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1 1 (October 14, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govegjj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ Aa Research Service Mexican Drug Trafficking and Cartel Operations amid COVID-19 Updated October 14, 2021 Mexico is a primary producer and transit country 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 illicit drug flow patterns out of Mexico, including the flow of potent opioids. Any changes could affect the extent to which Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), popularly described as cartels, pose a law enforcement and national security threat to the United States. Despite early supply chain disruptions, U.S.-bound illicit drug supplies appear to have returned to pre-pandemic levels; illicit fentanyl flows in particular appear to be thriving. 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. Early COVID-19-related lockdowns and slowdowns in container trade and port activity, particularly in China and India, appear to have caused temporary shortages in precursor chemicals used to synthesize methamphetamine and fentanyl, short-term product shortages, and price increases. Some reports indicated 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 suggested potential trafficker miscalculations, as cartels adapted to the COVID-19 operating environment. Such seizures, however, also indicated that illicit drugs and money continued to flow along U.S.-Mexico trafficking corridors. Additionally, although Mexico registered declines in opium poppy cultivation and potential heroin production in 2020 for the third consecutive year, a 2020 study showed that Mexican heroin production was largely unaffected by the pandemic. Some analysts warned that pandemic conditions may motivate Mexico-based drug producers to find alternative precursor sources and further develop domestic production capabilities. In March 2021, the State Department reported that there is some law enforcement evidence that Mexican drug cartels are consolidating their involvement in fentanyl production and trafficking, using alternative production methods involving 'pre-precursor' chemicals. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11535 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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