Mexico has announced its largest-ever seizure of fentanyl as pressure mounts from the US to curb drug trafficking.
In a statement on Wednesday, Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s secretary of security and citizen protection, revealed that the record-breaking haul followed “two separate actions” in Sinaloa, a state along Mexico’s Pacific coast.
“In Sinaloa, the largest historical seizure of fentanyl was achieved,” García Harfuch said, adding that “more than a tonne of fentanyl pills” were intercepted. Authorities also arrested two individuals and confiscated firearms.
“These actions will continue until the violence in the state of Sinaloa decreases,” he stated.
On the same day, the Mexican government announced the detention of over 5,200 migrants and asylum seekers who were heading towards the US border.
Both actions are likely to be seen as a response to pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened a 25 percent tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada unless both countries intensify efforts to combat drug trafficking and immigration.
Security analyst David Saucedo, speaking to the Associated Press (AP), said he believed these efforts were influenced by “pressure from Washington”.
“It is clear that the Mexican government has been managing the timing of fentanyl seizures,” Saucedo explained. “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.”
President Claudia Sheinbaum, inaugurated in October, framed the fentanyl seizure as part of a longer-standing investigation.
“This is an investigation that had been going on for some time, and yesterday, it bore fruit,” she said on Wednesday.
Sheinbaum and Trump recently discussed migration and border security. Trump claimed on social media that Sheinbaum had “agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border”.
Sheinbaum clarified her position, stating, “not to close borders but to build bridges”. However, she pledged her government would work to prevent migrant caravans from reaching the US border.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 100 times more potent than morphine, is the leading cause of overdose deaths in the US.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), deaths related to synthetic opioids increased by over 55 percent from 2020 to 2021.
Incoming US Vice President JD Vance, who has often spoken about his family’s struggles with addiction, made fentanyl a central issue during the Republican campaign for the White House.
Despite Wednesday’s record seizure, Mexico’s federal fentanyl seizures had been declining. Statistics revealed that federal law enforcement seized just 130 kilogrammes (286 pounds) in the first half of 2024, a sharp 94 percent drop compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, violence in Sinaloa has intensified as rival factions vie for control after the capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a prominent Sinaloa Cartel leader, who is now in US custody.
Saucedo argued that while the fentanyl seizure was significant, it did not address the root of the problem. “It’s a very very big seizure,” he said. “But if they don’t dismantle the labs, this kind of production will continue.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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