MEXICO CITY, July 18 (Reuters) - Precursor chemicals used by Mexican cartels to make the deadly opioid fentanyl do not come from China, its embassy in Mexico said on Tuesday, rejecting U.S. officials’ accusations.

The embassy said in a statement that China had measures in place to prevent the trafficking of substances used to make illegal drugs, and added the U.S. was “blindly shirking its responsibilities” by not taking domestic action.

“The root of the fentanyl crisis in the United States is within itself,” the embassy said.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has been seeking cooperation with both Mexico and China in stemming the flow of fentanyl, which has fueled a health crisis and a sharp rise in overdose deaths, as well as its precursor chemicals.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says the addictive painkiller and its precursors are transported from China to Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, often by international mail.

China had denied the illegal trafficking of fentanyl to Mexico in an April statement, though it did not address precursor chemicals.

The embassy on Tuesday said China was “actively coordinating and strengthening” supervision of drug-making substances with Mexico.

The U.S. embassy in Mexico and Mexico’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Chinese statement, the embassy said, comes after recent comments from U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar and other U.S. officials.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned 10 people with suspected ties to the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl network, as well as a company accused of importing chemicals from China.

“This represents a blow to (the cartel’s) financial operations and illicit activities, since the company receives chemical shipments from China,” Salazar said in a statement.

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/reuters/

  • azdood85@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Thank you China for validating that its not China behind it. China can sleep easy now that China knows China is not responsible for none China issues.

  • delial@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    The fentanyl crisis is just revenge for the opium trade.

    EDIT: My mind has been changed by the incredibly patient Carcosa. It’s certainly not top down, but I still think that the CCP remembers the opium trade when thinking about this issue, which contributes to how much they’re willing to disrupt their own pharmaceutical production to enforce their controls absolutely.

    • Quokka@quokk.au
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      1 year ago

      Ah yes, America, famous for its love of tea and getting the Chinese hooked on opium.

      • delial@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        Eh. It’s one empire these days. Just a big ol’ Western hegemony.

        EDIT: This video might provide some clarity on where I’m coming from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOF56wYTl1w

        The powers that went to war with China over the opium trade are the same; they’ve just moved into a bigger house across the pond.

          • delial@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 year ago

            lmao, just to be clear, I think tankies are little CCP dick-sucking bitches, but anyone who throws around a thought-stopper like “tankie” really doesn’t deserve respect. C’mon, you can engage with the merits and flaws of an argument, right?

            If you want to get into a whole ad hominem thing: I’m suspicious of communism (free markets are great for almost everything), and communist revolutions are a joke. I haven’t finished reading Das Kapital, but I’ve heard that the capitalism will inevitably create communism out of the consequences of its own actions, so any revolution is just trying to force the wheel of time forward. I also think it is plain to see that you can’t have a communist government without democracy (preferable direct democracy), because how can everyone be equal otherwise? China’s communism is just capitalism in a trench coat, which is why you see the same effects on its populace as elsewhere. Fundamentally, I’m an Anarcho-syndicalist or Anarcho-socialist. No hierarchies, free association, worker solidarity, and mutual aid.

              • delial@lemmy.sdf.org
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                1 year ago

                Who’s saying “nuh uh”? It could go both ways.

                I’m saying (in winey child voice), “nuh uh! I’m not a communist! I’m an anarcho-blahblahblah, and there are nuanced distinctions between blah blah blah! Nyah!”

                Marsupial is saying, “nuh uh! China doesn’t blame Western capitalism for the opium trade! They only blame the Brits!”

                I have no disagreement that typical “tankies” would call the Five Eyes an empire and Western hegemony, but calling the idea “tankie” is just using a thought-stopper to avoid talking about the idea that empires serve those with power and not the other way around.

                And I just fucking disdain fervent communists, so Marsupial struck a nerve. I’d rather be dismissed for what I actually think.

            • Quokka@quokk.au
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              1 year ago

              Oh come of it mate.

              Make stupid comments, don’t expect in-depth responses.

  • Quokka@quokk.au
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    The embassy said in a statement that China had measures in place to prevent the trafficking of substances used to make illegal drugs, and added the U.S. was “blindly shirking its responsibilities” by not taking domestic action.

    Well fuck genius, I’m sure if they’ve made it illegal it can never happen.

    Also nothing ever happened in China in 2019.

