Blame lack of ‘hugs’ and ‘embraces’ among families for US fentanyl crisis: Mexican president

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has attributed lack of ‘hugs’ and ‘embraces’ among families to the rise in fentanyl overdose cases in the United States.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. (Photo: Reuters)

By India Today World Desk: Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, commonly known as Amlo, said family values had broken down in the United States as parents didn’t let their children live at home long enough. He said the lack of ‘hugs’ and ‘embraces’ among family members was behind the steep hike in synthetic opioid, fentanyl, overdose cases in the country.

“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,” Amlo was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “That is why they [US officials] should be dedicating funds to address the causes.”

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Amlo’s statements come days after the powerful painkiller fentanyl was for fuelling a surge in US drug overdoses, and some Republican lawmakers urged Washington to authorise the use of military force in Mexico to bring the country’s drug gangs to heel. Fentanyl causes over 70,000 overdose deaths per year in the United States.

Fentanyl pills are being made in Mexico. “I know my pill is very powerful and that it will create dependence. And that’s what I want,” Amlo said.

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Amlo has reiterated that Mexico’s strong family values have helped it avoid the fentanyl overdose crisis. However, experts suggest that Mexican cartels are currently profiting so much from the US market that they have no incentive to sell fentanyl in their domestic market. Instead, they often sell methamphetamines in Mexico, where the drug is more popular due to its purported ability to enhance work productivity.

Amlo has faced criticism from some US politicians who are pushing for Mexican drug gangs to be designated as terrorist organisations. Certain Republicans have even advocated for the use of the US military to combat the Mexican cartels.

Last Thursday, Amlo had claimed that greater quantities of synthetic opioid fentanyl directly entered the United States and Canada than Mexico.