Mexico buying blow

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Mexico buying blow

Monica Villamizar Monica Villamizar. Tonight, we begin a three-part look at the production — and devastating effects — of the drug fentanyl. Illicit use of the synthetic opioid painkiller has ravaged the United States, with Mexican drug cartels now seeing huge profits. Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Tonight, we begin a three-part look at the production, and devastating of effects of the drug fentanyl. Illicit use of the synthetic opioid painkiller has ravaged the United States, and Mexican drug cartels now see huge profits, and an addicted market for the drug. A handful of dirt is thrown into the wind to gauge the way its blowing. It's important work, because one gust in the wrong direction and any mistake in this delicate process could lead to death. Your life is at stake. An experienced cook knows to look at the direction of the wind, and to turn around when the wind turns, and he knows that this is vital. There are people who get sick. This process starts very toxic, but the toxicity fades. An expert knows, towards the end, you can get close to the pot. If the toxicity was high at that point, you could not even get near to empty the pot. That is when the black goat is made. Heroin is usually called black goat, but these drugmakers aren't using poppy plants as their raw materials. Instead, they start with this synthetic powder, which is cooked over an open flame. The drug is called fentanyl. And we're at the heart of the industry inside the Western Mexican state of Sinaloa. We have been given rare access to one of the Sinaloa cartel's fentanyl labs. It's quite ingenious, because they have set it up in the middle of those cows. And because there are so many police operations right now in the area, the cows provide a perfect cover. Now, we have been advised to wear a respirator and goggles because fentanyl is very, very toxic. And many of these cooks have died just by inhaling it. These cooks work without protective equipment. And they believe in a myth here that drinking beer will disable the high that comes along with being close to the heated substance. This man, who we are calling Pedro, is one of the first links in a chain that sends fentanyl from Mexico to the United States. The further the product travels, the more valuable it gets. Fentanyl has proven to be a diabolical game-changer for the cartels. It's inexpensive. It can be mixed into drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine and other opiates. Right now, as fentanyl is stronger than anything, a little fentanyl can make 11 pounds of black goat, and it is stronger than the poppy flower. That's why people gave up on heroin, it's way cheaper with fentanyl. So many people are dying of fentanyl overdose. So, do you feel somehow responsible, since what they are consuming is made here? Well, it is something that the one who consumes decides on his own. Drugs are bad and addictive. Consumers are aware that the effect doesn't last long, but they cannot go without it. Although they know that it is wrong, it is addictive. So many died for a few pesos. We all like money. There are people who aspire to have better things, but the big money is not made by us. It's made by others. Many workers have no other job. It's a hustle. Many in the region are self-taught chemists working in a low-tech multimillion-dollar operation. These men used to be farmers until their home state became the stronghold of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, once run by this man, Joaquin Guzman, nicknamed El Chapo. Writer Ioan Grillo explains that fentanyl and synthetics are easier to produce than crop-based drugs like heroin or cocaine. You just buy some precursors, you mix it up in a lab, and you have got your drug. So the profit margins are massive on synthetic drugs. Also, you can do this anywhere. So this has really changed the geography of organized crime as well. We can find labs all over the country. You can see labs for synthetic drugs on the outskirts of Mexico City. You can see labs right on the border with the United States. With El Chapo serving life, his three sons, known as the Chapitos, or Little Chapos, were left to run the criminal empire. Back in , the Mexican military arrested one of them, but was forced to let him go, after the Sinaloa cartel barricaded the city of Culiacan and overpowered the soldiers. And it not only means that criminals can get away with murder, and you have some states where you have a 98 percent impunity for murder, which means the cartels develop this power as the alternative version of offering security. We reached out to Mexico's Department of Justice, but we were not granted an interview. Some of Mexico's biggest drug bosses were from Sinaloa state. The capital city, Culiacan, remains a safe space for criminal families to live in peace. This is not an upscale neighborhood. It's actually a cartel cemetery in Culiacan and a reminder of the deadly cost of the illicit drug business. Many who lie inside these tombs were once top players. Their final