MEXICO CITY — Mexican President André Manuel López Obrador sparked controversy by suggesting that U.S. families are responsible for their nation’s fentanyl crisis because they don’t show enough affection to their children. López Obrador made the comments during a news briefing that was covered by several news agencies, including The Associated Press.
“There is a lot of disintegration of families. There is a lot of individualism. There is a lack of love, of brotherhood, of hugs and embraces,” López Obrador said, as reported by The Associated Press. López Obrador also claimed that U.S. parents don’t allow their children to stay at home long enough.
These statements are the latest in a series of controversial remarks made by López Obrador, who has denied that Mexico produces fentanyl.
“Here, we do not produce fentanyl, and we do not have consumption of fentanyl,” López Obrador said, according to Fox News. “Why don’t they [the United States] take care of their problem of social decay?”
The DEA says fentanyl is mainly mass-produced in Mexico using chemicals from China. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid that is 50-100 times more potent than morphine and can be lethal even in small doses. In 2021, more than 70,000 people in the U.S. died due to fentanyl, as reported by the National Institute of Health.
