The Mexican military captured more than a ton of fentanyl pills, one of the biggest seizures of the synthetic opioid in the country’s history, during two raids on Tuesday, officials said.
The raids came after a sharp drop in fentanyl seizures in Mexico this year and days after President-elect Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods. Trump said the taxes were in response to the lackluster prevention of illegal immigration and drugs flowing into the United States from its neighbors.
Mexican authorities said soldiers and marines spotted two men Tuesday carrying guns in Sinaloa, the state that is home to the eponymous drug cartel.
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During the chase, the men ran into two houses. Around 660 pounds of fentanyl was found in one of the homes and a truck in the other had 1,750 pounds of the drug. Several guns were also confiscated, and two men were arrested.
“In Sinaloa, we achieved the biggest seizure in history of fentanyl,” Public Safety Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch wrote on social media.
On Wednesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said, “This is an investigation that had been going on for some time, and yesterday it bore fruit.”
The pretext for the drug seizure – randomly noticing two men carrying weapons – has been used before by Mexican authorities to enter homes without a warrant.
Fentanyl seizures in Mexico had fallen significantly earlier this year, with as little as a few ounces being taken by authorities at points during the past summer.
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Mexican drug cartels produce fentanyl using precursors sourced from China, and then smuggle it into the U.S., where it causes around 70,000 overdose deaths annually, experts have said.
Trump has urged Mexico to get tougher on drug smuggling. He also threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on China over the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
News of the seizure came as the U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that it was increasing the reward for Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, from $10 million to $15 million. Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” is the co-founder and current leader of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), a violent drug cartel responsible for trafficking fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the U.S.
In response to sweeping tariff threats, Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau both spoke with Trump. Sheinbaum and Trump spoke over the phone during a “productive” conversation. Trudea said the tariff would kill his country’s economy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.