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As part of a new campaign against lethal fentanyl, the US Justice Department targeted the four sons of infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and their Chinese chemical suppliers on Friday.
The Justice Department identified the “Chapitos” and the Sinaloa Cartel they inherited from their now-incarcerated father as the main source of the synthetic opioid that is being held accountable for hundreds of overdose fatalities every day across the nation in five connected charges filed in three federal courts.
Additionally, they singled out two Chinese firms for penalties when it was discovered that they had supplied the Sinaloa cartel with chemical components used in the production of fentanyl.
One of the charges listed the names of four Chinese people who were connected to such sales.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that “today the Justice Department is announcing significant enforcement actions against the largest, most violent, and most widespread fentanyl trafficking operation in the world.”
He declared, “The United States government is fighting the fentanyl epidemic with every tool at its disposal.”
– The four Chapitos
There were 28 individuals listed in the lawsuits that were filed in New York, Chicago, and Washington, including the four El Chapo sons, Ivan Guzman Salazar, Jesus Guzman Salazar, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez.
The four people, especially Ovidio, the youngest, according to the Justice Department, “pioneered” the fentanyl flood into the United States that began in 2014 and brought in millions of dollars for the northern Mexico-based organisation.
The Chapitos have previously been prosecuted in narcotics cases involving the US, and Ovidio’s extradition from Mexico has already been requested by the US following his detention there in January.
The new cases, however, detail a nasty cartel that has been viciously expanding its operations and concentrating on fentanyl since El Chapo was sentenced to life in jail in the United States in July 2019.
They also demonstrate how two Chinese chemical manufacturers, Suzhou Xiaoli Pharmatech and Wuhan Shuokang Biological Technology, supply the fentanyl’s raw materials to the cartel while fully aware of their intended use.
Criminal prosecutions for drug and gun trafficking were also brought during the crackdown in numerous US courts.
Garland stated that the United States would seek the extradition of eight of those charged who were already being held by foreign governments. She added that Washington was “working closely” with the Mexican authorities on the matter.
Additionally, the State Department offered $1 million in incentives for information leading to the arrest of two Chinese nationals implicated in the trade of fentanyl precursor chemicals.
Garland emphasised that Beijing “must stop the unrestrained flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals that are coming out of China.”
– Fed’s tigers rivals
The almost 102,000 overdose deaths that will occur in the US in the 12 months leading up to October 2022 are primarily due to synthetic opioids.
According to Anne Milgram, director of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl poses the biggest threat to Americans right now.
According to her, it claims the lives of more Americans between the ages of 18 and 45 than terrorism, auto accidents, cancer, and COVID combined.
In order to maintain and increase their control over the Mexican drug trade, El Chapo’s sons and their enforcers engaged in willful murder and torture, according to the accusations.
According to one accusation, they subjected opponents to electrocution torture and fed some of them—dead and alive—to tigers owned by Ivan and Jesus Guzman.
Making fentanyl was not difficult and it was much less expensive than heroin, but it claimed that perfecting the dosage was so challenging that “multiple” cartel “cooks” perished while testing their product.
The cartel occasionally delivered it to people who were bound up to test newly produced batches.
They repeatedly administered fentanyl to one victim until she overdosed instead of shooting her dead.
In another instance, they gave an addict an injection of freshly manufactured fentanyl to determine its potency.
The indictment said that even though a drug user died while testing cartel fentanyl, the batch was nevertheless delivered to the United States.
