Mexico seeks China’s cooperation on fentanyl trafficking

Mexico City, May 16 (EFE).- President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday that his government is hoping to persuade China to cooperate against the trafficking of fentanyl from the Asian nation to Mexico and from there to the United States, where it is blamed for 100,000 deaths.

“We want to establish communication. What matters to us, more than anything, is that an accord is reached to exchange information, so fentanyl doesn’t come, so chemicals don’t come from China’s ports to Mexico,” he said during his daily news conference.

On May 5, Lopez Obrador, commonly known as AMLO, said that he had proof that fentanyl is being smuggled into his country from China, contrary to Beijing’s denials following a letter from the Mexican president to Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping requesting help in the matter.

AMLO sent a second missive to Xi after Mexican authorities discovered fentanyl and methamphetamines hidden in a shipment of epoxy resin that traveled from Qingdao, China, to Lazaro Cardenas, the main cargo port on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

Mexico’s navy secretary, Adm. Jose Rafael Ojeda, is in talks about the issue with the Chinese Embassy in Mexico City, AMLO said Tuesday.

AMLO’s first message to Xi followed a meeting with visiting US lawmakers who cited a report from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) alleging that cartels are producing fentanyl in Mexico using chemicals obtained from China, a contention rejected by Mexican officials.

While acceding to the lawmakers’ request that he raise the matter with China, AMLO reacted with indignation when several Republican legislators called for designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations and deploying the US military south of the border.

The Mexican president expressed confidence Tuesday that China will agree to help.

“They can assist us, and I’m sure that they will act in a responsible way and in accord with the friendship and cooperation we have,” AMLO said. EFE

ppc/dr