resting places are equipped with party rooms, security systems, surveillance cameras, and air conditioning. The drug business has generated so much violence that there is a cult of death here. Its icon is Santa Muerte, or Saint Death. I have never been afraid of death, I know that I am going to die one day, and she is going to take care of me. I know she will take me away, but I don't know where to. Sinaloa is also home to narcos that manufacture fentanyl pills inside homemade labs that are run by chemists, like this man. He says he is always alert, as too much exposure to fentanyl, even in pill form, can be deadly. The same pills can fetch about 10 or 20 times that price when they hit the streets of America. The pills are marked M30, M20 and M M30 carries 30 milligrams of fentanyl. The other has 10 milligrams. Some inferior pills aren't clearly marked, but these are the good ones, the M A few years back, he made OxyContin pills, another opioid painkiller. But, today, he only makes fentanyl, which is much stronger and deadlier. Since fentanyl is added into almost every drug in the illicit market, it helps explain the cost of over 90, overdose deaths last year in the United States. The cartel chemist says the spike in overdose deaths is the fault of local dealers in America who change the original dosage. Look, it has been known that there are many problems in the U. People are dying. What happens is that people take our product and they put more stuff into it. Then they modify it. The pills are wrapped in carbon paper and tape. The tape protects them from sniffing dogs. The paper hides them from X-ray machines. Before they are exported, they are tested. A pill that has the right amount of active ingredient has a faint smell of popcorn. The chemist gave us a peek at how they hide drugs in the back of cars that are sent north to America. I ask them if this car will cross the border or if the drugs will be transferred to another vehicle. According to the U. Customs and Border Protection, the vast majority of fentanyl goes into the U. Nobody knows how much fentanyl in both gel and pill form is successfully crossing the Southern border. But as long as there is demand, chemists and illicit cooks like these men will keep up the supply. And, tomorrow, we look at the price of addiction in Arizona in lives and livelihoods, as fentanyl streams across the border. Support Provided By: Learn more. Sunday, Oct The Latest. World Agents for Change. Health Long-Term Care. For Teachers Newshour Classroom. NewsHour Shop. About Feedback Funders Support Jobs. Close Menu. Yes Not now. By — Monica Villamizar Monica Villamizar. Leave your feedback. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Transcript Audio. Judy Woodruff: Tonight, we begin a three-part look at the production, and devastating of effects of the drug fentanyl. Monica Villamizar: A handful of dirt is thrown into the wind to gauge the way its blowing. Pedro, Fentanyl Cook through translator : Your life is at stake. Monica Villamizar: Heroin is usually called black goat, but these drugmakers aren't using poppy plants as their raw materials. Pedro through translator : Right now, as fentanyl is stronger than anything, a little fentanyl can make 11 pounds of black goat, and it is stronger than the poppy flower. Monica Villamizar: So many people are dying of fentanyl overdose. Pedro through translator : Well, it is something that the one who consumes decides on his own. Monica Villamizar: Have you had any of your friends die making it? Pedro through translator : So many died for a few pesos. Monica Villamizar: Many in the region are self-taught chemists working in a low-tech multimillion-dollar operation. He's now serving a life sentence in an American prison. Monica Villamizar: With El Chapo serving life, his three sons, known as the Chapitos, or Little Chapos, were left to run the criminal empire. Ioan Grillo: Mexico has a dysfunctional justice system. Monica Villamizar: We reached out to Mexico's Department of Justice, but we were not granted an interview. Saturnino Losoya takes care of this shrine in Sinaloa state. Saturnino Losoya, Sinaloa Shrine Guardian through translator : Some people say that they are afraid of her. That is why some don't get near here. Monica Villamizar: Sinaloa is also home to narcos that manufacture fentanyl pills inside homemade labs that are run by chemists, like this man. Man through translator : M30 carries 30 milligrams of fentanyl. Monica Villamizar: A few years back, he made OxyContin pills, another opioid painkiller. Man through translator : Look, it has been known that there are many problems in the U. Our formula does not kill. But if you change the product, then there can be a big problem. Monica Villamizar: The pills are wrapped in carbon paper and tape. Man through translator : Sometimes. It depends. It depends on movement across the route. Monica Villamizar: The chemist tells us we have to leave. The presence of our camera risks his operation. Judy Woodruff: Just stunning to have that access. Listen to this Segment. More Ways to Watch. Enter your email address Subscribe.

