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1 1 (April 16, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govckys0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF.ri E~$~ & Updated April 16, 2020 Trends in Mexican Opioid Trafficking and Implications for U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation As a primary source of and transit country for illicit drugs destined for the United States, Mexico plays a key role in U.S. drug control policy. Included among the illicit drugs produced in Mexico are heroin, fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and other opioids-substances that have contributed to the ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States. As policymakers search for solutions to the current opioid crisis, some may look abroad to the countries where illicit U.S.-bound opioids are produced and trafficked, including Mexico. G wOka C k,,-kA e. xt Heroin is a highly addictive and internationally controlled narcotic processed from morphine and extracted from certain types of opium poppy plants. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), global opium poppy cultivation levels were higher in 2017 and 2018 than in any year since 2000. Less than 10% of global opium poppy cultivation took place in Mexico. Although heroin from Southwest and Southeast Asia accounts for the vast majority of global production, Latin America has featured as the main source of U.S.-consumed heroin in recent decades. Until recently, Colombia and, to a much lesser extent, Guatemala supplied the bulk of the U.S. market. Since 2013, the majority of U.S.-seized heroin has originated in Mexico as Mexican transnational criminal organizations have taken over the U.S. market. U..Ekn-ae~,of Mexkanu , Flop kC'uft.Atmmc n rd Herom), ProdhKtion According to the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), 41,800 hectares of opium poppy were cultivated in Mexico in 2018-down 5% compared to 2017, but up 280% since 2013 (see Figure 1). Lower prices for farm gate opium in 2018 (due in part to a possible oversupply amid stable U.S. demand) appear to account for the decline in cultivation that year. Opium poppy cultivation historically has been concentrated in the hilly, western regions of the country in two primary zones: the southwestern states of Guerrero (and to a much lesser extent Oaxaca) and the tri-border or golden triangle region of Durango, Sinaloa, and Chihuahua. Along with opium poppy cultivation, heroin production has also surged in Mexico since 2013. According to ONDCP, Mexico produced an estimated 106 metric tons of potential pure heroin in 2018, down 4.5% compared to 2017, but up 308% since 2013. In 2018, Mexican-sourced heroin accounted for 93% of the total weight of U.S.-seized heroin analyzed in the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA's) Heroin Signature Program. According to data collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, heroin seizures along the Southwest border have also increased, doubling between 2010 and 2015, briefly declining in 2016, and then increasing again in 2017 and 2018 to the highest recorded total since 2012. Figure I. Poppy Cultivation in Mexico - - -: :. . . . . .. . :-- - - - - - - :.. . . .. . .:-- - - - - - -:.. . . . .. .:-- - - - - -: : I Source: Graphic created by CRS using data from ONDCP (2019), State Department (2017), Esri (2014), and DeLorme (2014). The Mexican military is involved in several aspects of domestic drug control. Since the 1930s, the army has conducted drug eradication activities. The military is also involved in detecting and interdicting illicit precursor chemicals, currency, and drugs; dismantling clandestine drug labs; and arresting drug kingpins. In 2017, the navy assumed control over Mexico's ports (where most imports of precursor chemicals needed for the manufacture of illicit drugs arrive) from the country's customs agency. During 2019, the first year of Andr6s Manuel L6pez Obrador's presidential term, eradication and interdiction efforts lagged. Mexico's armed forces eradicated an estimated 11,791 hectares, down from 21,556 hectares in .O 'T gognpq goo g , q 'M a X 11LULANJILiN,