Andres Manuél López Obrador says Mexico has proof of China's fentanyl smuggling

Mexican President Andres Manuél López Obrador said his country has proof that China is sending illegal shipments of fentanyl to his country after a container with hidden packages was found at a port. 

"We already have proof," said Lopez Obrador, mentioning the packages of the drug intercepted at the Pacific port of Lazaro Cardenas. 

Authorities found several packages weighing 75 pounds (34-35 kilograms) with traces of fentanyl and methamphetamine hidden in fuel resin within a container that had left the Chinese city of Qingdao. 

The Mexican President said he plans to ask the Chinese government to help stop the illegal shipments of the dangerous opioid. 

"In a very respectful manner, we are going to send this information to reiterate the request that they help us," Lopez Obrador said. 

Last Month, Lopez Obrador sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping urging him to help tackle fentanyl production. In addition, the letter asks Xi to provide Mexico with information about when and where fentanyl was being shipped from China to Mexico, as well as how much of the drug was being transported and by whom. 

"We come to you, President Xi Jinping, not to ask for your support in the face of these rude threats, but to request that for humanitarian reasons, you help us control shipments of fentanyl that can be sent from China to our country," Lopez Obrador wrote in the letter.

In response to Lopez Obrador’s letter, China’s foreign ministry has denied that there are any illegal shipments of fentanyl between China and Mexico, adding that the fentanyl crisis was a problem “completely made in the USA.”

Fentanyl, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin, is the main drug in overdose deaths in the United States. Around 67% of the overdose deaths in the U.S. were linked to fentanyl, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

U.S. officials have blamed Mexican cartels for supplying fentanyl to users across the border.

Last month, three members of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, three sons of drug kingpin "El Chapo" were charged by U.S. prosecutors with fentanyl trafficking, but only one of them is in custody.

Their father, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, is serving a life sentence in the United States. Last month, his former bodyguard, Jorge Iván Gastélum, complained about his prison conditions. 

President López Obrador has previously insisted fentanyl is not produced in Mexico, and instead accused drug suppliers in Asia.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said last month, "there is no such thing as illegal trafficking of fentanyl between China and Mexico." 

"China has not been notified by Mexico on the seizure of scheduled fentanyl precursors from China," she said. Drugs listed in schedules are subject to various official restrictions. 

Mao Ning added that the fentanyl problem in the U.S. was "completely 'made in USA.'"