‘Cartels are scrambling’: Virus snarls global drug trade

Coronavirus is dealing a gut punch to the illegal drug trade, paralyzing economies, closing borders and severing supply chains in China that traffickers rely on for the chemicals to make such profitable drugs as methamphetamine and fentanyl.

One of the main suppliers that shut down is in Wuhan, the epicenter of the global outbreak.

Associated Press interviews with nearly two dozen law enforcement officials and trafficking experts found Mexican and Colombian cartels are still plying their trade as evidenced by recent drug seizures but the lockdowns that have turned cities into ghost towns are disrupting everything from production to transport to sales.

Along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border through which the vast majority of illegal drugs cross, the normally bustling vehicle traffic that smugglers use for cover has slowed to a trickle. Bars, nightclubs and motels across the country that are ordinarily fertile marketplaces for drug dealers have shuttered. And prices for drugs in short supply have soared to gouging levels.

“They are facing a supply problem and a demand problem,” said Alejandro Hope, a security analyst and former official with CISEN, the Mexican intelligence agency. “Once you get them to the market, who are you going to sell to?”

Virtually every illicit drug has been impacted, with supply chain disruptions at both the wholesale and retail level. Traffickers are stockpiling narcotics and cash along the border, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration even reports a decrease in money laundering and online drug sales on the so-called dark web.

“The godfathers of the cartels are scrambling,” said Phil Jordan, a former director of the DEA’s El Paso Intelligence Center.

Cocaine prices are up 20 percent or more in some cities. Heroin has become harder to find in Denver and Chicago, while supplies of fentanyl are falling in Houston and Philadelphia. In Los Angeles, the price of methamphetamine has more than doubled in recent weeks to $1,800 per pound.

“You have shortages but also some greedy bastards who see an opportunity to make more money,” said Jack Riley, the former deputy administrator of the DEA. “The bad guys frequently use situations that affect the national conscience to raise prices.”

Synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and fentanyl have been among the most affected, in large part because they rely on precursor chemicals that Mexican cartels import from China, cook into drugs on an industrial scale and then ship to the U.S.

“This is something we would use as a lesson learned for us,” the head of the DEA, Uttam Dhillon, told AP. “If the disruption is that significant, we need to continue to work with our global partners to ensure that, once we come out of the pandemic, those precursor chemicals are not available to these drug-trafficking organizations.”

Cartels are increasingly shifting away from drugs that require planting and growing seasons, like heroin and marijuana, in favor of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, which can be cooked 24/7 throughout the year, are up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and produce a greater profit margin.

Though some clandestine labs that make fentanyl from scratch have popped up sporadically in Mexico, cartels are still very much reliant upon Chinese companies to get the precursor drugs.

Huge amounts of these mail-order components can be traced to a single, state-subsidized company in Wuhan that shut down after the outbreak earlier this year, said Louise Shelley, director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center at George Mason University, which monitors Chinese websites selling fentanyl.

“The quarantine of Wuhan and all the chaos there definitely affected the fentanyl trade, particularly between China and Mexico,” said Ben Westhoff, author of “Fentanyl, Inc.”

“The main reason China has been the main supplier is the main reason China is the supplier of everything — it does it so cheaply,” Westhoff said. “There was really no cost incentive for the cartels to develop this themselves.”

But costs have been rising and, as in many legitimate industries, the coronavirus is bringing about changes.

Advertised prices across China for precursors of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cutting agents have risen between 25% and 400% since late February, said Logan Pauley, an analyst at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a Washington-based security research nonprofit. So even as drug precursor plants in China are slowly reopening after the worst of the coronavirus crisis there, some cartels have been taking steps to decrease their reliance on overseas suppliers by enlisting scientists to make their own precursor chemicals.

“Because of the coronavirus they’re starting to do it in house,” added Westhoff.

Some Chinese companies that once pushed precursors are now advertising drugs like hydroxychloroquine, which President Donald Trump has promoted as potential treatment for COVID-19, as well as personal protective gear such as face masks and hand sanitizers.

Meanwhile, the gummed up situation on the U.S.-Mexico border resembles a stalled chess match where nobody, especially the traffickers, wants to make a wrong move, said Kyle Williamson, special agent in charge of the DEA’s El Paso field division.

“They’re in a pause right now,” Williamson said. “They don’t want to get sloppy and take a lot of risks.”

Some Mexican drug cartels are even holding back existing methamphetamine supplies to manipulate the market, recognizing that “no good crisis should be wasted,” said Joseph Brown, the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Texas.

“Some cartels have given direct orders to members of their organization that anyone caught selling methamphetamine during this time will be killed,” said Brown, whose sprawling jurisdiction stretches from the suburbs of Dallas to Beaumont.

To be sure, narcotics are still making their way into the U.S., as evidenced by a bust last month in which nearly $30 million worth of street drugs were seized in a new smuggling tunnel connecting a warehouse in Tijuana to southern San Diego. Shelley said that bust was notable in that only about 2 pounds of fentanyl was recovered, “much lower than usual shipments.”

Trump announced earlier this month that Navy ships were being moved toward Venezuela as part of a bid to beef up counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean following a U.S. drug indictment against Nicolás Maduro.

But the pandemic also has limited law enforcement’s effectiveness, as departments cope with drug investigators working remotely, falling ill and navigating a new landscape in which their own activities have become more conspicuous. In Los Angeles County, half of the narcotics detectives have been put on patrol duty, potentially imperiling long-term investigations.

