Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during his 60 Minutes interview. Photo: CBS

By KELIN DILLON

In an interview conducted on U.S. network CBS’ 60 Minutes program, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) admitted for the first time that the deadly street drug fentanyl is in fact produced in Mexico – an allegation the federal executive has repeatedly and staunchly denied over his six-year term.

Speaking on the strain the illicit international drug trade has caused on the relationship between the United States and Mexico, AMLO told CBS correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi that while he concedes that fentanyl is produced in Mexico by the Mexican cartels, it must be acknowledged by the U.S. State Department that the dangerous substance is also produced on U.S. soil.

“The head of the DEA says cartels are mass producing fentanyl, and the U.S. State Department has said that most of it is coming out of Mexico. Are they wrong?” asked Alfonsi.

“Yes. Or rather, they don’t have all the information, because fentanyl is also produced in the United States,” responded the Mexican federal executive.

“Fentanyl is produced in the United States, in Canada, and in Mexico,” continued López Obrador. “And the chemical precursors come from Asia. You know why we don’t have the drug consumption that you have in the United States in Mexico? Because we have customs, traditions, and we don’t have the problem of the disintegration of the family.

When further prompted by Alfonsi on Mexican society’s own demand for illicit substances, AMLO went on to say that there is “very little” drug use in Mexico and that cartel-related violence in the country is primarily due to drug trafficking, not consumption.