US Charges El Chapo's Sons, Chinese Businessmen with Fentanyl Trafficking

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Facts

  • The US Justice Dept. (DOJ) announced Friday that it had charged dozens of defendants throughout Mexico, China, and Guatemala in connection to the Sinaloa Cartel's fentanyl trafficking operation allegedly fueled by Chinese chemical and pharmaceutical companies.1
  • Among the defendants are the three sons of former cartel leader Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán: Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Sálazar, and Ovidio Guzmán López, who was arrested in Mexico in January.2
  • US Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland detailed the alleged acts of violence committed by the Guzmán brothers, including feeding rival cartel members to tigers, injecting a woman with fentanyl, resulting in her death, and other forms of torture.3
  • Four owners of Chinese companies were also charged with allegedly providing precursor chemicals to the cartel, and the US Treasury placed sanctions on the chemical companies Wuhan Shuokang Biological Technology Co Ltd and Suzhou Xiaoli Pharmatech Co Ltd.1
  • The DOJ opened three cases totaling more than 24 defendants across the globe. Alongside the brothers and Chinese companies, others include those suspected of running drug labs in Mexico and providing security, weapons, and illicit financing for the operation.1
  • This comes as a record number of over 107K Americans died from drug poisoning or overdose in 2021, 66% of which were linked to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Amid the probe, investigators say they've seized 2.5M fentanyl-laced pills and 105 kilos of fentanyl powder from China, believed to contain nearly 23M fatal doses of the substance.3

Sources: 1Reuters, 2The telegraph and 3Abc news.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The new york sun. As China and Mexico team up to deflect blame for the US fentanyl crisis, thousands of Americans are dying every day from the poppy seeds grown south of the border and the chemicals procured in China. Despite political blame games, the lethal drug is undeniably being developed in these two countries, and those governments must work to eradicate drug trafficking from within their borders.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Council on foreign relations. Mexican cartels, in tandem with Chinese chemical companies, certainly deserve blame for the fentanyl pouring into the US right now. However, addiction to synthetic opioids began and continues to grow due to patients being over-prescribed opioid pills as pain medication. US doctors and pharmaceutical corporations started this mess, and that shouldn't be forgotten.