Report: China, Mexico to blame for fentanyl crisis

McALLEN, Texas ( Border Report ) — A new report puts the onus on China for the production of deadly fentanyl but also says Mexico is responsible for pushing the drug into the United States.

The report, “Holding China and Mexico Accountable for America’s Fentanyl Crisis” by the Heritage Foundation , says although China is an ocean away, it is the main supplier of the precursor chemicals used in fentanyl production for the drugs that make it to the U.S.

“Despite its geographic distance, China — not Mexico — has emerged as the primary force behind America’s fentanyl crisis,” report co-author Andrew Harding said.

Overdose deaths in the United States topped 108,000 in 2023. And nearly three out of four, or 74,700, of those deaths were caused by synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, the report says.

Mexican cartels are blamed for driving the drugs across the border, but the report says China is the real chemical supplier.

“Mexican drug cartels play the most visible and well-publicized role in driving the fentanyl crisis. Across the Pacific Ocean, however, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) drives the destabilizing flow of fentanyl directly to the United States,” the report released Monday found.

The report by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation says the Biden administration “has turned a blind eye to the complicity of the (Chinese Communist Party) and the corrupt officials of the Mexican government.”

The precursor chemicals to make fentanyl are shipped to Mexico and Canada from China. “Once in North America, drug cartels use precursor chemicals to manufacture finished fentanyl for distribution,” the report finds.

“China’s precursor chemicals and money laundering operations have emboldened the Mexican Cartels and poisoned Americans from within,” Harding said.

The report also is critical of the Communist Chinese Party’s (CCP) tax-rebate programs for the export of precursor chemicals. And says Chinese pharmaceutical companies and other vendors use marketplaces on the dark web to list and sell illicit narcotics, including the many fentanyl precursor and pre-precursor chemicals.

“For years, the CCP has undermined U.S. interests by providing Mexican cartels the financial and production resources to expand their fentanyl market. Both the Mexican and Chinese governments have repeatedly demonstrated a lack of commitment to better addressing this epidemic,” the report says.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.

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