Mexican Cartels Test Fentanyl on Vulnerable People and Animals
In a desperate bid to dominate the fentanyl business, Mexican cartels have resorted to experimenting with the drug on vulnerable people and animals. The cartels, which have been pushed to adapt to global efforts to crack down on the synthetic opioid, are combining fentanyl with a wider range of additives, including animal sedatives and other dangerous anesthetics.
According to two men living at a homeless encampment in northwest Mexico, cartel operatives would visit the camp daily, offering up to $30 for anyone willing to inject themselves with the latest fentanyl formula. The operatives would watch the drug take effect, snapping photos and filming the reaction of the subjects.
One of the men, Pedro López Camacho, said he volunteered repeatedly, but many others did not survive. “When it’s really strong, it knocks you out or kills you,” he said. “The people here died.”
The cartels are using a range of animals, including rabbits and chickens, to test their fentanyl products. If the rabbits survive beyond 90 seconds, the drug is deemed too weak to be sold to Americans. When Mexican law enforcement units have raided fentanyl labs, they have found the premises riddled with dead animals used for testing.
The experimentation is often carried out in cartel labs, where cooks mix up vats of chemicals in rudimentary cook sites, exposing themselves to toxic substances that can cause hallucinations, vomiting, and even death. The cartels are actively recruiting university chemistry students to work as cooks, and mistakes by cooks are met with severe punishment, including being locked in rooms with rats and snakes for long stretches with no food or water.
The Sinaloa Cartel, which the U.S. government blames for fueling the synthetic opioid epidemic, is particularly notorious for its fentanyl production. The cartel’s operatives are known to use a range of additives, including xylazine, an animal tranquilizer known on the street as “Tranq,” which can be deadly when combined with fentanyl.
The rise in the use of fentanyl mixed with xylazine and other substances has been noted by the Mexican government, which has seen a surge in drug-related deaths. The illicit market benefits from cutting drugs with different substances, which enhances their potency and increases profits.
U.S. drug researchers have also noticed a rise in “weirder and messier” fentanyl, with an increase in the variety of chemical compounds found in the drug. The experimentation has led to a “wild west of experimentation,” with cooks and cartels pushing the boundaries of what is safe and what is not.
The consequences of this experimentation are devastating. The drug has made millions for the cartels, but it has also caused mass death and addiction. As one high-level operative for the cartel said, “One dies, and 10 more addicts are born. We don’t worry about them.”
The cartels’ actions are a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of the drug trade and the need for a global response to combat the scourge of fentanyl.