How deadly drug fentanyl became a gold mine for Mexican cartels

A bag of fentanyl tablets seized by customs at the US-Mexico border. © Laurence Cuvillier, FRANCE 24

Fentanyl addiction is a scourge that's sweeping the United States. This dangerous synthetic opioid, 50 times stronger than heroin, is exported from Mexico by drug cartels. With fentanyl, the cartels no longer needed to grow opium or rely on rural communities to produce it. Fentanyl is lightweight, discreet and easy to produce and transport. It can be passed off as a harmless pill, which explains the high number of deaths from overdoses. Just one fentanyl tablet can kill – and it's doing so increasingly frequently around the American continent. FRANCE 24's Laurence Cuvillier and Matthieu Comin report.