The National Civil Police (PNC) maintains under surveillance the growing interest of criminal structures to introduce synthetic drugs to Guatemala, including fentanil, a highly addictive and lethal substance.
The general director of the institution, David Custodio Boto, referred to the recent case of two workers captured at the San Juan de Dios Hospital for theft of medicines. According to the police chief, although it was initially mentioned that it was fentanyl, doctors clarified that it was a type of anesthesia. However, he said that in technical terms, that anesthesia does contain fentanil.
The official explained that, although this drug is not yet sold openly as such in Guatemala, there is consumption of products that contain it, especially those destined for veterinary use.
“Fentanyl is a drug used as anesthesia for horses, and is achieved in veterinarians. Although it is not declared as fentanil, its use for illicit purposes cannot be ruled out,” he warned.
In recent days, in a house located in apple E 10, lot 15, Lotification of Valdez, in San José Pinula, a laboratory for the manufacture of synthetic drugs that was distributed in the department of Guatemala was discovered, detail the first investigations.
The investigators of the case explained that this narco -labor had been operating for several months in that home and possibly received help from a structure dedicated to drug trafficking in Mexico. The researchers said they found indications of methamphetamine, ecstasy and ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects. It is also presumed that in that place they manufactured “Tusi”, or pink cocaine.
Induction
According to Custodio, there is information that in the country laboratories are already being mounted for the manufacture of synthetic drugs, as evidenced in that confiscation of San José Pinula. In addition, he noted that Mexican citizens have entered the national territory to train local groups in the elaboration of these substances.
“The cartels are not necessarily coming as such, but they hire people with technical knowledge to training on the operation of clandestine laboratories,” he explained.
The director of the PNC said that the chemicals employed do not come from pharmacies, but that many enter the country under medical or veterinarian purposes. However, given the lack of control in their distribution, these components could be diverted for illicit purposes.
Regarding the type of facilities where these drugs are elaborated, he said that synthetic laboratories are much more sophisticated than those used to process cocaine. Its implementation responds to a more structured strategy by organized crime.
Asked about the groups behind this operation, the head of the PNC stressed that it is not only gangs.
“There is everything. Now there is a kind of unification among criminal groups. What they used to handle drug traffickers, now also operate gangs such as Salvatrucha (MS) and the 18th neighborhood. Even, they are taking over areas such as 3 and 7, San Miguel Petapa and Villa Canales,” he revealed.
He added that there is even a war between the MS and Barrio 18 to seize those territories.
In addition, he warned about a new drug known as “Chicken drug”, which is distributed within prison centers and has caused severe physical deterioration in those deprived of liberty. Although it is not fentanyl, according to the police chief, they attribute similar effects, and its use has affected numerous deaths by cardiorespiratory arrest, according to medical reports.
“This drug is highly addictive and linked to a critical health situation within prisons. Many inmates die from the extreme deterioration of their body. They are exposed, with marked bones, for constant addiction,” he said.
Custodian Boty concluded that 60% of the homicides recorded in the areas under conflict respond to drug disputes. Although he avoided generalizing, he pointed out that the victims, for the most part, have a history linked to local narcotic traffic, confirming the war between groups for territorial control of the illicit business.
Captures
On May 20, José Luis Alberto Mijangos and Ericka María Mejía Dávila were linked to criminal proceedings for the crime of aggravated theft in a tentative degree, after the video surveillance cameras showed images where they allegedly steal medications of the General San Juan de Dios Hospital.
According to the information of the Public Ministry, the value of the medicines found at the time of their arrest amounts to Q280. Mijangos and Dávila were benefited with house arrest and the payment of a fine of Q500.
In Social Communication of the San Juan de Dios, it was reported that the medicine that the Nurse Subtrajo was Letram 500, which, according to medical specifications, contains levofloxacin, an antibiotic that is used for the treatment of various bacterial infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis, as well as for gastrointestinal infections, but does not contain fentanyl.
Like any antibiotic, its use must be supervised by a health professional to avoid adverse effects.
What is fentanyl
The most complex of the fentanyl is that its flavor or its smell cannot be perceived. In addition, it is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, the favorite of Mexican cartels for its high demand among the growing distribution networks in the United States, where it has become a issue of national urgency.
Statistics reflect elevated peaks by deaths due to overdose associated with illicitly manufactured fentanyl, and it is precisely because of those effects that lead to their high level of addiction, as described by the centers for the control and prevention of disease of that country (CDC, in English).
There are two types of fentanyl, the pharmacist and which is illicitly manufactured, both are synthetic. In the case of its medical use, for patients it reaches their hands when it is prescribed to treat intense pain, especially after an operation and is also used for cancer treatment, according to CDC.