Rep.Trone Lashes Out At Mexican Government Regarding The Fentanyl Trade

He calls them ‘a complete terrible partner.’Rep. David Trone (Md. 6th)Annapolis, Md (KM) Federal officials are working hard to keep fentanyl and other dangerous drugs out of the United States, But the Mexican Government is not making that easy, according to 6th District Representative David Trone. “I’ve been Mexico, ” he said. “I spent a week in Mexico City. And they have no intention, zero, of cracking down on the cartels. They are a complete terrible partner,” he says.Trone spoke at a meeting on Thursday of the Western Maryland Delegation to Annapolis, and he further upped his criticism of the Mexican Government. “The DEA gets no help. OMBCP gets no help,” he says. “Most of the government is infiltrated either through bribery or pure out fear of the 56,000 murders that happened last year in Mexico where less than one-percent are solved, one-percent are solved,” he said.The two major drug cartels in Mexico, the Jalisco and Sinoloa, manufacture fentanyl with ingredients supplied from China, and they sell it to the US.Trone says if Mexico won’t help stem this drug trade, the country needs to take other action> “So it’s a flow we’re not going to stop. So we need to work in our towns on prevention,” he said.Representative Trone also said the US needs better technology to detect drugs coming into the country by car or truck from Mexico. “We don’t have the technology. There’s an appropriation for $589-million that went out in 2019 which they have not yet been able to come up with how they’re going to spend it to look at high speed cars where they can x-ray into the cars like we do now,” Trone says.With his talk about more funding for prevention and treatment, Washington County Delegate Brooke Grossman agrees more needs to be spent in those areas. “But I think one of the places in Western Maryland is where we’re losing the fight is access to care,”: she said. “Crisis center at Meritus is a help, but that’s  three beds, and we know we have far more than three individuals that need that service on any given day. So I certainly hope we can count on support from both of you as we look localize crisis centers and care for our folks who are struggling with addiction and mental health.”Delegate Grossman was also referring to US Senator Chris Van Hollen who was also  taking part in the meeting with the Western Maryland Delegation.By Kevin McManus