US Drug Overdose Deaths Are Dropping, and Here’s Why
When Dennis Cauchon started to notice a sharp drop in drug overdose deaths in the fall of 2023 in the…
In Battle to Slow Precursor Chemicals in Mexico, Public-Private Partnerships are a Path Not Taken
It was days before Super Bowl LVI in February 2022, the biggest guacamole day of the year in the United…
Extradition of Precursor Chemical Broker Hits Heart of Synthetic Drug Trade
Mexico’s extradition of a chemical broker to the United States marks a significant step against these middlemen, who occupy an…
Flight Attendants Smuggled Millions of Dollars in Fentanyl Cash Proceeds to the Dominican Republic
A case in which flight attendants working for passenger airlines used their privileged access to transport millions of dollars of…
DEA’s Emphasis on Defeating Cartels Oversimplifies Fentanyl Industry
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s “National Drug Threat Assessment 2024” presents Mexican cartels as the hegemonic force behind the United States’…
How Mexico Loses the Precursor Chemical Money Trail
In 2021, Mexican authorities captured an Asian-Mexican businessman at a Mexican port and seized 23 tons of drugs. The shipping…
3 Reasons Why Canada is a Cautionary Tale for the International Fentanyl Market
While the United States has often been the cautionary tale of a fentanyl crisis, Canada’s experience could offer a better…
The Synthetic Silk Road: Tracing China’s Grey-Market Precursor Chemical Trade
We were in a remote city in mainland China, also referred to as the People’s Republic of China, when we…
Mexico Fentanyl Production Migrates North as Chapitos Death Threats Loom
Huddled in the back of a fruit and vegetable stand in the south of Culiacán, the hitman scanned the area…
Beyond China: How Other Countries Provide Precursor Chemicals to Mexico
On September 21, 2021, Javier Algredo Vázquez was on his way to a US law enforcement office to reclaim chemical…