Fentanyl killed around 75,000 Americans last year and roughly the same number the year before. Most of it comes across the border from Mexico where the cartels have found it a much easier product to ship than other drugs, in part because it’s so much more potent and requires less space, time and material to produce.
Sunday the NY Times published a story in which three reporters were allowed into a fentanyl lab and even allowed to take some photos. On the one hand, the story suggests that the incoming Trump administration is already having some impact on the cartels.
After President-elect Donald J. Trump threatened tariffs if the country didn’t stop drugs from crossing the border, Mexico’s security forces announced their largest seizure of fentanyl ever this month: 20 million doses of the drug.
Criminal groups have had to adjust to the new conditions on…
