President Trump has said part of his motivation to impose now duty In Canada, the country should force energetic measures against illicit fentanyl traffic, but very little of synthetic opioids enters the United States through its northern border.
White House Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said The tariffs, announced on February 1 in Mexico, Canada and China, were “for the illegal fentanyl they have obtained and allowed to distribute to our country.” Trump said in a statement that it was “due to the great threat of illegal foreigners and mortal drugs that kill our citizens, including fentanyl.”
25% rates in Mexico and Canada have been Paused for at least one month After negotiations, while a 10% rate on China remains in place.
Tariffs were also destined to force countries to take more measures to prevent undocumented immigrants from entering the United States and reducing their commercial surplus.
This is what you should know about fentanyl and other drug trafficking on the northern border of the United States.
How much fentanyl are seized on the Canadian border?
Customs and border protection agents confiscated only 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last year, according to Statistics publicly published by the Agency. Meanwhile, around 21,100 pounds of fentanyl were seized on the Mexican border.
Drug Policies Researcher Jonathan Caulkins He performed an analysis that looked at great fentanyl convulsions, those of more than one kilogram of dust or 1,000 pills or more, and found such incidents in just two counties that border Canada. A county is home to the city of Detroit, and Caulkins said that drug seizures made there are proportional to its population. Only one area, Whatcom County, Washington, had a number of disproportionate drug seizures for its population, Caulkins said.
In general, Canada sees much fewer deaths due to fentanyl related than the United States.
About 49,100 people He died of opioid overdose in Canada between 2016 and 2024, with most of those deaths involving fentanylThey said Canadian officials. In the United States, centers for disease control and prevention My dear There were more than 74,000 deaths related to fentanyl alone in 2023.
How does fentanyl enter the United States?
Most fentanyl enter the United States through Mexico, CBS News previously reported. He United States Drug Control Management He has said that Mexican posters are “in the heart” of the United States fentanyl crisis.
Caulkins’ analysis found 21 large fentanyl seizures along the Mexican border for each seizure along the Canadian border.
Often, US citizens transport illicit drugs through the southern border that pass through the CBP control points, Caulkins said. American citizens are generally hired by smuggled groups, which in turn have been hired by posters and drug manufacturers.
“In general, it is not as if it were an employee of the Sinaloa cartel that crosses the border,” Caulkins said. It is less likely that US citizens are seen as suspects, he said, and face less obstacles during the real border crossing.
Precursor chemicals on the border
Precursor chemicals, or ingredients used to make illicit drugs, have been seized both in Canada and Mexico, as well as within the United States. Precursors chemicals They are manufactured largely in China and sent abroad, generally to Mexico. Then the fentanyl occurs, typically in Mexico, and taken to the United States for distribution.
In recent weeks, Mexican authorities have announced several important seizures of chemical precursors and fentanyl.
In November 2024, the Canadian police said they had dismantled the most sophisticated drug “Super Lab” that they had ever seen in the country. They said they took a “massive” amount of chemicals precursors of the installation in British Columbia, as well as 54 kilograms, or around 110 pounds, of fentanyl, along with other drugs.
Police said that the laboratory was a mass production site where fentanyl and methamphetamine were manufactured so that they could be distributed in Canada and internationally. The authorities did not tell which countries drugs may have exported.
In December 2024, Canada said your health agency It would create a “chemical precursor risk management unit” that could “provide a better vision of” chemicals and their distribution channels. The unit could also “improve monitoring and surveillance” and allow “timely action for the application of the law” in relation to these chemicals. The unit was just one of several ways in which Canada said it would combine the fentanyl crisis.
Health Canada is also ready to accelerate its regulatory process to prohibit precursors “so that the police and police can take quick measures to avoid their illegal import and use.”
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