Mexico Joins Forces With China to Curb Illegal Chemicals Trade

Mexican diplomats and law enforcement officials visited China last week for talks over how to curb the smuggling of chemicals used by cartels to make illegal drugs.

(Bloomberg) — Mexican diplomats and law enforcement officials visited China last week for talks over how to curb the smuggling of chemicals used by cartels to make illegal drugs. 

Delegates from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General’s office and the navy spent four days in the Asian country discussing how to cut the flow of precursor chemicals, Mexico’s diplomatic body said in a statement Saturday. 

The US government accuses China of being the main source of the ingredients used by Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is causing tens of thousands of overdose deaths every year. 

The visit “confirms Mexico’s willingness to continue cooperating to fight the scourge of drugs that affects Mexican society and the international community,” the government said in its statement.

Read more: Mexico and China Seek to Stem Fentanyl’s Deadly Cross-Pacific Flow

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