U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that three clandestine drug laboratories were dismantled in Sinaloa during an operation on Wednesday.
The operation was led by a Mexican investigative unit certified by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Mexico's Fiscalía General de la República (FGR), Agencia de Investigación Criminal, and supported by the Secretaría de Defensa Nacional and Secretaría de Marina also had agents of their own taking part in the operation.
According to ICE, the collaboration focused on identifying and intercepting drug precursors, which they noted primarily come from China. The agency highlighted the importance of the joint efforts, stating that:
"The collaboration between ICE HSI and the Government of Mexico helps stop narcotics production at its origin, preventing deadly drugs from smuggling across our borders and into our communities"
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico reinforced this message, saying the bilateral cooperation aids in "stopping narcotics production at the source, preventing lethal drugs from being smuggled," as local news site El Universal reports.
Three large-scale synthetic drug production labs in Sinaloa were dismantled with narcotics and chemical precursors seized in an operation led by the ICE Homeland Security Investigations vetted unit within the Government of Mexico, Fiscalia General de la Republica, Agencia de... pic.twitter.com/H9X1fafWbu
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) May 14, 2025
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has claimed that she wants to collaborate with the U.S. in fighting fentanyl traffic but that any collaboration should be based on "mutual trust, collaboration, and above all, respect for sovereignty."
The specific types or quantities of drugs seized have not been disclosed, nor were the exact locations within Sinaloa revealed. Photographs released by ICE show tactical units involved in the operation, some armed and in full gear, illustrating the scale of the action.
Sheinbaum has publicly maintained that fentanyl production is not occurring in Mexico to a significant extent. During a January 16 press conference, just days before Trump was sworn in, she reiterated that most fentanyl originates from outside the country, adding that investigations continue into recent fentanyl seizures in Sinaloa. "How often fentanyl pills are produced here, that is always investigated," Sheinbaum said.
Moreover, after Trump first announced tariffs on Mexico in early February, which were initially proposed by the administration claiming there are links between the Mexican government and organized crime, Sheinbaum emphasized that the opioid crisis in the U.S. has been "fueled by pharmaceutical companies":
"The epidemic of synthetic opioids in the United States originates in the indiscriminate prescription of these medications, authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, as shown by a legal case against a pharmaceutical company. There are television series that explain this. What's more, the drug that caused the synthetic opioid crisis is still being sold in their pharmacies with official authorization"
Sheinbaum did clarify at the time that she wanted to "prevent fentanyl from reaching the United States or any other destination" and that her government would collaborate with the U.S. guided by "the principles of shared responsibility, mutual trust, collaboration, and above all, respect for sovereignty."
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