Mexico’s president blamed the U.S. for the fentanyl crisis as pressure mounts on his administration to stop cartels.
“They are doing this with a propagandist purpose,” Lopez Obrador (AMLO) said referring to calls by U.S. politicians for stronger actions against cartels. “They got this thing with fentanyl, that ‘it’s Mexico’s responsibility…’ Here, we don’t make fentanyl, nor consume it.”
The confrontational tone from AMLO comes as U.S. politicians increase pressure on Mexico and call for cartels to be designated as terrorist organizations. Some even float the idea of U.S. military actions.
The Mexican president said that while he feels bad for Americans suffering fentanyl overdoses, he asked why the U.S. does not do enough to fight distribution and target cartels domestically.
“Why don’t they take care of their young ones,” Lopez Obrador said. “Why don’t they take care of their social decomposition?”
The claims made by Lopez Obrador about Mexico not producing fentanyl go against information released by his own government. Military forces have raided clandestine labs where synthetic drugs including fentanyl are manufactured.
The Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco New Generation are the main suppliers and producers of fentanyl. The drug has become extremely popular because it is cheap to produce and lets traffickers cut their loads several times while maintaining potency. However, due to its extreme potency and limited dilution in lab settings, overdoses are common.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.