Four elements of the Mexican army were injured, one of them seriously, after an explosion registered on Sunday in a clandestine laboratory located in the municipality of Navolatoin Sinaloa. The incident occurred when the military assured the site, allegedly intended for the elaboration of synthetic drugs.
The state governor, Rubén Rocha Moya, confirmed the fact yesterday at a press conference and explained that the causes of the explosion have not yet clearly determined. He explained that two hypotheses are investigated: that the detonation has been caused by a trap intentionally placed by those who operated the laboratory or that it has been an accident derived from a mismanagement of chemical substances.
“It is a laboratory where it explodes where they are. What do we do not know? We do not know if they effectively put it there with the idea of exploiting or, the other, that there was an not adequate handling and caused (the explosion) for not realizing whether or not it was,” explained the president.
The wounded soldiers were identified as Aaron Alejandro “N”, 24; Ángel Ricardo “N”, 46; Fernando Alberto “N”, 22; and Miguel Ángel “N”, of 31. All of them were transferred to a hospital in Culiacán, where they receive medical care. One of them remains in intensive therapy, while the other three are found in stable condition.
Rocha Moya also denied versions that circulated on social networks about an alleged armed attack during the transfer of the military to the hospital. “There was no aggression. The elements were taken under shelter, as is a usual procedure in this type of situations,” he said.
The state of Sinaloa has been identified as one of the main points of operation of drug trafficking in Mexico, particularly in the production of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamines. According to Federal Government figures, during the current six -year term almost 2 thousand clandestine laboratories have been located and dismantled, most of them in Sinaloa, although similar sites such as Durango, Jalisco, Michoacán, Baja California, Guerrero and Sonora have also been identified.
The Ministry of National Defense (Defense) has not yet issued an official statement on the incident, but it is expected that in the next few hours a detailed report of the operation and the conditions in which the explosion occurred would be announced.
The fact has revived the debate on the danger of clandestine laboratories, which usually store highly volatile substances. The state and federal authorities maintain investigation to demarcate responsibilities and determine the exact origin of the outbreak.
They ensure more drug manufacturing centers
Federal Forces carried out a series of operations in rural communities in the municipalities of Culiacán, Cosalá and Navolato, in the state of Sinaloa, where 20 clandestine laboratories used for the elaboration of synthetic drugs were located and insured.
The Ministry of Public Security of Sinaloa He informed that, in one of these sites, 600 liters of liquid chemical precursors and 50 kilos of solid substances were found, in addition to specialized equipment for the manufacture of Methamphetamines.
One of the most relevant operations was carried out in the town of San Miguel de las Tables, in Culiacán. There, Marine Secretariat personnel discovered a laboratory installed in an area of approximately 400 square meters. At that point, several high capacity instruments were insured: centrifuging, submersible pumps, whistles, scales, industrial crushers, reactor motors, gas tanks, high temperature -resistant silicone boxes, heel, tubs and diverse tools.
All the material was insured by the Navy and delivered to the corresponding authorities for dismantling and analysis.
In simultaneous actions, the federal forces located another 19 clandestine laboratories in mountain areas and difficult to access. In the municipality of Culiacán, they were located in communities such as Arroyo de los Higuera, Cedritos, El Laguna, Canamaca and El Quemadito.
Meanwhile, in Cosalá laboratories were found in locations such as Agua Caliente, La Ipucha, Buena Vista, San José de las Bocas, Tecomate, Mascatitlán, Santa Anita, Higuera de Jacopa, La Llama, Lo de Garza and Rincón de las Lagunitas.
In the municipality of Navolato, another production center was identified in the town of Colonia Ensenada, where the Mexican army secured chemical substances and processing equipment.
In addition, the authorities reported that seven most used areas for the concentration of materials related to the manufacture of methamphetamine were located last Thursday. In those actions, More than 3 thousand liters and 190 kilos of chemical precursors were secured.
According to official estimates, the economic blow to criminal organizations derived from these assurance amounts to 76 million pesos.
