten to fifteen “grains of table salt.”
Moreover, the article points out that while fentanyl seizures are increasing along the border, the spread of the issue is far from even. On the contrary, the article states that while Arizona and California have experienced dramatic increases in fentanyl confiscations, New Mexico and Texas have not, and reportedly saw a decrease between 2021 and 2022. The article posits that this uneven spread of fentanyl transportation is due to the prevalence of the two main drug cartels: the “Jalisco New Generation Cartel” and the “Sinaloa Cartel.” The DEA has designated these two cartels to be the “major suppliers” of fentanyl in the U.S. Additionally, the article states that this increase in fentanyl confiscations is particular to the drug and has not been observed in other illegal drugs.
According to the Wilson Center website, Aldrin Ballesteros, the writer of the article, is an intern staff assistant working at the Mexico Institute. He is in the process of earning an MA in International Relations and is interested in the development of U.S.-Mexico relations.