Nonetheless, Capt. Chris Sandoval, who oversees special investigations for the Houston-based Harris County Sheriff’s Office, said there’s a new saying among his detectives: “Not even the dope dealers can hide from the coronavirus.”


Bleiberg reported from Dallas. AP writers Erika Kinetz in Rieti, Italy, Mark Stevenson in Mexico City and Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Coronavirus is dealing a gut punch to the illegal drug trade, paralyzing economies, closing borders and severing supply chains in China that traffickers rely . . .

Follow Us On Google News | Get Our Newsletter



Trending News on PVDN

  • cancun-beaches-50-tons-sargassum-cleanupCancún beach overwhelmed by over 50 tons of sargassum in 24 hours Over 50 tons of sargassum were removed from Cancún’s Chac Mool Beach in just 24 hours, as authorities ramp up cleaning efforts across three key public beaches. Cancún’s white-sand beaches are under pressure once again as an unusually large volume of sargassum has washed ashore in the last 24 hours, disrupting tourism and triggering a…
  • cancun-hotels-sargassum-cleanup-failuresCancún government demands answers from hotels on sargassum cleanup failures Mayor Ana Paty Peralta will meet with hotel leaders in Cancún to address failures in sargassum cleanup efforts, amid growing environmental and public health concerns. The municipal government of Benito Juárez is taking a firmer stance on the growing sargassum problem in Cancún, calling on the hotel industry to explain its inadequate handling of seaweed…
  • sargassum-slams-cancun-playa-restaurantsSargassum Crisis in Cancún and Playa del Carmen Forces Restaurants and Beach Clubs to Cut Staff Businesses in Cancún and Playa del Carmen report steep losses due to sargassum, with restaurants losing diners and beach clubs sending staff on unpaid leave. Restaurants and beach clubs along the shores of Puerto Juárez in Cancún and Playa del Carmen are grappling with a sharp downturn in business due to a relentless invasion of…
  • sargassum-free-beaches-quintana-roo-summer-2025Sargassum-Free Beaches in Quintana Roo for Summer 2025, including beaches in Cancún Travelers looking for sargassum-free beaches in Quintana Roo this summer can still find clear waters in Isla Mujeres and parts of Cancún, according to updated reports. As the summer travel season ramps up, much of the Caribbean coast is once again dealing with sargassum, the brown seaweed that washes ashore in thick mats and affects…
  • Body with signs of crocodile attack found in Ameca River, a leg was found last monthBeaches Closed in Nuevo Vallarta and Lo de Marcos After Crocodile Sighting Authorities temporarily close beaches in Nuevo Vallarta and Lo de Marcos after a crocodile was spotted in shallow waters. Tourists are urged to follow lifeguard guidance. Beaches in Nuevo Vallarta and Lo de Marcos were temporarily closed to the public on Friday, June 20, after a crocodile was spotted swimming close to shore, prompting swift…
  • puerto-vallarta-flooding-landslide-hurricane-erickHeavy rains flood Puerto Vallarta streets and trigger landslide in tunnel Flooding from remnants of Hurricane Erick paralyzed key roads in Puerto Vallarta and caused a landslide in the Luis Donaldo Colosio tunnel, Civil Protection continues damage assessment. The city of Puerto Vallarta was overwhelmed Thursday night by heavy rainfall that caused major flooding, stranded vehicles, and triggered a landslide in the Luis Donaldo Colosio bypass…
  • bus-crashes-canal-puerto-vallartaBus crashes into canal in Puerto Vallarta’s 5 de Diciembre neighborhood A public transport bus crashed into a drainage canal in Puerto Vallarta’s 5 de Diciembre area. Authorities responded quickly, and no serious injuries were reported. A public transport bus veered off the road and plunged into a stormwater canal early Thursday morning in Puerto Vallarta’s 5 de Diciembre neighborhood, sparking concern among locals but leaving…
  • Cancún Steps Up Strategy as 40 Tonnes of Sargassum Removed in One DayCancún sargassum removal hits 40 tonnes in one day as beach cleanup expands Cancún steps up sargassum removal efforts with 40 tonnes cleared from beaches in a single day, signaling a more aggressive approach to protect tourism. City officials in Cancún ramped up their beach cleaning efforts this week, clearing 40 tonnes of sargassum from Playa Chac Mool in just one day, one of the largest single-day removals…
  • baja-california-sur-violence-2025Violent Weekend in Baja California Sur Leaves 10 Dead and Sparks Public Fear Baja California Sur faced one of its deadliest weekends in 2025, with 10 people killed during violent clashes in La Paz, Comondú, and Loreto, including innocent victims. Baja California Sur endured one of the bloodiest weekends of 2025, as a wave of violence swept through the municipalities of La Paz, Comondú, and Loreto. In under…
  • heavy-rain-flooding-landslides-puerto-vallartaTrash-Choked Drains Make Puerto Vallarta Flooding Worse During Heavy Rain Overflowing storm drains clogged with garbage are fueling flooding in Puerto Vallarta, officials warn, as rains bring chaos to multiple neighborhoods. As heavy rain swept across Puerto Vallarta Thursday night and into Friday morning, flooding was widespread—but officials say much of the chaos was avoidable. The city’s stormwater drains, overwhelmed not just by rainfall but…
Scroll to Top