Hidden panels, counterfeit bottles, fentanyl: A year of buying drugs in Mexican pharmacies

Mexico buying blow

At Stratfor, we follow Mexico's criminal cartels closely. In fact, we are currently finishing our cartel forecast, which will be released later this month. As we analyze the Mexican cartels, we recognize that to understand their actions and the interactions between them, we need to acknowledge that at their core they are businesses and not politically motivated militant organizations. This means that although violence between and within the cartels grabs much of the spotlight, a careful analysis of the cartels must look beyond the violence to the business factors that drive their interests — and their bankrolls. There are several distinct business factors that have a profound impact on cartel behavior. One example is the growing and harvesting cycle of marijuana in the Sierra Madre Occidental. Another is the industrialization of methamphetamine production in Mexico and the increasing profit pool it has provided to the Mexican cartels in recent years. But when we are examining the transnational behavior of the Mexican cartels, the most important factor influencing that behavior is without a doubt the economics of the cocaine trade. Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the coca plant, and three countries — Colombia, Peru and Bolivia — account for all the coca harvested in the world. Turning coca into cocaine hydrochloride is a relatively simple three-step process. Once the leaves of the coca plant are harvested, they are rendered into what is known as coca paste. From there, the coca paste is processed into cocaine base, which eventually becomes cocaine hydrochloride. The process involves several precursor chemicals: kerosene, sulfuric acid, sodium carbonate, hydrochloric acid, potassium permanganate and acetone. Most of these chemicals are readily available and easily replaced or substituted, making them difficult for authorities to regulate. According to figures from the U. For the fresh leaf used in processing in Colombia, it takes somewhere between and kilograms of coca leaf to produce 1 kilogram of cocaine base, depending on the variety of coca plant used some varieties have a higher cocaine alkaloid content. One kilogram of cocaine base can then be converted into roughly one kilogram of cocaine hydrochloride, which is commonly referred to as cocaine. Cocaine Value Chain map. As cocaine progresses from the production site to the end users, it increases in value. But the price increases considerably once it leaves the production areas and is transported closer to consumption markets. Along the supply chain there is also quite a bit of 'cutting,' which is when substances are added to the cocaine to dilute its purity and stretch profit. According to the Colombian National Police, the purity of cocaine leaving the country is about 85 percent. By the time it reaches the United Kingdom, purity is 60 percent, and it drops further to about 30 percent at the retail level, according to the U. World Drug Report There has been a thriving two-way flow of contraband goods across the U. Mexican organized crime groups have been involved in the smuggling of marijuana to the U. These Mexican organized crime syndicates, such as the Guadalajara cartel , also began to traffic cocaine into the United States in the late s, but for many years the Mexican organizations worked as junior partners for the powerful Colombian cartels in Medellin and Cali. Mexico was a secondary route for cocaine compared to the primary route through the Caribbean. As a result, the Colombians pocketed the lion's share of the profit made on cocaine trafficked through Mexico and the Mexicans received a fee on each kilogram they transported. However, they did not assume any of the risk of losing shipments between South America and Mexico. In the late s and the s — the early phase of Mexican involvement in the cocaine trade — Central American middlemen such as Juan Matta-Ballesteros were also heavily involved in the flow of cocaine through Mexico. They moved cocaine from South America to Mexico, becoming wealthy and powerful as a result of the profits they made. It is far more difficult to spot and seize contraband moving across the busy U. This increase in the importance of Mexico allowed the Mexican cartels to gain leverage in negotiations with their Central American and Colombian partners and to secure a larger share of the profit. Indeed, by the mids the increasing importance of Mexican organizations to the flow of cocaine to the United States allowed the Mexican cartels to become the senior partners in the business relationship. In a quest for an even larger portion of the cocaine profit chain, the Mexican cartels have increased their activities in Central and South America over the last two decades. The Mexicans have cut out many of the middlemen in Central America who used to transport cocaine from South America to Mexico and sell it to the Mexican cartels. Their efforts to consolidate their control over Central American smuggling routes continue today. This move meant that the Mexican cartels assumed responsibility for the losses incurred by transporting cocaine from South America to Mexico, but it also permitted them to reap an increasing portion of the profit pool. But the expansion of the Mexican cartels did not stop in Central America. According to South American authorities, the Mexican cartels are now becoming more involved in the processing of cocaine from coca leaf in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. There have also been reports of seizures of coca paste being smuggled to cocaine processing laboratories in Honduras and Guatemala. The use of these Central American processing laboratories, which are run by Mexican cartels, appears to be a reaction to the increased efforts of the Colombian National Police to crack down on cocaine laboratories and the availability of cocaine processing chemicals. But the efforts of the Mexican cartels to increase their share of the cocaine profit are not confined to the production side; they have also expanded their involvement in the smuggling of South American cocaine to Europe and Australia and have established a footprint in African, Asian and European countries. Furthermore, they have stepped up their activities in places like the Dominican Republic and Haiti in an attempt to increase their share of the cocaine being smuggled through the Caribbean to the U. As seen by recent operations launched by U. While marijuana sales have always been an important financial source for the Mexican cartels, the large profits from the cocaine trade are what have permitted the cartels to become as powerful as they are today. The billions of dollars of profit to be had from the cocaine trade have not only motivated much of the Mexican cartels' global expansion but have also financed it. Cocaine profits allow the Mexican cartels to buy boats and planes, hire smugglers and assassins 'sicarios' and bribe government officials. Cocaine is a product that has a very limited and specific growing area. Consequently, that distinct coca growing area and the transportation corridors stretching between the growing area and the end markets are critically important. With a business model of selling cocaine at over 10 times the cost of acquisition — and even greater over the cost of production — it is not surprising that the competition among the various Mexican cartels for the smuggling corridors through Mexico to the United States has become quite aggressive. Profile Notifications Sign Out. Jan 3, GMT. The Cocaine Profit Chain Cocaine is derived from the leaves of the coca plant, and three countries — Colombia, Peru and Bolivia — account for all the coca harvested in the world.

Mexico buying blow