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| EFE |
"Deaths from synthetic drug overdoses are rapidly increasing. My message to this meeting is urgent. If we want to change the trajectory of this crisis, there is only one way to succeed and that is united," Blinken declared before the plenary of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna.
In 2022, overdoses killed nearly 110,000 people in the US and most of the deaths were caused by fentanyl, a painkiller first synthesized in 1960 for medical purposes and illegally manufactured by drug traffickers.
Blinken assured that the US has been the first to suffer the devastating effect caused by these types of synthetic substances, cheap and easy to produce.
But he warned that, although the threat changes from region to region, deaths related to this type of narcotics are increasing everywhere and, according to the UN, they already dominate the markets.
"The types of synthetic drugs that affect your nations may vary. In some, they may be methamphetamines or ketamine, tramadol, captagon or fentanyl. The magnitude of the problem may be different, but in each region the danger is growing," he warned.
The head of US diplomacy also announced at the forum, the highest multilateral body on drug policies, that Washington donates 170 million to fight the threat of synthetic drugs on a global scale.
More: Blinken calls for international unity to combat the threat of synthetic drugs
The problem with these narcotics, Blinken stressed, is global and requires a joint solution, as no country can face alone a type of transnational crime that quickly adapts to changes.
"When a country shuts down the production of a synthetic drug or the chemical precursors necessary to manufacture it, criminals quickly find another place to produce it. When a trafficking route is shut down, they move to another," he warned.
And he added: "They also constantly create new drugs. Criminal organizations produce around 80 new synthetic drugs each year, many of them more potent than those already circulating, and they are always looking for new markets and new users to increase their profits."
To face this challenge, he defended controlling the chemical precursors with which these drugs are manufactured and increasing efforts to reduce overdose deaths with prevention and treatment.
He also encouraged the States present to join the so-called "Global Coalition for Synthetic Drug Threats" led by Washington, which already has 151 countries and 14 international organizations and works on the prevention and detection of emerging threats.
Blinken recalled that this is the first time that a Secretary of State participates in the commission, which is a sign of the importance that Washington gives to the fight against synthetic drugs.
"With an American dying from an overdose every five minutes, our work is far from over, but the steps we are taking, many in partnership with countries present here, are beginning to change the trend," he indicated.
Washington has launched a fight against opioids, covering financial and police fronts, in response to the most serious overdose epidemic in its history.
Although most of the fentanyl that arrives in the US comes from Mexico, Washington has increasingly focused on Chinese suppliers of chemical precursors, indispensable for creating that drug.
China is not part of the international coalition led by Washington.
The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions in 2023 on two dozen Chinese citizens and entities and 13 Mexican companies for their connection with the trafficking of chemical precursors used to manufacture fentanyl.