Mexico gang seen ramping up meth in Guatemala

By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO? and SONIA PEREZ January 1, 2012 6:00PM

In this photo released by the Mexican navy on Dec. 28, 2011, Navy marines stand guard in front of several barrels containing 120,000 kilograms of methylamine, a controlled substance used as a precursor to methamphetamine, that were inside several containers headed for Guatemala, seized at the Pacific port of Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico, Dec. 23, 2011. Based on seizure data, and interviews with U.S. and Guatemala officials, it appears that Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman appears to be taking advantage of Guatemala's remote, isolated mountains and an alliance with a key Guatemalan trafficker to make the Central American nation into a new international meth production base. (AP Photo/SEMAR)

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MEXICO CITY ? Mexico?s powerful Sinaloa drug cartel appears to be extending its massive production of methamphetamine into neighboring Guatemala, as hundreds of tons of precursor chemicals stream into the Central American nation.

While Mexico is usually estimated to be the main supplier of meth used in the United States, seizure data suggest that neighboring Guatemala could in fact be producing as much or more.

That data, along with interviews with U.S. and Guatemalan officials, also indicate that Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin ?El Chapo? Guzman is taking advantage of Guatemala?s remote, isolated mountains and an alliance with a key Guatemalan trafficker to make the Central American nation a new international meth production base.

Mexican authorities seized 675 tons of a key precursor chemical in December alone, and all of it was heading for Guatemala. Officials in Guatemala, meanwhile, have seized 7,847 barrels of precursors in 2011, equivalent to about 1,600 tons and far more than Mexico?s total seizures of 1,200 tons in the same year.

The Guatemala-bound chemical seized in Mexico, methylamine, can yield its weight in uncut meth, according to Steve Preisler, an industrial chemist called the father of modern meth-making.

That means the total amount seized in or heading to Guatemala could theoretically produce more than a billion one-gram doses of pure meth, and billions more if cut to street-level purity.

Authorities say it?s not entirely clear where Sinaloa could sell thousands of tons of methamphetamine, if it produced that much. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in its 2011 World Report that total meth seizures worldwide amounted to 65 tons.

But there are many signs pointing to the Sinaloa cartel?s involvement in an extensive chain of meth production and distribution. The gang has already moved into industrial-scale meth production in Mexico. And after several big labs in Mexico were raided, the cartel may feel more comfortable operating in Guatemala. AP

Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5687799735

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