Why There's No Fentanyl in Easter Eggs This Year

Peter Zeihan 4 min

Industrial-scale fentanyl production by La Familia Michoacán at a distant Mexican port makes it immune to standard enforcement. Targeting the specific port city offers a better chance than general door-to-door searches.

Chapters

  1. 0:00

    The Synthetic Nature of Fentanyl

    Fentanyl production is small-scale and easily moved, making traditional enforcement ineffective. This specific cartel controls a major Pacific port and produces fentanyl at an industrial scale.

  2. 2:23

    The Strategic Difficulty

    The cartel operates far from the US border, making military options inappropriate and difficult.

  3. 2:53

    Limited Enforcement Actions

    The administration has named leaders and increased bounties, but no good solution exists yet.

Key points

  • 0:00

    Fentanyl production can generate 100,000 doses in a garage within a week.

  • 0:00

    Traditional military or law enforcement approaches fail against small-scale synthetic drug labs.

  • 0:00

    La Familia Michoacán is the only major Mexican cartel focused on mass fentanyl production.

  • 0:00

    The cartel controls Lazaro Cardenas, the largest Pacific port in Mexico.

  • 0:00

    This location provides easy access to raw materials needed for industrial fentanyl production.

  • 0:00

    The cartel is largely immune to Diminimus shipping exceptions or US law enforcement.

  • 2:23

    The cartel is powerful enough to function as a state within a state.

  • 2:23

    Military options are inappropriate because the target is on the southern coast of Mexico.

  • 2:53

    The brothers Olas Coagua are now listed with an $8 million bounty.

  • 3:15

    US authorities might act effectively if they target the specific port city where labs exist.

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