MEXICO CITY (apro).- The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) are at the center of the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis that the United States has ever faced, the DEA asserted.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration released this Thursday the 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), which includes a map documenting the presence of both criminal organizations in all 50 states of the United States. American Union.
According to that organization’s comprehensive strategic assessment of the drug trafficking threats and trends that endanger the United States, the main priority is to reduce the supply of deadly drugs in the neighboring country and defeat the two cartels responsible for the vast majority of drug trafficking in the United States.
According to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, the drug poisoning crisis remains a public safety, public health and national security issue that requires a new approach.
“The shift from plant-based drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, to chemical-based synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, has resulted in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced,” he said. Milgram, and added:
“At the center of the synthetic drug crisis are the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels and their associates, whom the DEA is tracking around the world. Suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and money launderers play a role in the network of deliberate and calculated betrayal orchestrated by these cartels. “The DEA will continue to use all available resources to attack these networks and save American lives.”
The statement accompanying the report mentions that drug-related deaths claimed 107,941 American lives in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are responsible for approximately 70% of lives lost, while methamphetamine and other synthetic stimulants are responsible for approximately 30% of deaths.
DEA Releases 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment. #NDTA2024
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Fentanyl, he points out, is the biggest and most urgent drug threat in the country.
The DEA notes that social media platforms and encrypted apps extend the cartels’ reach to every community in the United States and nearly 50 countries around the world.
“Drug traffickers and their associates use technology to advertise and sell their products, collect payments, recruit and train couriers, and deliver drugs to customers without having to meet face-to-face. This new era of digital drug trafficking has pushed drug trafficking from the streets of the United States into our pockets and wallets,” the agency warned.
It also states that the cartels have created mutually profitable partnerships with precursor chemical companies based in China to obtain the ingredients necessary to manufacture synthetic drugs.
“They also work in partnership with Chinese money laundering organizations to launder drug proceeds and are increasingly using cryptocurrencies,” he maintains.
Made in Mexico
Almost all methamphetamines sold in the United States today are manufactured in Mexico and are purer and more potent than in years past, the DEA maintains.
“The shift toward methamphetamine manufactured in Mexico is evidenced by the dramatic decrease in seizures from national clandestine laboratories. In 2023, the DEA’s El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) documented 60 seizures of national clandestine methamphetamine laboratories, which represents a stark comparison with 2004, when 23,700 clandestine methamphetamine laboratories were seized in the United States,” assures the DEA.
In the report, the agency details that the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels control organized criminal networks around the world that play a role in the production and distribution of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other illicit drugs by the ton.
“They operate extensive global supply chains, from precursor chemicals to production facilities, and run a complex network of conspirators that includes international shippers, cross-border shippers, corrupt officials, tunnel builders, shell companies, money launderers and others.
“The extent of the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels’ control over every segment of the criminal drug trade has effectively eliminated any competition in US markets and has allowed cartel members to establish a presence in every state in the United States.”
At this point, the report attaches a map that, with different degrees of intensity, shows how strong the presence of the cartels is in each of the states of the American Union.
According to the graph, the states with the greatest presence of the CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel are California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Illinois, New York and Massachusetts. They are followed by New Mexico, Colorado, Georgia and North Carolina.
“Together, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels have caused the worst drug crisis in United States history. “They dictate the flow of nearly all illicit drugs into the United States, and their dominance over the synthetic drug trade in particular is evident in the relentless flow of illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine across the border into U.S. markets,” the report states.
“The ease and low cost of producing these drugs on a large scale in Mexico makes them highly profitable. The crystal methamphetamine sold by cartels is more potent and cheaper than at any time in the last decade.
“In addition, the cartels deliberately market illicit fentanyl in pill form to imitate trademarked prescription medications; As a result, many Americans are purchasing and using illegal drugs that they believe are legitimate prescription medications.
“Drug sales are made possible through open, encrypted messaging applications and social networks, used by both cartel members and street dealers to advertise, organize deliveries and receive payments quickly, all on a single device and with minimal exposure. Combined, these factors make detection difficult and fuel drug poisonings in the United States at the hands of the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels,” the document states.
Global expansion
According to the DEA, the Sinaloa Cartel operates in at least 47 countries around the world. In places like China, it obtains chemical precursors, traffics methamphetamine and strengthens contacts with groups from that country.
It also supplies methamphetamine to other Asian countries, such as Thailand, and to countries such as Australia and New Zealand, where the cost of methamphetamine is many times higher than in the United States.
In South America, he adds, the Sinaloa Cartel negotiates shipments of thousands of kilograms of cocaine to Mexico destined for the US market, or to Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where cocaine generates up to ten times more profits than its sale in the United States. .
Countries in Central and South America host permanent contingents of members of the Sinaloa Cartel who coordinate shipments of cocaine or the import of chemical precursors for their transfer to Mexico, hiding the true origin of the shipment.
Historically, he adds, Mexican cartels have used places on the African continent as transshipment points for cocaine bound for Europe.
Meanwhile, the CJNG is active in more than 40 countries in South America, Asia, Europe and Africa.
“They have become competitive in these profitable markets very quickly, given the more than 30-year advantage of their rival, the Sinaloa Cartel, as a drug trafficking organization. “The CJNG established distribution centers in Spain in early 2023, as part of its ongoing plan to expand into European drug markets,” the report maintains.
Sale with emojis
According to the DEA, social media extends the reach of the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels directly to the phones of drug users, with potentially fatal consequences.
“Drug trafficking groups use social networks to advertise and sell illicit drugs. Distributors and buyers often use emojis, numerical codes, or coded language to communicate availability and interest in medications.
“Social media allows traffickers to post photos and prices of medications available for purchase, share sales locations through location pins on maps, deliver medications to customers through ride-sharing apps, and communicate with their criminal partners and customers through open or encrypted messaging applications,” the report details.
The agency further highlights that social media takes much of the drug trafficking off the streets, shielding traffickers from the attention of authorities.
“Street gangs and gang members also recruit new members using social media platforms. These platforms and apps are also used to boast about trips, money, cars, weapons, and clothes; and intimidate rival criminal groups by brandishing weapons, boasting about crimes committed, or threatening acts of violence.”
The report can be consulted at the following link.
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2024-05-10 18:48:26