US-Mexico Strike Agreement to Crack Down on Fentanyl and Guns
*If you like the article, hit the heart button at the top of the article. Leave a comment at the bottom and let us know what your thoughts are.
NBC News has reported on a tentative agreement between the United States and Mexico to combat the smuggling of fentanyl and guns across the US-Mexico border. The agreement involves Mexico cracking down on fentanyl labs and smuggling, with US law enforcement providing assistance. In return, the US will tighten controls on the flow of guns into Mexico. The agreement is the result of months of negotiations between the Biden administration and the Mexican government.
The Agreement
Under the agreement, Mexican military and police will focus on tracking raw materials for fentanyl being shipped to Mexico, shutting down labs, and going after key players in the illicit fentanyl trade. US law enforcement will provide assistance to Mexico in these efforts. The US, in turn, will tighten controls on the flow of guns into Mexico. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives will more tightly monitor the flow of guns from the US to Mexico. Another part of the agreement will be to share data on where fentanyl turns up to better track distribution routes.
This agreement comes at a time when the relationship between the US and Mexico in the war against drugs has reached a low point. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has stated that fentanyl is America’s problem and that none of the drug is produced in his country. However, Customs and Border Protection found and confiscated over 50,000 pounds of fentanyl crossing the southern border in fiscal year 2022. Mexican cartels often use fentanyl to cheaply and deceptively boost the impact of other, less lethal drugs, such as cocaine or Adderall. Many users do not know they are using fentanyl until the drug has ended their lives.
Analysis
The impact of fentanyl and gun smuggling across the US-Mexico border has been devastating, leading to a rise in violent crime and drug-related gang activity in both countries. This agreement is good for Mexico and bad for the United States. Mexico has shown an unwillingness to go after the cartels. They have disbanded critical units that shared intelligence with the US and they have been unwilling to fight to keep cartel leaders they have arrested. Further, AMLO has had prior ties to cartels. What fentanyl busts they make will more than likely be ones that the cartels let them have.
On the flip side, the current administration will use this as a way to tie fentanyl to gun control and further erode our second amendment rights. Expect that the BATF will do even more inspections and revoke more licenses of FFL’s.