https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5ng663d1wo
BBC investigative journalism, “From Mexico Cartel Safe House to US Streets,” follows the route of fentanyl from cartels in Mexico to American consumers. The report highlights the Sinaloa Cartel as the factory and smuggling network for the manufacture of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has been at the center of the U.S. opioid crisis. The investigation reveals how precursor chemicals, potentially shipped in from China, are processed in clandestine Mexican laboratories before the drug is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border. In response, President Trump has implemented tariffs against Mexican, Canadian, and Chinese imports with the intention of forcing those nations to step up their war on fentanyl smuggling. This brief emphasizes the multilateral international dynamics of the fentanyl trade with over one country and criminal organization. Tariff imposition as a sanction reflects the policy of the U.S. government to combat the opioid crisis by targeting economic levers. However, these policies might strain diplomatic relations and render international cooperation, which is essential to effectively manage the crisis, difficult. In an international relations course at high school, this case study demonstrates the nature of transnational crime, the pointlessness of economic sanctions from one side, and the importance of international collective effort. It demonstrates how local problems, such as the opioid crisis, feed into foreign policy choices and influence international trade relationships. Students are able to discuss the effectiveness of different policy methods and the importance of diplomacy to address complex world issues.