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The operation comes after President-elect Donald J. Trump threatened tariffs on Mexico if the country did not crack down on fentanyl.
Dec. 4, 2024, 4:58 p.m. ET
Mexican security forces captured more than a ton of fentanyl this week, marking the country’s largest synthetic opioid seizure, which officials on Wednesday said was equivalent to 20 million doses of the drug.
It was the latest show of force in a crackdown on violence and illicit drugs by Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, ahead of the inauguration next month of President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Trump has vowed to place steep tariffs on Mexico until the government stops drugs and migrants from crossing the border.
Mexican authorities said officers confiscated 800 kilograms of fentanyl in a truck at a house in Sinaloa state, home of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel and a hub of fentanyl production, on Tuesday. Officials also seized chemical precursors used to make the synthetic drug, and another 300 kilos in a separate house, in addition to industrial mixers and scales.
In a separate operation that day, security officials and prosecutors said they arrested two men carrying two kilos of fentanyl pills. The authorities said the men led a cell “dedicated to the production and trafficking” of fentanyl.
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