Fentanyl Crisis in Mexico

February 8, 2024

In the Mexican border city of Tijuana, paramedics are increasingly responding to suspected fentanyl overdoses, with two or three calls a night being common and up to seven overdoses in one call. The synthetic opioid, which is 50 times stronger than heroin, is being cut into other recreational drugs like cocaine by Mexican cartels. As a result, users often don’t know they’re taking fentanyl. In the neighboring US city of El Paso, Texas, fentanyl was involved in 85% of accidental overdoses.

Official Responses

Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador has downplayed the fentanyl problem, claiming Mexico doesn’t produce or consume it. Following backlash, he promised new legislation to ban fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. However, those on the frontlines in Tijuana fear it’s too little, too late. Across the border, some US Republicans advocate sending troops into Mexico to fight the cartels. But given how easily fentanyl can be transported, stemming the flow into the US is extremely difficult.

Scale of the Crisis

In Tijuana, the director of state forensic services says 1 in 3 bodies tested positive for fentanyl in July 2022. The closer to the US border, the more fentanyl is found. The extent nationwide is unknown. Harm reduction centers in Tijuana have evidence too, with all randomly tested needles and vials positive for fentanyl. The center’s director says ignoring the problem won’t solve it and people will keep dying. In the US, around 70,000 overdose deaths involved fentanyl in 2021. In Texas alone, over 5 deaths occur daily.

Impact on Families

Fifteen-year-old Elijah Gonzales, from El Paso, accidentally overdosed on a fentanyl-laced fake Xanax pill, likely his first time taking drugs. Texts suggest he didn’t know it contained fentanyl. His mother Nellie Morales says a piece of her died with Elijah and she misses him every day. Such stories are tragically common across the US.

Role of Drug Cartels

Seventeen-year-old cartel member Kevin smuggles fentanyl into the US through border tunnels. He says cartels earn around $200,000 per kilo in the US, paying smugglers like him $1000 per run. Kevin predicts fentanyl will keep growing as the strongest drug he’s seen, with users demanding more and more. He feels no remorse over US deaths, calling it “part of a chain” where “everyone’s responsible for their own acts.”

Ongoing Crisis

In Tijuana, paramedics revived one overdose victim with multiple Narcan doses but his friend died amid empty glasses at the bar. As the man’s mother arrives and learns of his death at 27, her wails pierce the barroom. He is just another casualty of this powerful narcotic, as the epidemic continues on both sides of the US-Mexico border.

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