{"id":6694,"date":"2023-05-01T18:26:20","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T17:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=6694"},"modified":"2023-05-01T18:28:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T17:28:33","slug":"sons-of-el-chapo-allegedly-smuggled-cheap-fentanyl-into-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/americas\/united-states\/sons-of-el-chapo-allegedly-smuggled-cheap-fentanyl-into-the-us\/2023\/05\/01\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Sons of ‘El Chapo’ allegedly smuggled cheap fentanyl into the US"},"content":{"rendered":"

MEXICO<\/span> CITY<\/span> (AP)<\/span> \u2014<\/span> With<\/span> Sinaloa<\/span> cartel<\/span> boss<\/span> Joaqu\u00edn<\/span> \u201cEl<\/span> Chapo\u201d<\/span> Guzm\u00e1n<\/span> serving<\/span> a<\/span> life<\/span> sentence,<\/span> his<\/span> sons<\/span> steered<\/span> the<\/span> family<\/span> business<\/span> into<\/span> fentanyl,<\/span> establishing<\/span> a<\/span> network<\/span> of<\/span> labs<\/span> churning<\/span> out<\/span> massive<\/span> quantities<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> cheap,<\/span> deadly<\/span> drug<\/span> that<\/span> they<\/span> smuggled<\/span> into<\/span> the<\/span> U.S.,<\/span> prosecutors<\/span> revealed<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> recent<\/span> indictment.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Although<\/span> Guzm\u00e1n’s<\/span> trial<\/span> revolved<\/span> around<\/span> cocaine<\/span> shipments,<\/span> the<\/span> case<\/span> against<\/span> his<\/span> sons<\/span> exposes<\/span> the<\/span> inner<\/span> workings<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> cartel<\/span> undergoing<\/span> a<\/span> generational<\/span> shift<\/span> as<\/span> it<\/span> worked<\/span> \u201cto<\/span> manufacture<\/span> the<\/span> most<\/span> potent<\/span> fentanyl<\/span> and<\/span> to<\/span> sell<\/span> it<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> lowest<\/span> price,\u201d<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> indictment<\/span> unsealed<\/span> April<\/span> 14<\/span> in<\/span> Manhattan.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Synthetic<\/span> opioids<\/span> \u2014<\/span> mostly<\/span> fentanyl<\/span> \u2014<\/span> now<\/span> kill<\/span> more<\/span> Americans<\/span> every<\/span> year<\/span> than<\/span> died<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Vietnam,<\/span> Iraq<\/span> and<\/span> Afghanistan<\/span> wars<\/span> combined,<\/span> feeding<\/span> an<\/span> argument<\/span> among<\/span> some<\/span> politicians<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> cartels<\/span> should<\/span> be<\/span> branded<\/span> terrorist<\/span> organizations<\/span> and<\/span> prompting<\/span> once-unthinkable<\/span> calls<\/span> for<\/span> U.S.<\/span> military<\/span> intervention<\/span> across<\/span> the<\/span> border.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThe<\/span> problem<\/span> with<\/span> fentanyl,<\/span> as<\/span> some<\/span> people<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> State<\/span> Department<\/span> told<\/span> me,<\/span> has<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> repositioned.<\/span> It’s<\/span> not<\/span> a<\/span> drug<\/span> problem;<\/span> it’s<\/span> a<\/span> poisoning<\/span> problem,\u201d<\/span> said<\/span> Alejandro<\/span> Hope,<\/span> a<\/span> security<\/span> analyst<\/span> in<\/span> Mexico,<\/span> who<\/span> died<\/span> Friday.<\/span> “Few<\/span> people<\/span> go<\/span> on<\/span> quests<\/span> on<\/span> purpose.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> foundation<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> fentanyl<\/span> epidemic<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> was<\/span> laid<\/span> over<\/span> 20<\/span> years<\/span> ago<\/span> by<\/span> aggressive<\/span> overprescription<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> synthetic<\/span> opioid<\/span> oxycodone.<\/span> After<\/span> U.S.<\/span> authorities<\/span> cracked<\/span> down<\/span> on<\/span> his<\/span> prescriptions,<\/span> the<\/span> user<\/span> switched<\/span> to<\/span> heroin,<\/span> which<\/span> the<\/span> Sinaloa<\/span> cartel<\/span> gladly<\/span> supplied.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But<\/span> creating<\/span> your<\/span> own<\/span> fentanyl,<\/span> much<\/span> more<\/span> potent<\/span> and<\/span> versatile<\/span> than<\/span> heroin,<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> small,<\/span> easily<\/span> concealed<\/span> lab<\/span> was<\/span> a<\/span> game<\/span> changer.