Mexico’s military seized more than a ton of fentanyl pills during two raids Tuesday, one of the largest seizures of the synthetic opioid in the country’s history, officials said.
The raids came after a sharp decline in fentanyl seizures in Mexico this year and in subsequent days President-elect Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods. Trump said the taxes were a response to lackluster prevention of illegal immigration and drugs flowing into the United States from neighboring countries.
Mexican authorities said soldiers and marines spotted two men with weapons on Tuesday in Sinaloa, the state home to the drug cartel of the same name.
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Mexican army and police patrol Culiacan, Sinaloa. (AP Photo/Martin Urista)
During the chase, the men ran into two houses. About 660 pounds of fentanyl was found in one of the homes and a truck in the other contained 1,750 pounds of the drug. Several weapons were also seized and two men were arrested.
“In Sinaloa, we have achieved the largest seizure of fentanyl in history,” Public Safety Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch wrote on social media.
On Wednesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said: “This is an investigation that has been going on for some time, and yesterday it came to fruition.”
The pretext for the drug bust is the random noticing of two men carry weapons – has previously been used by Mexican authorities to enter homes without warrants.
Fentanyl seizures in Mexico had dropped significantly earlier this year, with authorities seizing just a few ounces at times last summer.
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President Claudia Sheinbaum and newly elected President Trump (Getty Images)
Mexican drug cartels produce fentanyl using precursors from China and then smuggle it into the U.S., where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually, experts say.
Trump has urged Mexico to take tougher action against drug trafficking. He also threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on China on the power of fentanyl to the US
News of the seizure came as the U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that it was increasing the reward for Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes from $10 million to $15 million. Oseguera Cervantes, known as ‘El Mencho’, is the co-founder and current leader of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), a violent drug cartel responsible for the trafficking of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the US
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Friday to discuss topics including the economy, illegal immigration and a proposed 25% tariff. (Justin Trudeau X)
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In response to sweeping tariff threats, Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau both spoke to Trump. Sheinbaum and Trump spoke by phone during a “productive” conversation. Trudea said the tariff would kill his country’s economy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
