 | 3 men wearing yellow plastic and gas masks huddled around a large pot on a Bunsen burner sitting in the woods of the state of Sinaloa. Punteros (lookouts) were posted nearby. One of the men then took out a small plastic bag. It was fentanyl. |  The man made the sign of the cross and shook the powder into the pot while the others stirred. |
 | Eventually, the mixture's juices were drained, sifted and refined. The two-day process results in chiva sintentical, or synthetic heroin. |  |
 | Two years ago, drug cartels would have relied on poppy gum mixed with chemicals to make heroin. But now, poppies play a lesser role, if one at all. Poppy gum has lost much of its worth, decimating the farmers' livelihoods. While residue from their poppies is occasionally used to cut fentanyl, heroin itself is no longer the preferred drug of choice for traffickers. |  |
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