<\/span> In<\/span> less<\/span> than<\/span> a<\/span> decade,<\/span> the<\/span> cartel<\/span> grew<\/span> from<\/span> its<\/span> first<\/span> makeshift<\/span> fentanyl<\/span> lab<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> network<\/span> of<\/span> labs<\/span> centered<\/span> in<\/span> northern<\/span> Sinaloa.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“These<\/span> aren’t<\/span> superlabs<\/span> because<\/span> they<\/span> give<\/span> people<\/span> the<\/span> illusion<\/span> that<\/span> they’re<\/span> like<\/span> very<\/span> sophisticated<\/span> pharmaceutical<\/span> laboratories,”<\/span> said<\/span> Mike<\/span> Vigil,<\/span> the<\/span> former<\/span> head<\/span> of<\/span> international<\/span> affairs<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States.<\/span> \u201cThese<\/span> are<\/span> just<\/span> metal<\/span> basins<\/span> and<\/span> use<\/span> wooden<\/span> paddles<\/span> (even<\/span> shovels)<\/span> to<\/span> mix<\/span> the<\/span> chemicals.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>One<\/span> cartel<\/span> “cook”<\/span> can<\/span> squeeze<\/span> fentanyl<\/span> into<\/span> 100,000<\/span> counterfeit<\/span> pills<\/span> every<\/span> day<\/span> and<\/span> trick<\/span> Americans<\/span> into<\/span> thinking<\/span> they’re<\/span> taking<\/span> Xanax,<\/span> Percocet,<\/span> or<\/span> Oxycodone.<\/span> According<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> indictment,<\/span> the<\/span> pills<\/span> were<\/span> smuggled<\/span> across<\/span> the<\/span> border<\/span> and<\/span> fed<\/span> to<\/span> what<\/span> his<\/span> son,<\/span> Ivan<\/span> Archibald<\/span> Guzman<\/span> Salazar,<\/span> described<\/span> as<\/span> “a<\/span> city<\/span> of<\/span> junkies.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Prosecutors<\/span> said<\/span> fentanyl<\/span> is<\/span> so<\/span> cheap<\/span> to<\/span> produce<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> cartels<\/span> make<\/span> huge<\/span> profits<\/span> even<\/span> though<\/span> it<\/span> sells<\/span> for<\/span> 50<\/span> cents<\/span> a<\/span> tablet.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> potency<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> drug<\/span> makes<\/span> it<\/span> particularly<\/span> dangerous.<\/span> Fentanyl’s<\/span> narcotic<\/span> doses<\/span> are<\/span> so<\/span> close<\/span> to<\/span> lethal<\/span> that<\/span> a<\/span> pill<\/span> designed<\/span> to<\/span> get<\/span> a<\/span> regular<\/span> user<\/span> high<\/span> could<\/span> easily<\/span> kill<\/span> an<\/span> inexperienced<\/span> person<\/span> taking<\/span> something<\/span> they<\/span> didn’t<\/span> know<\/span> fentanyl<\/span> had.<\/span> I<\/span> can.<\/span> Between<\/span> August<\/span> 2021<\/span> and<\/span> August<\/span> last<\/span> year,<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 107,000<\/span> Americans<\/span> died<\/span> from<\/span> drug<\/span> overdoses,<\/span> mostly<\/span> from<\/span> synthetic<\/span> opioids.<\/span> The<\/span> DEA<\/span> seized<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 57<\/span> million<\/span> counterfeit<\/span> fentanyl-laced<\/span> prescription<\/span> drugs<\/span> last<\/span> year,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> New<\/span> York<\/span> indictment.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>To<\/span> protect<\/span> and<\/span> grow<\/span> the<\/span> business,<\/span> prosecutors<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> sons,<\/span> known<\/span> as<\/span> “Chapitos,”<\/span> have<\/span> resorted<\/span> to<\/span> grotesque<\/span> violence.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MEXICO CITY (AP) \u2014 With Sinaloa cartel boss Joaqu\u00edn \u201cEl Chapo\u201d Guzm\u00e1n serving a life sentence, his sons steered the family business into fentanyl, establishing a network of labs churning out massive quantities of the cheap, deadly drug that they smuggled into the U.S., prosecutors revealed in a recent indictment. Although Guzm\u00e1n’s trial revolved around […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[2409,2412],"tags":[4493,4509,4494,4510,4495,4496,4497,4498,4499,4500,4501,687,4502,3858,4503,3867,4504,3872,4505,4490,4506,4491,4507,4492,4508],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/CHAPO.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6694"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6694"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6697,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6694\/revisions\/6697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}