    • Carcosa@lemmygrad.ml
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      1 year ago

      Columbus police narcotics officers accused of distributing nearly 8 kilograms of fentanyl

      https://ghostarchive.org/archive/aACft?wr=true

      Columbus police narcotics officers accused of distributing nearly 8 kilograms of fentanyl

      https://ghostarchive.org/archive/TQUZ1?wr=true

      A California police union director is being charged with importing opioids, including fentanyl, disguised as chocolate and wedding favors

      https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/30/us/california-police-union-executive-drug-scheme-opioids/index.html

          • Quokka@quokk.au
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            1 year ago

            At least 61 shipments containing drugs worth thousands of dollars coming from countries including Hong Kong, Hungary, India and Singapore were shipped to Segovia’s home between October 2015 and January this year, according to the complaint.

            Where’s Hong Kong?


            Secondly, the claim was that China prevents this from happening - not that their is zero domestic production of Fentanyl in the US. You’ve just tried to whataboutism something without even understanding what you’re talking about, that’s how kneejerk your reaction to seeing China being fallible is.

            So yes, you’ve further proven the point that these chemicals are coming out of China with your sources, thank you.

            • Carcosa@lemmygrad.ml
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              1 year ago

              China ceased Fentanyl and precusor exporting in 2019: per the DEA lol

              "As Beijing and the Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region (SAR) place restrictions on more precursor chemicals, Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) are diversifying their sources of supply. This is evidenced by fentanyl shipments from India allegedly destined for Mexico. On May 4, 2018, the Hong Kong SAR updated their drug law to control the fentanyl precursors 4-anilino-N-phenethyl-4- piperidine (ANPP) and N-phenethyl-4-piperidone (NPP) as well as the synthetic opioid U-47700. This matches China’s scheduling of ANPP and NPP on July 1, 2017. The move by the Hong Kong SAR is considerable, since synthetic opioids produced and shipped from China may transit the Hong Kong SAR en route to the United States. Effective May 1, 2019, China officially controlled all forms of fentanyl as a class of drugs. This fulfilled the commitment that President Xi made during the G-20 Summit. The implementation of the new measure includes investigations of known fentanyl manufacturing areas, stricter control of internet sites advertising fentanyl, stricter enforcement of shipping regulations, and the creation of special teams to investigate leads on fentanyl trafficking. These new restrictions have the potential to severely limit fentanyl production and trafficking from China. "

              The 2023 claim is that “The root of the fentanyl crisis in the United States is within itself,” the embassy said. which is 100% true not only from the police gangs selling this but from the opiad epidemic perpetuated by drug corporations.

              While the article i linked showing how the U.S police profit off the destruction of the communities they are sworn to protect the quote you referenced included 2015-2019, so the current article’s claim is true the problem is within the United States and to shirk blaim to China is unfounded.

              Add every fentanyl overdose to the black book of communism.

              • delial@lemmy.sdf.org
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                1 year ago

                Interesting. Your quote says China controlled fentanyl, but states the precursors were restricted in the Hong Kong SAR, and they may go through the SAR.

                Does China itself restrict the precursors? Or could they be making their way out through other routes?

                China certainly helped get the ball rolling for the 4 years between 2015-2019, and then divested itself to some extent, which is driving the demand for other sources. I doubt India is going to stop exporting precursors anytime soon. Their pharmaceutical industry is insanely unethical.

                Mexico is mostly owned by the narcos, so they’ll “cooperate,” but the fentanyl will continue to flow as long as they can get precursors. It seems the US has quite a pickle on its hands.

                Hopefully, the crisis will die out over time? (oof, that’s a lot of bodies) Unless the US pharmaceutical companies have a new, “non-addictive” pain killer they’re promoting these days.

                • Carcosa@lemmygrad.ml
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                  1 year ago

                  This is evidenced by fentanyl shipments from India allegedly destined for Mexico. On May 4, 2018, the Hong Kong SAR updated their drug law to control the fentanyl precursors 4-anilino-N-phenethyl-4- piperidine (ANPP) and N-phenethyl-4-piperidone (NPP) as well as the synthetic opioid U-47700. This matches China’s scheduling of ANPP and NPP on July 1, 2017.

                  China started regulating the two primary precusors ANPP and NPP in 2017 considering them their equivalent of a schedule 1 drug (Administrative Measures on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances without Medical Use) Here is the history of their drug control:

                  https://www.unodc.org/LSS/Country/DetailsLegalSystem?code=DLIL&country=CN

              • Quokka@quokk.au
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                1 year ago

                Lol, another user already showed how it’s still coming out of China.

                Imagine that, you’re still wrong despite spamming a wall of text.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    So wait, they’re saying the chemicals to make fentanyl are smuggled from the United States to Mexico and then the fentanyl is smuggled from Mexico back to the United States? Because I’m seeing an unnecessary step or two in this process.