The rapid proliferation of synthetic drugs is reshaping illicit markets worldwide, according to the latest set of reports from the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
The reports on drugs and chemical precursors published on March 4 indicate that despite international progress in drug control, synthetic drug producers continue to exploit legal loopholes and adapt their manufacturing methods to evade authorities. This enables them to produce methamphetamine, fentanyl, MDMA, and dozens of other synthetic cocktails in high quantities.
As a result of this constant evolution, authorities face increasingly complex drug markets, with a growing number of new psychoactive substances (NPS) and combinations, as well as “designer” precursors — compounds created in clandestine laboratories designed specifically for manufacturing synthetic drugs — which fall outside international regulations.
While these trends are not new and warnings about synthetic drugs have been included in previous INCB reports, this year the organization highlights the speed at which these substances have multiplied and spread.
“Synthetic drugs provide illicit actors with virtually unlimited ways to reshape drug markets,” said César Arce, an INCB member, during the official presentation of the reports.
Below, we break down three key findings from the reports concerning synthetic drugs in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Synthetic Drug Markets Are Expanding Across the Region
Due to its proximity to the United States, one of the world’s largest drug consumer markets, Mexico has been the epicenter of synthetic drug production in the Western Hemisphere for decades. But the INCB reports show a steady expansion of these markets into other countries in the region.
While cocaine trafficking remains the primary source of revenue for many criminal networks, the production and trafficking of methamphetamine in Central America and the Caribbean has increased in the last two years. The reports note that Costa Rica seized a record 580,000 doses of methamphetamine in 2023, while authorities in Trinidad and Tobago dismantled a methamphetamine production lab that same year. Meanwhile, El Salvador has reported a rise in methamphetamine shipments from Guatemala over the past four years.
Although not all countries provided standardized and reliable drug consumption data, the available information suggests that methamphetamine use is rising across the continent.
The INCB also highlights the emergence and expansion of various NPS. Over the past year, early warnings were issued regarding new types of synthetic marijuana in Brazil, synthetic stimulants in Argentina — such as phenidates — and various synthetic opioids in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay. Between 2023 and 2024, authorities in El Salvador and Guatemala began seizing tusi, a synthetic cocktail that typically mixes ecstasy and ketamine, which has gained popularity in South America over the past five years. Costa Rica has also reported an increase in fentanyl-laced drug mixtures.
According to Arce, the growing complexity in drug markets has made surveillance and interdiction efforts more difficult for authorities.
“Unfortunately, we are always one step behind organized crime’s innovations,” he said during the report’s presentation.
Greater Collaboration Between Mexican Criminal Networks and Europe, Asia, and Africa
The globalization of synthetic drug markets has facilitated the exchange of knowledge among criminal networks worldwide.
The INCB highlights the case of methamphetamine producers in Mexico, who have maintained ties with drug trafficking networks in the Netherlands since the 2010s to exchange scientific knowledge.
“Strengthened relationships between trafficking networks based in Mexico and Europe could lead to a greater exchange of synthetic precursor material and finished drugs,” states one of the reports.
Knowledge sharing may also become more frequent with criminal actors in other parts of the world. According to the reports, in 2024, Indian authorities dismantled a methamphetamine production network linked to a Mexican criminal organization. That same year, South African authorities detected industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratories with setups that “closely resembled methamphetamine laboratories seen in Mexico,” according to the INCB.
Moreover, the reports warn that Mexican criminal networks could exploit Europe’s current heroin shortage — caused by the decline in production in Afghanistan — to expand their synthetic opioid sales, including fentanyl and nitazenes.
“This would further complicate European and North American synthetic supply chains, introducing a crossover of scientific expertise, knowledge exchange, and trafficking methodologies,” one report notes.
Synthetic Opioid Markets Are Adapting
The growing scrutiny of fentanyl — due to its role in hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths in North America — has forced distribution networks to seek new strategies to sustain their operations.
To compensate for losses, traffickers are supplementing shipments of illicit fentanyl with medical-grade fentanyl diverted or stolen from pharmacies and healthcare institutions, according to the INCB.
Although the reports do not mention specific cases, recent incidents in Latin America illustrate this trend. For example, on March 3, Peruvian authorities seized 6,000 units of medical fentanyl diverted from pharmacies, allegedly intended for shipment to the United States. Similarly, in late 2024, US authorities dismantled an internet-based counterfeit pharmacy scheme operated from the Dominican Republic, which sold fentanyl-laced medications worldwide.
Finally, the INCB notes that criminal networks have also begun diverting veterinary products, such as xylazine, to increase fentanyl shipment volumes. They have also introduced more potent synthetic opioids, such as carfentanil and nitazene derivatives.
This aligns with previous InSight Crime investigations documenting how Mexican producers have implemented these strategies to cope with supply shortages caused by law enforcement pressure and criminal conflicts.
Featured image: A methamphetamine seizure on the border between Argentina and Bolivia in September 2024. Credit: Ministerio de Seguridad de Argentina
