In a significant crackdown on illicit drug trafficking, the Mexican government has confiscated approximately $40 million worth of methamphetamine, a move that comes amid mounting pressure from former President Donald Trump to curb the influx of illegal drugs into the United States.
The seizure of approximately 440 pounds of methamphetamine was carried out by Mexican authorities during a weekend operation aimed at dismantling illegal drug laboratories in the state of Sinaloa, a stronghold of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, as reported by CBS News. The operation also resulted in the capture of over 3,170 gallons of chemical precursors used in the production of methamphetamine.
This substantial seizure comes on the heels of Mexico's acquiescence to the Trump administration's sweeping tariff threats. Confronted with the possibility of a 25% tariff on all goods exported to the U.S., Mexico's largest trading partner, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed on February 3 to enhance border security to stem the tide of illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
In response to Trump's demands, Sheinbaum pledged to deploy 10,000 members of Mexico's national guard to the U.S. southern border, with a specific emphasis on intercepting fentanyl. In exchange, Trump agreed to suspend tariffs on Mexican imports for a month while assessing progress.
Sheinbaum's readiness to comply with Trump's demands coincides with a devastating fentanyl epidemic that has gripped the U.S. More than 21,000 pounds of the drug were seized at the southern border during the final year of the Biden administration, according to Customs and Border Protection data. The Drug Enforcement Administration warns that a single kilogram of fentanyl can kill up to half a million people.
Mexico has long been a major conduit for illegal migration into the U.S., and recently, it has seen a record number of migrant encounters with Border Patrol agents.
Since striking a deal to avert tariffs, Mexico has recorded several major drug seizures. Mexican law enforcement authorities have seized nearly five tons of meth, 453 kilos of cocaine, and 55 kilos of fentanyl since the national guard deployment began on February 5, according to CBS.
Security analyst David Saucedo told CBS in December, "It is clear that the Mexican government has been managing the timing of fentanyl seizures. But under the pressure by Donald Trump, it appears President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration is willing to increase the capture of drug traffickers and drug seizures that Washington is demanding."
The weekend drug bust dealt a significant blow to the Sinaloa Cartel, which "dominates the fentanyl market through its manipulation of the global supply chain and the proliferation of clandestine fentanyl labs in Mexico," according to a 2024 drug threat assessment from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Trump escalated the fight against drug cartels on his first day back in office by signing an executive order designating them as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs). Earlier in February, the Mexican Senate approved a measure allowing U.S. Army personnel to enter Mexico and train Mexican military units until the end of March. The battle against Mexican drug cartels is also expected to be bolstered by a covert American drone program, recently expanded by the Trump administration, aimed at locating fentanyl labs across Mexico.
House Republicans are currently working to codify the president's executive order into law, according to legislation first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The proposed bill, introduced by Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy, would officially label the Sinaloa Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, the Cartel Del Noreste, and the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion as FTOs.
Roy previously told the DCNF, "The cartels have spent the last four years exploiting our border to profit off of misery, fear, and death. Now that their open-borders cash flow is about to dry up, they have resorted to planting live explosives on the Texas border and shooting at Border Patrol agents in broad daylight." He added, "They are terrorists and we need to treat them like it."
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