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1 1 (April 2, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govecwv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional SResearch Service Mexican Drug Trafficking and Cartel Operations amid COVID-19 Updated April 2, 2021 Mexico is a primary foreign producer and transit county for illicit drugs destined for the United States. Policymakers, including many in Congress, have closely watched how the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting drug flow patterns out of Mexico, including the flow of potent opioids and other illicit drugs. Any changes could affect the extent to which Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), popularly described as cartels, pose athreat to U.S. national security. To date, U. S. -bound illicit drug supplies appear to be returning to pre-pandemic levels, despite early supply chain disruptions. Illicit Drug Flows According to various press, think-tank, U.S. government, and United Nations reports, the pandemic's effect on Mexico-based drug production and trafficking has been mixed. COVID-19-related lockdowns and slowdowns in container trade and port activity, particularly in China and India, appear to have caused shortages in precursor chemicals used to synthesize methamphetamine and fentanyl, resulting in temporary product shortages and price increases. Some reports indicate Mexican traffickers stockpiled resources, including cash, uncertain of how COVID-19 would affect law enforcement attention on the illicit drug trade. Several high-profile seizures in 2020 suggest potential trafficker miscalculations as cartels adapted to the COVID-19 operating environment. Such seizures, however, also indicate that illicit drugs and money continue to flow along U.S. -Mexico trafficking corridors. Additionally, Mexican opium poppy cultivation and heroin production have been largely unaffected by COVID-19-related developments. The pandemic may motivate Mexico-based drug producers to find alternative precursor sources and further develop domestic production capabilities. Such reports are consistent with early predictions that although pandemic-associated global mobility restrictions and trade declines could disrupt illicit drug supply chains and diversify drug trafficking patterns and routes, any disruptions to Mexican production and trafficking likely would be temporary. In October 2020, the U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assessed that the pandemic has slowed the pace of drug trafficking into the United States and disrupted some cartel operations but that cartels' ability to move large quantities of drugs remained largely intact. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11535 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Membersand Committeesof Congress

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