This morning, Sub Secretary for Prevention and Health Promotion of Mexico, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, spoke at President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's morning press conference. His main topic was fentanyl. Aside from describing the dangers of fentanyl and its pharmacology, Lopez-Gatell, when discussing the production and trafficking of fentanyl, made statements that were misleading at best. He stated that fentanyl is produced from precursors that originate in other countries, and he mentioned Asia, but not China specifically. He also stated that fentanyl is also produced in the US from those precursor chemicals and that there was a "route" from the US to Mexico. Thus, he claimed, fentanyl was an "imported problem". He also showed numbers indicating the huge number of fentanyl overdose deaths in the US as compared to Mexico. In 2020, there were over 80,000 deaths in the US as compared to 19 in Mexico. Those numbers in themselves would seem to contradict his statement about fentanyl going from the US to Mexico.
The truth is that the vast majority of fentanyl in the US is smuggled from Mexico after being produced from precursor chemicals smuggled into Mexico from China.
I might also note that most of the reader comments to Excelsior are incredulous
For those who know Spanish, the video of the remarks by Lopez-Gatell is in the below article in Excelsior. We are working on making English subtitles for the pertinent part of the speech. The translation of the written article is by Fousesquawk.
There are fentanyl routes from the US to Mexico: Lopez-Gatell: "The problem is imported"
"Fentanyl is produced from precursors that are not made in Mexico, they are made in other places, including the US," stated the official.
Fernando Davila at 09:48
A strategy of prevention to avoid a crisis in this matter was announced.
The sub-secretary of Prevention and Health Promotion, Hugo Lopez-Gatell spoke this morning on the topic of fentanyl, a substance he claims is not produced in Mexico, but in the US, hence, he considers it an "imported problem".
The above was announced in the morning conference of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in which he also stated that the government of Mexico is implementing various strategies to avoid a crisis in public health due to the use of this substance.
Fentanyl is not produced in Mexico; fentanyl, which is produced from precursors that are not produced in Mexico, they are produced in other places, including the US, and there are fentanyl (trafficking) routes from the US to Mexico, so it is an imported problem, and the attitude of Mexico is that we don't want it to happen to us, so we have to have very intense anticipation in prevention," said Lopez-Gatell.
As to the strategies he mentioned, the official explained that a campaign of prevention is about to be launched which includes a website with information so that teachers (can) orient young people about the damages (caused by) fentanyl.
Hugo Lopez-Gatell took advantage of the opportunity to present a comparison with the US on the topic of the data that fentanyl has produced in the two countries, stressing that in the neighboring country, around 80,000 persons died during the year 2021 from this consumption, while in Mexico, the number of dead was 19.
"There could be underreporting in the Mexican numbers, but even if it were, let's say the underreporting we have is 10 times more or 100 times more, but in Mexico, it doesn't compare with the enormous problem in public health the US has in this fentanyl abuse, " explained the sub secretary.
Finally, Lopez-Gatell made it clear that the reality in Mexico is very different from that in the US on the topic of fentanyl addiction, assuring that the country is not yet confronting a consumption crisis, which is why they are taking measures to avoid an epidemic of overdoses.
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