Mexico’s government said Thursday that it had confiscated 14 million doses of fentanyl, the latest significant haul in a campaign to stop the flow of the potent narcotic into the United States.
The drugs were discovered during operations on a clandestine drug laboratory and warehouse in Villa de Alvarez, a community in western Colima state plagued by violence.
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Police discovered “approximately 270 kilograms of a substance with characteristics similar to fentanyl, both in powder and pill form,” which the ministry said was equivalent to nearly 14 million doses.
It stated that six persons were apprehended but did not specify when the operation took place or the estimated street value of the drugs.
Officials informed AFP that it was not a record fentanyl haul, citing a 2024 operation that yielded a ton more of the poison.
The raids came as President Trump continues to criticize Mexico’s record in combating drug trafficking, despite the recent capture and killing of a renowned drug lord.
At a summit with right-wing Latin American leaders in Florida last weekend, where he inaugurated the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, Mr. Trump stated that gangs were “running Mexico” and threatened to “eradicate them.”
In December, he classified fentanyl, a potent painkiller that causes tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the United States each year, as a “weapon of mass destruction,” putting it alongside nuclear and chemical weapons.
Mexico’s left-wing President Claudia Sheinbaum claims that U.S. weapons are fueling cartel activity and has urged Washington to prevent the flow of guns south across the border.
Mexican authorities often locate and raid underground laboratories. About two weeks ago, naval personnel discovered a covert drug lab in the country’s Durango region, containing approximately 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine.
In January, authorities raided four laboratories in just a few days. In one, also in the Durango region, a land patrol discovered a massive stockpile of chemical precursors. Authorities in Sinaloa, the home of the renowned cartel named after the region, recovered over 1,650 pounds of meth and another stash of precursors. Authorities discovered additional chemical precursors and laboratory equipment in Michoacán.
Mexico has been rife with violence recently, following the killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel boss Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” during a military raid. The operation occurred in the western state of Jalisco, which serves as the cartel’s base. Oseguera Cervantes suffered injuries during a shootout. He died while being transported to Mexico City.
