Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the Mexican President, sent a factually disputed letter about fentanyl in March to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Jose Diaz Briseno, a Mexican journalist, translated it this week.
Lopez Obrador (also known as AMLO) made many claims in the letter that were disputed by Mexican officials. He claimed that fentanyl was not manufactured in Mexico. This claim is also disputed by international observers and American authorities.
AMLO wrote to Xi on March 22 to express his concern about a matter that was fundamentally humanist. “I’m sure we can count on your cooperation, as it has always been.”
AMLO claims that fentanyl cannot be produced in Mexico. According to Briseno’s thread, AMLO also says that fentanyl was used to kill 107,573 Americans 2022. This is about 36,000 more than what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported.
AMLO claims that Mexican authorities destroyed 1,383 clandestine fentanyl laboratories in 2022, despite 492 being destroyed by the Mexican Army during this time. AMLO’s claim about Mexico seizing seven tons of Fentanyl in 2022 has been refuted by the top North American diplomat from Mexico, Briseno reported.
Biden’s administration expressed its desire to have more cooperation from Beijing and Mexico City in containing the menace of fentanyl which is the number one killer among young Americans. Experts say that China has not taken steps to curb fentanyl precursor chemicals. These chemicals are often exported to Mexico, where they are made into the deadly drug.
AMLO and his top officials in the United States have stirred controversy recently by claiming that Fentanyl doesn’t come from Mexico and that Americans are taking too much of the drug due to social ills.
