Mexican Cartels Are Using Animals And Poor People To Test Their New Fentanyl Products

Mexican cartels, desperate to dominate the fentanyl drug trade amid global crackdowns, are using vulnerable people and animals to test the potency of their drugs, according to a report.

Homeless individuals in Culiacán and animals like rabbits and chickens, are among the test subjects of the Sinaloa cartel, as a reaction to the fentanyl drug trade's diluted supply of ingredients from China, according to the New York Times.

Cartels are seeking risky alternatives in fentanyl production like luring impoverished individuals from homeless encampments with offers of $30 to inject experimental fentanyl formulas, which often leads to severe reactions or death.

In crude labs, cartel "cooks" refine lethal concoctions of synthesized fentanyl, experimenting with chemical additives and animal tranquilizers like xylazine, to make a winning combination of potency and profits. Animals are given injections to gauge a drug's strength using arbitrary conclusions--if a hen or rabbit survives longer than 90 seconds, the batch is considered weak, as reported by the New York Times.

Experts warned that this innovative experimentation will create a trail of destruction for human test subjects, fueling addiction or death.

Between 50,000 and 60,000 Americans are projected to die from synthetic opioid overdoses this year, most from taking fentanyl or closely related drugs.

Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum downplayed needing U.S. intervention with the cartels in the form of president Donald Trump sending troops to Mexico: "No need to get caught up," she said.

Trump announced his plans to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, but seeks help from Sheinbaum.