“Although dangerous, the synthesis of fentanyl illicit crime in Mexico under improvised conditions similar to those seen by the Times is well established.”
This is how the newspaper responded New York Times (NYT) to the accusations of the Government that the manufacture of the illicit opioid in Mexico It is not as the United States media showed in a report published over the weekend.
The newspaper’s response through X (@NYTimesPR) came hours after the Government of Mexico, in a voice of Alejandro Svarch, director of IMSS-Wellbeing would indicate that:
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“It is not possible to make fentanyl as the report shows (…) There is also no scientifically described physiological phenomenon known as lethal tolerance to toxicity.”
Given this, the NYT maintains its position of supporting the texts it has published regarding the “production and testing of fentanyl in Mexico.”
The New York Times responds to continued criticism of our reporting on fentanyl production in Mexico: pic.twitter.com/o7SC8ApiDK
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) January 2, 2025
Government indicates that a laboratory is required to manufacture fentanyl
This Thursday morning, the Government presented its version regarding an alleged improvised laboratory in Culiacanwhere fentanyl was allegedly “cooked” by men wearing only face masks, balaclavas and latex gloves to handle the chemicals, since they have – according to the NYT – “tolerance to the lethal drug.”
In his participation in the conference of President Claudia Sheinbaum, Svarch Pérez pointed out that the manufacture of the synthetic opioid requires a laboratory that allows the control of exposure conditions, specialized equipment for synthesis, and ventilation systems.
This is because this product is 50 times more powerful than heroin, hence:
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“When a person is exposed to a potent synthetic opioid by inhalation or mucosal contact, even in an amount as small as 4 or 5 small grains of salt, it can produce a level of toxicity that is life-threatening.”
For its part, Armida Zúñiga Pérez, holder of the Federal Commission for the Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) detailed that the potency of fentanyl is such that:
“Small errors during processing, weighing, dilution or manufacturing can increase the risk of overdose.”
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