Mexico records largest fentanyl seizure in history

Donald Trump has yet to be inaugurated as president of the United States, but his rhetoric is already causing ripples south of the border. In response to his threats, Mexico has escalated its fight against fentanyl, seizing the largest cache of the opioid in the country’s history. Just hours after Mexico’s Congress approved a law targeting the potent drug, Mexico’s Secretariat of the Navy led an operation in Sinaloa that confiscated approximately 1,500 kilograms of fentanyl pills in two separate actions, according to Public Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch. The security czar of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also announced the arrest of two individuals and the seizure of firearms as part of the operation.

“These actions will continue until the violence in Sinaloa decreases,” Harfuch vowed. The state, and particularly its capital, Culiacán, has been gripped by turmoil since September 9, when an internal war erupted between the two most powerful factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. This infighting broke out following the arrest in late July of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the cartel’s long-time leader. The conflict pits Los Chapitos — the sons of former cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is serving a life sentence in the United States — against Zambada’s loyalists. The violence has claimed over 500 lives, averaging six deaths per day, with an equal number of kidnappings, according to independent figures reported by Noroeste.

The multi-agency operation, spearheaded by the Navy and involving the Army, National Guard, agents from the Attorney General’s Office, and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, also resulted in the arrests of Elier Jassiel Esquerra Félix and Javier Alonso Vázquez Sánchez, known as “Tito.” Federal sources have linked the two men to the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. Once a dominant criminal organization, the Beltrán Leyva Cartel has been largely dismantled following a bloody conflict with the Sinaloa Cartel, which transformed Acapulco into one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

The suspects were detained in the municipality of Guasave, in northern Sinaloa. Security forces found on the suspects “three short firearms with loaded magazines, radio communication equipment and a bag with two kilos of fentanyl pills,” according to the same source. In a separate operation in the municipality of Ahome, approximately 54 miles from Guasave, authorities seized around 800 kilograms of fentanyl and about 300 kilograms of precursor chemicals used in its production. Agents also confiscated three vehicles, a loader, industrial mixers, and scales. The second operation reportedly stemmed from “citizen complaints.”

The government dates the beginning of this crackdown to July 1, prior to the capture of El Mayo, who was reportedly kidnapped in Culiacán by one of El Chapo’s sons and forcibly taken to the United States, where he now faces justice. Authorities claim the operations dismantled a “criminal group” linked to the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, specifically to Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, alias “Chapo Isidro,” and headed by Pedro Izunza Coronel, alias “Pichón” or “Pájaro,” with operations in Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Izunza Coronel is the son of Pedro Inzunza Noriega, known as “Sagitario,” whom the U.S. State Department identifies as the cartel’s leader. “This group comprises at least two cells dedicated to the production and trafficking of fentanyl,” stated a government source, noting that the two detainees were key operators along with a “cook chemist,” Adrián Cebrero Pereyra, nicknamed “Gallero.”

Shortly before the media announcement of the record-breaking fentanyl seizure, Mexico’s Congress approved a significant amendment banning the production, distribution, and acquisition of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals, as well as vapes and other intoxicants. These developments mark a decisive shift in Mexico’s handling of the opioid crisis. Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador had repeatedly insisted that Mexico did not produce fentanyl — a claim decisively disproven by this operation. The drug, which is 50 times more potent than heroin, has fueled an overdose epidemic in the United States, making it a top concern for Washington.

Donald Trump, even before his January 20 inauguration, has warned Mexico of a potential trade war if President Sheinbaum fails to curb the flow of fentanyl — and migrants — northward. In a tense exchange last week, Sheinbaum responded to Trump’s threat of a 25% tariff hike by vowing to impose retaliatory tariffs, sparking fears of a mutually damaging economic spiral. She also pointedly reminded Trump that if Mexico supplies drugs, it is because the United States demands them, and that her country’s violence crisis is significantly exacerbated by U.S. gun manufacturers. Despite the heated rhetoric, the two leaders later held a phone call that Sheinbaum described as “excellent” and Trump hailed as “wonderful.” Days later, a new law and a historic fentanyl seizure suggest the call was indeed successful.

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