The authorities reiterated that these operations are part of a permanent surveillance strategy in areas identified as high production of synthetic drugs and reiterated their commitment to continue weakening the logistics capacities of organized crime in the region.
Some risks of clandestine laboratories
- High volatility of chemicals. The precursors used to synthesize drugs such as methamphetamines or fentanyl are highly unstable. Its manipulation without control can cause explosions, such as that occurred in Navolato, Sinaloa, which left four wounded military.
- Toxic exhibition for operators and authorities. The chemical compounds used cause burns, serious poisoning, lung damage and, in extreme cases, death. Who operate the laboratories and the elements that participate in insurance are constant risks.
- Severe environmental pollution. Chemical waste usually discarded in soils, rivers or drains without treatment, which generates persistent environmental effects that can damage ecosystems and put public health at risk.
- Affectation to the civilian population. Many laboratories are located in rural or semi -urban communities. An explosion or fire can impact nearby homes and represent a direct danger for families that do not know their presence.
- Facilities without security measures. Being designed to operate in hiding, these centers lack ventilation, temperature control or minimum protocols, which makes them high risk spaces.
- Possible explosive traps or artifacts. Authorities do not rule out that some laboratories are equipped with deliberate mechanisms to detonate before the entry of security forces, in order to destroy evidence or cause casualties.
- Prolonged social and health impact. The drugs that occur in these sites feed the illegal market, generate addictions and cause public health crisis, with consequences that transcend the immediate and affect whole families and communities.
Voice of the expert
Francisco Jiménez Reynoso, academic from the University of Guadalajara
They ask for a better strategy to stop criminals
During the current Federal Administration, the Government of Mexico has focused on the dismantling of laboratories for drug production by organized crime; However, the detainees have lacked in these sites.
Francisco Jiménez Reynoso, an academic at the University of Guadalajara, questioned that in most of these seizures there are no detained people; Therefore, it suggests that better security strategies are applied by the authorities, including the use of intelligence, to be able to stop the operators of these sites in the country.
“When a laboratory is discovered, the common denominator is that there are no detainees. There are seizures, without arrests and without legal repercussions. The only thing that is shown is to find places in solitary places or rancherías, but in reality, these types of places are very dangerous.”
Proof of the risks in these sites is that, in a clandestine drug laboratory located in the municipality of Navolato, Sinaloa, there was an explosion with a balance of four injured military, including an injured element of gravity, according to the governor of that entity, Rubén Rocha, during a press conference.
Therefore, the UdeG academic asks that the laboratories for drug production be dismantled, so that the responsible are arrested.
“That it is applied thoroughly in the investigation, applying intelligence and counterintelligence for the detection of these places, but when they are operating.”
Even Jiménez Reynoso said that laboratory operators should be arrested to avoid drug production.
Voice of the expert
Arturo Villarreal Palos, academic from the University of Guadalajara
Facts evidence the production of fentanyl in Mexico
In Mexico, there is a change in the fight against drug production, specifically, to the dismantling of organized crime laboratories used for this purpose.
Therefore, Arturo Villarreal Palos, an academic at the University of Guadalajara, gave an example the last findings that denied the position that the previous federal administration took on the existence of organized crime laboratories, in which they denied that Fentanilo occurred in Mexico.
“They are finding things that, supposedly, did not exist here. Here the fentanil is produced, but of course the fentanyl does occur.”
At the same time, the academic said that there is a change in the federal government’s position to attack organized crime, mainly in the state of Sinaloa, a place where the largest number of organized crime laboratories in the country has been recorded.
“It is notorious that there is an intention to make laboratory seizures, but also with strategies that were not visible before. Especially in Sinaloa, because there the problem has focused on the sense that they are priority objectives of the US government.”
On the other hand, Arturo Villarreal said that, although drug production laboratories are being ensured, it is necessary to combat its consumption, since demand continues to cause generation of enervating production.
CT
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(Tagstotranslate) drug trafficking