Sonoran officials: Querobabi checkpoint seizes more fentanyl than anywhere else in Mexico

Sonoran security officials say one of its checkpoints seizes more fentanyl than anywhere else in Mexico. The claim comes as the country is pushing back on U.S. lawmakers who want to tackle overdose deaths by using the military against Mexican drug cartels.

U.S. authorities say Mexican cartels produce much of the fentanylthat is smuggled into the states. But in recent weeks, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has denied that fentanyl is made in Mexico in response to calls by some Republican lawmakers to use military force to crack down on cartels.

López Obrador has also said that the country has seized massive amounts of fentanyl, and Sonoran security officials say much of that is thanks to the Querobabi military checkpoint in northern Sonora.

Juan Gonzalez Alvarado, spokesman for the state security board, says the checkpoint has made Sonora the nationwide leader in seizures of both fentanyl and weapons.

The Querobabi checkpoint, however, has long frustrated many cross-border businesses who say its cargo truck inspections create long delays and sometimes damage goods.