The ‘Annual Threat Assessment’ report by the US intelligence community under the Director of the National Intelligence noted China and India as the primary actors for trafficking ‘illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill pressing equipment’.

The report, focused on ‘the most direct, serious threats to the United States primarily during the next year’, noted that “China remains the primary source country for illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill pressing equipment, followed by India.” 

Further, “Mexico-based chemical brokers circumvent international controls through mislabeled shipments and the purchase of unregulated dual-use chemicals,” stated the report.

Listing the TCOs, and transnational criminal organisations, it said that these ‘illicit drug actors’ are imperling American lives and livelihoods.

“They are conducting other illegal activities that challenge US security, such as human trafficking, cyber operations, money laundering, and inciting violence,” read the report.

Mexico was also mentioned as a large fentanyl producer, as the report noted that “independent fentanyl producers are attracted to the drug’s profitability and the low barriers to market entry, including the ease of synthesizing it using basic lab equipment and few personnel.”

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids remain the most lethal drugs trafficked into the US, causing more than 52,000 US deaths in a 12-month period ending in October 2024, as per the report.

Apart from fentanyl, the report also mentioned the infamous Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels of Mexico. It stated that these Mexico-based TCOs “remain the dominant producers and suppliers of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and South American-sourced cocaine, for the US market.”

Another prominent country mentioned as an ‘illicit drug actor’ was Columbia, as the intel revealed the Colombia-based TCOs and illegal armed groups to be responsible for producing and exporting the vast majority of cocaine to the US.